Windows xp virtual machine. Installing Windows XP on a VirtualBox virtual machine

Today there is a small circle of users computer systems who in their work prefer to use not two operating systems installed in parallel on one computer, but so-called virtual machines. Today we will find out what it is, and at the same time we will give readers recommendations on how to set up a Windows XP virtual machine. Let us immediately note that no difficulties should arise here, so you should not be afraid.

What is a Windows XP virtual machine and why is it needed?

Let's start, perhaps, with the most pressing question about what this concept, which seems to many to be a tricky one, actually is.

If we do not consider the technical side of the functioning of such a system, the simplest explanation is the fact that, in fact, such a program in operation is a complete analogue of a real computer, but only in a virtual version. In the operating system, which is provided as a guest, you can work in exactly the same way as in a regular “OS” installed on the user terminal.

It goes without saying that in such a system programs can easily be installed, settings changed, etc. In other words, in virtual Windows you can see how this or that program will work, even if infected with a virus, without affecting the main OS.

And Windows XP was not chosen as a guest system by chance. The fact is that, starting with the Vista version, some applications designed exclusively for the “expansion” simply stop working, and you have to run them in Well, you can’t install two “OSes”, and even so that they don’t conflict between by yourself? Firstly, this is a rather labor-intensive process, and secondly, if we proceed from the integrity of the law-abiding user, then additional costs for purchasing a license are also inevitable.

In this sense, creating Windows XP has many advantages. In addition, the process itself does not take much time. The only thing you have to pay attention to is some nuances when choosing parameters. But first things first.

Boot disk

Now let’s consider the initial conditions and determine what we need to create a Windows XP virtual machine on Windows 8, for example, although for any other “OS”, starting from “seven” and higher, the process will be the same.

Naturally, one cannot do without boot disk or an image created from the original installation Windows disk XP, preferably with the full third service pack (SP3).

To do this, you can use your own tools from the system already on your computer, but it is better to give preference to programs like UltraISO, DAEMON Tools and the like. The process is quite simple, so it makes no sense to dwell on it in detail.

Creating a virtual machine: choosing a program and basic requirements

Next, for example, when creating a Windows XP virtual machine on Windows 8.1, you need to decide on the software. It goes without saying that when choosing a program, you should pay attention to the criterion of its compatibility with the installed operating system.

As for the programs themselves, today you can find quite a lot of them. The most common and most popular are VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, QEMU and many others. However, due to, so to speak, practicality and ease of use, in this example we will use VirtualBox - a program often called a “sandbox”.

Installing Oracle VirtualBox

So, a Windows XP virtual machine on Windows 10, for example, can be created only after installing the main software product in the existing environment (“OS”).

As expected, the main installation file of the program is launched first. Let’s immediately make a reservation that the launch should be done on behalf of the Administrator, otherwise errors may occur. Next, as in all standard procedures, we select the place where it will be installed software product, check the boxes next to the lines for creating an icon on the desktop (if necessary), in general, follow the instructions of the “Installation Wizard”.

During the installation process, warning windows may appear indicating that the program has not been tested for compatibility. There's no need to panic. Just press the continue buttons. Yes, by the way, if suddenly during the installation process the Internet connection is lost, there is nothing wrong with that either - this is how it should be. We are waiting for the process to finish.

So, the installation is complete. After pressing the confirmation button (by the way, this is what is good about this program), the application will start automatically, and with an interface in the language that is installed in the existing “OS” by default.

Additional Requirements

During the installation process, you should pay attention to the fact that the program may request the installation of all drivers. If such a situation arises, we simply agree with the suggestions in all dialog boxes.

And one more thing. If, after installation is complete, you need to run the program in compatibility mode, you need to right-click on the exe file and context menu select launch in the appropriate mode with Administrator rights. But, as practice shows, this is not required in most cases.

Windows XP virtual machine on Windows 7 and higher: first steps to create

After the first start of the program, you need to create a new virtual machine. To do this, use the corresponding button on the panel at the top or the command to add a machine to the menu. Let’s make a reservation right away: depending on the version of the application itself, the names of the buttons, menu lines or appearance may vary. But, as is already clear, the essence does not change.

At the first stage, the Windows XP virtual machine requires you to enter its name, after which a category of operating system is selected, which, presumably, will be installed later (in our case it is “expansion”).

Criteria for choosing the amount of RAM

At the next stage you will need to specify the volume RAM required for work. You need to be careful here. For example, if you need to test one or two not too resource-intensive programs, you can set the minimum to 192 MB.

If the user wants to avoid slowdown, it is better to use either 512 MB or 1024 MB. True, you should take into account the capabilities of your system, so it is not recommended to set the bar too high, otherwise, when the virtual machine is turned on, the main system will begin to slow down.

