VMware Workstation 5.0 1. If you prefer, you can insert the Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM drive. Power on the virtual machine to start installing Windows XP. Follow the Windows XP installation steps as you would for a physical computer. When the installer is finished, you have a virtual. Publisher's Description. VMware Player enables PC users to easily run any virtual machine on a Windows or Linux PC. VMware Player runs virtual machines created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server, or ESX Server, and also supports Microsoft virtual machines and Symantec LiveState Recovery disk formats.
After upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I was troubled to discover that VMware Workstation Pro (12.1.0 build-3272444) will no longer boot my Windows XP Mode virtual machine. It now says:
This system is not allowed to run 'Windows XP Mode'. The virtual machine will now power off.
So far, the situation is looking pretty bleak as others are saying things like, 'XP mode is not supported on Windows 10 but you can go buy an old Windows XP license and install from that if you like.' I had some important data on this virtual machine but would really rather not roll-back the upgrade (restore from backup). Is there any way I can modify the VM configuration file to prevent this? If not, is there some way I can mount the virtual hard drive(s) or make this work in another virtualization product like Oracle VirtualBox?
migrated from serverfault.comJan 11 '16 at 2:07
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3 Answers
I had this same problem and searched all over for a solution that did not require re-installing all the programs I was using in Windows XP Mode. Kevin Keane is correct that the problem is a licensing issue. I had successfully imported my Windows XP Mode virtual machine into VMWare and it ran fine under Windows 7, but gave the 'This system is not allowed to run Windows XP Mode. The virtual machine will now power off.' error message as soon as I upgraded to Windows 10. Here is a work-around that worked for me. You will need a valid product key for Windows XP (buy a copy if needed).
First save a copy of the .VMDK file from your old Windows XP Mode machine in a safe place. Then in VMWare Workstation Player create a new empty virtual machine, saying that you will install the operating system later, and saying that you want the new virtual hard disk to be stored as one file. Then replace the new (essentially empty) .VMDK file that VMWare has created with your old XP Mode .VMDK file (that is, put a copy of your old file into the folder for the new virtual machine, and re-name it to match the empty file you removed).
When you then start up the new VMWare machine, Windows XP will load but will detect that it isn't activated. Tell it you want to activate via the Internet, give it a valid key, and voila your old XP Mode machine will be runnning under VMWare.
This is a licensing issue (with technological enforcement) more than anything else. Windows 7 Pro and up included a license for Windows XP. This was basically a full copy of XP, except that it was activated through the Windows 7 license.
VMWare and Virtual PC both forward this activation information to the XP client.
Since Windows 8, Microsoft no longer included this XP client, so VMware does not have any license to forward.
Microsoft's official answer is likely going to be 'sorry, we can't help you. It can't be done'. And if at all possible, your best bet is to migrate off XP, but I know that is often not an option. There were some recent reports about some critical FAA computer systems still running on Windows 3.11!
You say that this suggestion is not acceptable:
XP mode is not supported on Windows 10 but you can go buy an old Windows XP license and install from that if you like.
Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice, because when you gave up Windows 7, you also gave up your XP-mode license. You must buy an XP license from somewhere - even if you can somehow trick your XP mode copy into running, it would still be considered pirated software.
That said, all is not lost. Here is what I would try:
- Find a licensed FPP copy of XP, along with the corresponding CD. Don't use an OEM license; that would probably not be legal to use.
- Copy your XP Mode VM to a safe place (both the VMDK files, and the VMX files, and anything else in the same directory).
- Create a new VM for this copy. Make sure it has the same hardware configuration as your XP mode version.
- Install XP. Just a basic install, don't worry about getting any of the settings right, installing updates or so. Also don't activate it at this point.
- Shut down both the new VM, and the XP mode one.
- Open both VMX files in a text editor, and compare them. They are simply XML files.
Depending on what you find, you can then either edit the original VMX file, or copy the VMDK files from the XP-mode VM to the newly created one. You will likely need to activate this copy of XP, using the license key for the new license.
