About PC Operating systems
This is not an April Fools Day joke.
It is serious.
I had a computer that was using XP that was stolen.
Everything worked perfectly well.
I bought a new one with Vista - installed (no option)
Now much of what I had on the old system does not work anymore -
Including some websites I developed using Frontpage.
Does anyone know if I can install XP again and run it in parallel with Vista - choosing which OS I want to use when I power up?
I H A T E Vista.
Any suggestions would be most gratefully received.
8 Answers
Buy a new system with Windows 7. It's not XP but a whole lot better thatn Vista.
Ian I recommend to you, Linux. Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, FREE and works like a champ. It is 10 times faster than Windows in every way, and seems like an OS from the far future compared to Windows and YES you can install a virtual machine under Ubuntu that can emulate XP as well, though you need the XP install discs.
I may not have a solution, exactly, but here's something similar I ran into, and my solution.
I have a couple of old programs that were developed for Windows95 (remember those days?). By some miracle, they continued to work on WindowsXP. Now that XP is close to end-of-life, and I needed a new computer, I got one with Windows 7 and I like that much better than Vista.
However, my couple of old programs simply won't work on Windows 7. There wasn't any compatibility setting in Windows that would help, because the programs themselves govern their startup. While attempting to start, they smell something in the environment that Windows 7 cannot fake, and they bomb out.
So I downloaded a free virtual-memory program from VMWare.com, called the VM Player (link to download page). It acts like a computer in your computer, including that you have to create the virtual machine by installing an operating system on it (inside this "VM"). Pretty cool. I used my old WindowsXP install discs, and had it working pretty well. Within that Virtual Machine, I could install my couple of old programs, and run them there.
So now, to run one of these programs, I start the "virtual machine" with a desktop icon, and within that system's window (which I could "maximize") I can start either or both of my old programs perfectly well.
The one problem I have not solved is that "Windows activation" seems to think I'm running an illegal copy of windows. But it works. Worst-case, I can delete the "Virtual machine" and rebuild it as above, any time I want, and the system's trial period before nagging me about activation starts over.
I wonder if any of this makes sense, and if you can work magic upon Vista with some of these techniques. If you still have your XP installation discs, this is a low-cost experiment.
Microshaft should be hit with a class action for selling something not "fit for purpose"
Regarding the websites.... if they are broken in IE8, try using "compatibility mode" - click the little icon that looks like a torn piece of paper between where the URL goes and the refresh icon is. Alternatively you can use another browser like Mozilla Firefox.
I have heard that the new Windows 7 has the capacity to run a kind of virtual XP programme within it. I do not know the details. I use Vista myself and may upgrade when I can afford it and also when MS have worked through some of the initial teething problems usually inherent in new operating systems.... i.e. when SP2 is available
I can see the good and bad sides of Vista The worst aspect is that it much more power hungry than XP was and Windows 7 is reputed to be. I use an excellent Toshiba PC and Vista seems fairly good with it (It came with it) but performance may vary a little according to the make of computer people have.
Short of getting yourself an upgrade to Windows 7 I am not sure what else will work best
I like Pesta's VM approach, but if you don't want to get that technical, there is no reason why you cannot run both XP and Windows 7 on the same computer. I dual boot with Windows 7 and Vista on my computer.
I would like to tell you though, if you are only going to use the XP OS occasionally, be prepared to sit through a lot of updates. I kept my Vista OS because I had a lot of programs that I had downloaded and did not have disks for to reinstall on Windows 7. I use Windows 7 90% of the time. Every time that I switch to Vista to run an old program I have to wait for Vista to install a thousand updates, then I have to wait until my virus checker updates itself, then Adobe jumps in, then.....
I have removed most of the smaller update programs so that every piece of software doesn't want to update itself, but most updates you want, so I try to open Vista at least once a week just so it will update itself in a relatively short time. If you only want to use XP every month or so, be prepared for a wait when you want to run the occasional XP program.
I googled it:
http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_vista_and_xp_with_vista_installed_first__the_stepbystep_guide.htm The key word is "dual boot"
Windows 7 costs about 100 euros new.. not worth it
I know it's possible to run XP in a virtual machine within linux (which is free, so nothing to lose), but I don't know how to do it.
