Windows 7 Upgrade Options

With the release of Windows 7 RTM to MSDN subscribers Microsoft have unveiled the upgrade options from previous version of Windows.

Basically "Custom Install" means that you will need to format your machine with a fresh installation of Windows 7 (which is what I would recommend anyway, even if you have the option to upgrade).

In true Microsoft style the upgrade paths are far more complicated than they ever needed to be, especially when you compare them to Mac OS X.

For more information check out the Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade website.

Windows 7 - Windows XP Mode

Just when we all thought Windows XP's days were numbered, Microsoft throw the operating system yet another life line. I am referring to the most exciting new feature of the Windows 7 Release Candidate, known as Windows XP Mode.

Windows XP Mode is essentially Microsoft's Virtual PC bundled with a pre-installed and pre-configured version of Windows XP SP3. What this allows you to do is run a virtual Windows XP machine in parallel to your Windows 7 x86 or x64 operating system and even run applications that are installed on the Windows XP virtual machine directly from the Windows 7 start menu.

This type of technology has been available for many years from Microsoft and other vendors such as VMWare and Sun. However, in the past the configuration of virtual machines has been a relatively complicated process and as a result has been left to IT professionals and power users. This is what makes Windows XP Mode stand out. To install the software you simply need to download two files and install each of them. The entire process should take no longer than 10 minuets. Once complete, you will have a fully operational version of Windows XP SP3, that can be accessed from the Windows 7 start menu.

Although Windows XP Mode is fully available to download and trial for the Windows 7 Release Candidate, it will be reserved for the those running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions come the official launch date later this year.

The Windows XP virtual machine only uses 256MB of RAM by default, however to install it you will need an AMD or Intel processor that supports hardware-level virtualization (AMD-V, or VT on Intel chips) with at least 2GB of RAM.

Once downloaded and installed you will find Windows XP Mode under "Windows Virtual PC". To run the virtual operating system simply double click "Virtual Windows XP".

 

To run virtual Windows XP applications directly from the Windows 7 start menu you will need to create a shortcut for each application and add them to "All Users > Start Menu" on the virtual machine. For example in the two screenshots below I have created an Internet Explorer 6 shortcut so I can access this application from the Windows 7 start menu. 

Once the shortcut has been added you will find the applications on your Windows 7 start menu under "Start > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Windows XP Applications".

Simply click the application to open it.

To check out Windows XP Mode for yourself download it for free from Microsoft.

Enable/Disable Windows 2k/XP Build Watermark

To enable or disable the build watermark from Windows 2k/XP.

 

First enter the registry (start > run > regedit) and navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop

Select "PaintDesktopVersion" and change the Value Data to 0 to disable or 1 to enable.

You will need to log off your machine before the changes take place.