The nuances of creating a virtual hard disk

Next, you should select a location on the hard drive where the image of the Windows XP virtual machine with the system installed in the future will be stored. In this case, the “Create a Virtual Hard Disk Wizard” starts.

The user will be asked to choose between creating a dynamic or static partition. See for yourself. A dynamic section can automatically increase in size as it fills, while a static section has fixed volumes. Regardless of which type is selected, it is advisable to specify at least 10 GB (more is possible, but here, again, it all depends on the physical capacity of the existing hard drive, including all its logical partitions).

At the same time, the location for storing information is also selected. Please note that you do not need to manually create a new partition in an existing system. In the program, you can select the desired location in the form of a folder (by default it is Win_XP_SP3 in the specified location). Please note: it is advisable to place it in a logical partition, and not in the one where the main system is installed. For example, if Windows 7 is located on the C drive, for Windows XP it is better to select the D partition.

As you continue the settings, all the parameters of the machine being created will be displayed on the screen. If everything is correct, click on the finish button. The first part of the journey has been completed.

Installing Windows XP

Now let's move on to the guest system installation process. To do this, we use either the created installation disk or image.

But first, in the virtual machine, you need to go to the properties menu, where you will need to configure some parameters, for example, enable 3D acceleration in the “Display” section. The most important thing is in the settings menu motherboard you need to set the boot order in such a way that the CD-ROM is in the first place for installing the “expansion” (you can simply drag it to the first position with the mouse).

To install Windows XP, use the “Start” button. The installation itself is absolutely no different from how it would be if this “OS” was installed on the hard drive in normal mode.

Shared Folders and Add-ons

But that's not all. The Windows XP virtual machine must somehow communicate with existing system. To do this, it is advisable to create at least one shared folder, although you can also use removable media in the form of regular flash drives.

In addition, the user should be able to switch between the host and guest OS, for example, using a standard mouse. To do this, you should launch the guest operating system, and then in the “Devices” item, select the command to install additions to it. That's it now. We have a ready-made Windows XP virtual machine, fully functional and ready to use.

In the “expansion” itself, you can perform all the standard actions, say, adding new devices, working with programs and documents, etc. In general, such a Windows XP virtual machine looks absolutely identical to a real computer. In addition, if the machine is in startup mode, when the main system starts, you can choose which OS to start. Although in fairness it is worth noting that this is never particularly required.

Instead of a conclusion

So, here is a brief look at the main issues related to creating and configuring a Windows XP virtual machine. Finally, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the option was considered exclusively for Windows systems at a level higher than “expansion”. However, the creation of such a machine can be done in almost the same way in other operating systems, for example, in Linux Ubuntu or any other, while the process of its creation and operation is absolutely no different from everything that was described above. By the way, for all those who work with systems other than Windows, this is quite a serious plus, but for the most part those who develop software will be happy.

VirtualBox (Russian: Virtual Box) is a virtual machine from Oracle Corporation. Free program, designed for virtualization of operating systems Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris/OpenSolaris, other platforms are supported.

Benefits of a virtual machine

Using a virtual machine (VM) on a home PC, first of all, will allow you to simultaneously run several operating systems (guest OS).

For example, one of the operating releases is currently installed on your computer or laptop. Microsoft systems Windows (host OS). Installing a virtual machine, in this case VirtualBox, allows you to use any other systems (guests) in the host OS environment, including macOS, Linux, Android, Windows, and so on; there can be a lot of options here.

Some features and capabilities of VirtualBox

• Image support hard drives VMDK () and VHD (Microsoft Virtual PC);
• Audio device virtualization (optional AC97 / SoundBlaster 16 / Intel HD Audio emulation);
• Creating, deleting, restoring VM snapshots;
• Shared Folders - creation shared directories exchanging files between host and guest systems;
• OVF/OVA format support;
• Creating secure environments for accessing the Internet;
• Supports various connection options: NAT, network bridge, virtual host adapter, etc.;
• Experimental support for hardware 3D acceleration;
• Cross-platform (Virtual Box, );
• Convenient navigation and user-friendly interface;
• Multilingual localization – Russian, Ukrainian and other languages;
• The program is distributed under the GNU GPL 2 license - free software (no restrictions on use).

Download VirtualBox for Windows

The latest version of Oracle VM VirtualBox for Windows 7, 8.x, 10 is available for download on our website (starting from version 5, Virtual Box does not support Windows XP).

Download VirtualBox for free, without registration.

