Windows 7 Windows 7's 'XP Mode' Won't Run on Some
 

By Ian Paul
Wed, Could 06, 2009
Pc Planet — Hoping to use Windows 7's XP Mode on your new laptop? Better check your specs,Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, because many big-name,Microsoft Office Professional 2010, Intel-powered notebooks including Asus, Dell Studio,Microsoft Office 2007 Key, HP Pavilion, Sony Vaio, and Toshiba Satellite models may possibly not have what it takes to run Windows 7's XP mode.
Featured in the recent Windows 7 release candidate, XP mode allows XP-specific applications to run inside Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7.

Microsoft included XP mode to entice business customers to upgrade to Windows 7 even if they're using custom-made programs that run only on XP.

To run XP Mode, your Intel-powered computer must support Intel Virtualization Technology. Problem is, many Intel laptops found on retail shelves aren't packing Intel VT. Affected chips include Intel Celeron,Microsoft Office 2007 Key, Pentium Dual-Core, Pentium M, and Atom 270 and 280 processors. If you've got a Pentium D, Core, or Core 2 Duo chip you'll need to check your model number because P7350/7450,Office 2010 Key, T1350, T2050/2250, T2300E/2350/2450, T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470/5550/5670/5750/5800/5850/5870/5900 and T6400/6570 do not support VT, according to ZDNet. AMD-powered computers might also find difficulties running XP mode since Sempron processors and some Athlon 64 chips don't support virtualization.

That's a pretty big list of processors that can't support virtualization, so it's no surprise that many laptops will be frozen out of Windows 7's XP mode. However, for the everyday user this may not be as big an issue since XP Mode is targeted at a small segment of the market anyway -- gamers take note that XP mode was not built to support video games.

If you are a part of the XP-specific minority running a custom application or another XP-specific program, you'd better make sure your processor supports virtualization before making the switch to Windows 7.

Can't find your processor's model number? Run GRC's Securable a free app that can tell you if your processor supports virtualization.

Connect with PCWorld's Ian Paul on Twitter (@ianpaul).

© 2010 Laptop Globe Communications