If none of these suggestions work, you can also simply install the VMDK files from the XP-mode VM as an additional drive letter into your new XP VM. Of course, you would have to reinstall software at this point, but at least you'd be able to extract the data this way.
I believe you can also mount VMDK files into the host operating system to extract your data, but it's been a while since I used VMware, so I don't know how that is done.
No guarantee that it will work, but it's probably your best bet.
Kevin KeaneKevin KeaneVirtual Box definitely runs XP clients under Windows 10 (I am using it right now)
You do not need to convert even, VirtualBox can natively read VDMK files.
So all you need is to download VirtualBox, install it, and connect your hard disk.I would make a copy of that virtual hard disk, just to be sure, but it should work right away (I did it last three years ago, it was no problem then).
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Features | Documentation | Knowledge Base | Discussion Forums
You can install Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows XP distribution CD.
Note: To use SCSI disks in a Windows XP virtual machine, you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP. If you have a virtual machine with a SCSI virtual disk and a Windows 9x, Windows Me, Windows NT or Windows 2000 guest operating system and want to upgrade it to Windows XP, install the new SCSI driver before upgrading the operating system.
If you want to run Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in a VMware Workstation virtual machine, be sure you have a full installation CD for the operating system.
Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created a new virtual machine and configured it using the VMware Workstation New Virtual Machine Wizard (on Windows hosts) or Configuration Wizard (on Linux hosts). Make sure you selected Windows XP as your guest operating system.
Now, you're ready to install Windows XP Home Edition or Professional.
- Use the VMware Workstation Configuration Editor to verify the virtual machine's devices are set up as you expect before starting the installation. For example, if you would like networking software to be installed during the Windows XP installation, be sure the virtual machine's Ethernet adapter is configured and enabled. VMware also recommends that you disable the screen saver on the host system before starting the installation process.
- Insert the installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
- Power on the virtual machine to start installing the guest operating system.
- Follow the installation steps as you would for a physical machine, except as noted in the following steps.
- After the system reboots, a message balloon asks if you want Windows to automatically correct your screen resolution and color depth setting. Do not make the change at this time. You cannot change resolution and color depth until you have installed the VMware SVGA driver - part of the VMware Tools package.
- Run the VMware Tools installer. For details, see Installing VMware Tools.
- When the guest operating system reboots, allow it to change the screen resolution and color depth setting.
Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details on installing VMware Tools, see Installing VMware Tools.
Windows XP does not automatically detect and install drivers for ISA sound cards, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster emulated in a virtual machine. For details on installing the driver for the virtual machine's sound card, see Sound in a Windows XP or Windows .NET Server Guest.
The Microsoft Windows XP product activation feature creates a numerical key based on the virtual hardware in the virtual machine where it is installed. Changes in the configuration of the virtual machine may require you to reactivate the operating system. There are some steps you can take to minimize the number of significant changes.
- Set the final memory size for your virtual machine before you activate Windows XP. When you cross certain thresholds - approximately 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB - the product activation feature sees the changes as significant.
Note: The size reported to the Windows product activation feature is slightly less than the actual amount configured for the virtual machine. For example, 128MB is interpreted as falling in the 64MB-127MB range.
- Install VMware Tools before you activate Windows XP. When the SVGA driver in the VMware Tools package is installed, it activates features in the virtual graphics adapter that make it appear to Windows XP as a new graphics adapter.
- If you want to experiment with any other aspects of the virtual machine configuration, do so before activating Windows XP. Keep in mind that you have 30 days for experimentation before you have to activate the operating system.
- In order to install and run a checked (debug) build of Windows XP in a virtual machine, you must first edit the virtual machine configuration (.vmx or .cfg) file. Add the following line:
uhci.forceHaltBit = TRUE
For more details on Windows XP product activation, see the Microsoft Web site.
On a Linux host with an XFree86 3.x X server, it is best not to run a screen saver in the guest operating system. Guest screen savers that demand a lot of processing power can cause the X server on the host to freeze.
The hibernation feature is not supported in this release. Instead of using the guest operating system's hibernate feature, suspend the virtual machine by clicking Suspend on the VMware Workstation toolbar.