Spoiler (Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack)

Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack – components that expand the capabilities of the virtual machine (RDP server, USB support, NVMe, PXE and other capabilities).
Download and install Extension Pack only of the same version as VirtualBox.
Download the latest version of Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack

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VirtualBox is a virtual machine from Oracle Corporation. A free program designed for virtualizing operating systems Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, etc.

Version: VirtualBox 6.0.14

Size: 162 MB

Operating system: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7

Language: Russian

Program status: Free

Developer: Oracle

Official website:

What's new in version: list of changes

There is a fairly wide range of programs that are still very actively used at the moment, but on modern versions of the operating system they do not work correctly or do not work at all. What to do if your computer has software, which works well on Windows XP, but crashes on the newer seven? The most rational way in this situation is to use the virtual OS Windows XP, which can be installed on Windows 7. Sometimes this can even be called the only way out, because modern drivers sometimes do not support the operation of old equipment.

So what is virtual mechanism mode? In short, using this mode on a computer with Windows 7 installed, you can run an earlier version of the product. It is part of Microsoft technologies Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (abbreviated MEDV), and comes in the form Microsoft package Desktop Optimization Pack.

A distinctive feature of using such a virtual machine is full integration with the parent system - the user will be able to distinguish Windows XP from the installed main seven only by different window designs. Therefore, it will not be confused with the desktops of two operating systems or switching from one system to another, which is very convenient. In addition, there will be no problems running applications written exclusively for Windows XP or earlier versions - they will run in an environment that is “familiar” to them. If you intend to actively use Windows XP, but do not intend to install it as a guest OS, you will simply need to use a virtual machine. In this case we are talking about a machine called Virtual PC.

Before installation

Before installing the Virtual PC virtual machine on your computer, you should make sure that your central processing unit supports visualization technology. Although the vast majority of modern microprocessors support this function, it would be a good idea to check it again. After all, without the support of visualization instructions, it is simply impossible to install the machine.

You should also be aware that only 32-bit systems can be installed on the machine (even if the main OS is 64-bit).

System updates may be required for the virtual machine to function correctly. Without some updates the program will not work, and installing all latest versions significantly increases the degree of safety.

Installing the program

Installation of Virtual PC is carried out using the wizard for creating the appropriate devices. Thanks to it you can configure the main Windows settings XP the way you personally need it. For example, you can set a certain amount of RAM that will be available to your machine.

Let's move directly to the installation algorithm:

• Click on the Start menu button and open Windows folder Virtual PC;
• A folder called “Virtual Machines” opens, where all machines installed on the computer are displayed (if there were any previously). Select the item “Create a virtual machine”;
• A wizard opens where you can select the desired configuration, namely: determine the name and location of the system, determine the available memory, and create a virtual HDD device.

When the wizard completes, the newly created Virtual PC virtual machine will appear in the above folder. If necessary, you can set access restrictions for certain users. This is done using the “Sharing” item.

That's it, the Virtual PC virtual machine is installed. In order to launch it, you need to select the desired machine from the list of available ones and click “Open”. The OS installer program will open. Installing an operating system on a machine involves using installation disk with XP system. Virtual Windows XP is installed in the same way as a regular operating system.

As soon as the installation is complete, in the same folder you need to select “Service/Install integration components”. Installation of integration components is also carried out using the corresponding wizard. After it is completed, the computer will need to be restarted, and only then the machine with XP installed on it will be ready for use.

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Description of how to install and run the full version Windows XP from under Windows Vista or Windows 7 using the program Oracle VirtualBox. In this Windows case XP is installed on a virtual machine and runs as a separate application on Windows Vista, Windows 7 or any other operating system, including various Linux distributions. In this way, you can solve problems with the compatibility of various programs and drivers with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or another operating system.

A short introduction

Probably, many of you, my dear readers, have already installed and tried Windows Vista and Windows 7. Everyone seems to have a good system, but some programs and old games do not run on the new operating system, and the drivers for some devices do not work. What to do in this case? Give up the delights of the new version of Windows?

There are actually several ways to solve this problem. The most obvious is to install Windows XP as a second system with the ability to choose which one to include at boot. This method is described in this article: . But this is where inconvenience arises. For the sake of some program, you need to restart the laptop, turn on Windows XP, work with the program, restart the laptop and turn on Windows 7, For example. It's inconvenient, isn't it? What should you do if your favorite USB modem only works fine in Windows XP? Reboot the system and turn on Windows XP in order to surf the Internet?

Fortunately, there is a solution. Windows XP can be installed on a virtual machine and run from any operating system as a separate program. It works on this principle Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode. Good technology, but for it to work, the laptop needs to support virtualization, and it only works in Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise. What to do if Windows laptop Is Vista worth it?

