Find If Your PC is Ready for Windows XP Mode

How to Find If Your PC is Ready for Windows XP Mode

One of the requirements for Windows XP Mode is the virtualization support by the hardware. This exactly means that the CPU has either AMD-V or Intel VT technology supported, and it can be enabled in BIOS and supported by motherboard. You can find it by following these simple steps.

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy run many of your productivity programs that run on Windows XP on Windows 7. It uses virtualization technology such as Windows Virtual PC to provide a Virtual Windows XP environment for Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides a 32-bit virtual Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (SP3) environment.

Intel CPUs

To Find If PC is Ready for Windows XP Mode,

1. Download, install, and run the Intel Processor Identification Utility.
2. Switch to the CPU Technologies tab.
3. Check out the Intel Virtualization Technology line. It will say yes or no. It is available in the screenshot below.

You are done.

To Find If Your AMD CPU PC is Ready for Windows XP Mode

1. Download AMD Virtualization Compatibility Check Utility from AMD website, which is in ZIP format.
2. Extract the files into any folder and run the executable file amdvhyperv.exe as administrator.
3. Wait a few seconds for the following dialog.

Check the BIOS Settings

If you found out that the processor installed in your PC supports virtualization, but still can’t run XP mode, you should check your BIOS settings to ensure that AMD-V / Virtualization Technology is enabled.

For HP systems,

1. Use the F10 key to enter BIOS;
2. Go to System Configuration;
3. Select Virtualization Technology and press Enter;
4. Select Enable and press Enter;
5. Press the F10 key to Save and Exit.

For Lenovo ThinkPad systems,

1. Use the F1 key to open BIOS;
2. Navigate to Config;
3. Scroll down to CPU, and press Enter;
4. Scroll down to Intel Virtualization Technology, and press Enter;
5. Select Enable;
6. Press the F10 key to Save and exit.

For other brand systems or motherboards, check the user guide for more details.

If all passed, you can install the XP mode feature.

Author: The MFTNEXT Team

The MSFTNEXT project is a small team of authors who love to engage with the latest technology and gadgets. Being passionate Windows bloggers, we are happy to help others fix their system issues. View all posts by The MFTNEXT Team