And this is where a great program comes to the rescue. VirtualBox from Sun. It is completely free and allows you to create virtual machines on a laptop on which you can install many operating systems. The advantage of this utility compared to Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode is support 3D graphics for virtual machines, not needed for it to work hardware virtualization, and also the fact that it can be run on any version of Windows, Linux, etc. The downside is that it is formally needed licensed Windows XP, although taking into account our realities... :)

This article will discuss the process of installing Windows XP on a virtual machine. The whole process can be divided into the following stages:

If you have any problems or questions about working with the Virtual Box virtual machine, then you should contact this topic forum: .

1. Create a virtual machine

First of all, you need to install the utility VirtualBox( / ). During installation, it is important to note the following options:

Will also be installed system devices. Appropriate installation requests must be allowed.

When the installation is complete, launch the utility and click on the button Create:

Should start:

Let's move on to the next window. Since we don’t have a virtual hard disk, we need to create a new one:

Select the type of virtual hard disk. I recommend :

That's it. The virtual machine has been created. Now you can proceed to setting it up.

2. Setting up a virtual machine

Before setting up, prepare a disk with Windows XP or iso image with it, and then select the created virtual machine in the VirtualBox window and click on the button Properties:

Let's start with the tab Basic. If desired, you can place the virtual machine menu at the top. This is more convenient:

Go to the tab System:

Here you can change the amount of RAM that is allocated to the virtual machine, change the boot order virtual devices, enable or disable the IO-APIC option (needed if you plan to use several processor cores for the virtual machine), as well as enable or disable EFI (needed for some OSes, such as MacOS). Go to the tab CPU:

Here you can specify how many processor cores the virtual machine can use, as well as enable or disable PAE/NX (some operating systems support PAE. This mode allows 32-bit virtual system use up to 64 GB of RAM). Go to the tab Acceleration:

On this tab you can enable or disable hardware virtualization. If you are going to install a 64-bit operating system, you need to enable it, and you also need support for virtualization on the laptop. If your laptop does not support this function, then it does not matter. To run 32-bit operating systems on a virtual machine hardware virtualization is not needed.

VirtualBox supports 2D and 3D acceleration (OpenGL / DirectX8 / DirectX9). It's worth turning it on. Go to the tab Net:

When installing VirtualBox, another network card appeared in the system, which is virtually connected to network card our virtual machine. Setting up a virtual network adapter as shown in the picture above and go to the tab USB:

At the beginning of the article it was said that using virtualization you can get around the problem of incompatibility of drivers for USB devices with new operating systems. So here it is VirtualBox allows redirection to make any USB device that connects to your computer or laptop connect not to the main operating system, but to the system that runs in the virtual machine. Then on Windows XP, on the virtual machine, drivers are installed for the new USB device and it works fully under Windows control XP. The main system is the device will not be seen. Since there are many USB devices in the system, so that when the virtual machine is turned on, they do not all disconnect from the main one and do not connect to the virtual one, a filter system was invented. Filters indicate which USB devices should be disconnected from the main operating system and connected to Windows XP on the virtual one when it is turned on.

To add a new filter, click on the plus sign icon and select the desired USB device from the list. After that it appears in the list. Let's go to the tab:

Since there is no point in using Windows XP on a virtual machine without the ability to work with files on the main one, you need to organize general access to certain folders on the hard drive. To do this, click on the plus sign and select the folder on the hard drive of your computer or laptop with which Windows XP will work in a virtual machine:

Enter its name and click OK. Here she is on the list:

Now there is still one last very small touch left. We need to somehow install Windows XP :) Go to the tab Carriers:

We have two options: install Windows XP from an .iso image or from a regular disk. In the first case, click on the arrow icon and click on the button Add:

We indicate where the Windows XP image is located and add it to the list:

Click on the image with Windows XP and press the button Choose.

If you just have a disk with Windows XP, then put it in the drive and select your drive from the list:

Click OK. Now you can proceed to installation Windows XP.

3. Installing and configuring Windows

A normal Windows XP installation should start:

I won’t describe it in detail. The installation is described in detail in this material: . In this case, drivers are not needed. Everything you need is already included in Windows XP.

After installation, we will get a working Windows XP in a virtual machine. Now you need to install Guest OS Additions. To do this, select the appropriate menu item Devices:

Important Note: Since there is often only one keyboard and mouse in a laptop or computer, the main operating system and the operating system running in the virtual machine are forced to share it somehow. A gripping mechanism is used for this. In other words, if there is a virtual machine in the foreground, then everything entered from the keyboard will be addressed to it. You can also switch manually. For this purpose, by default it is used right Ctrl. When the virtual machine works with the keyboard and mouse, the green arrow in the lower right corner of the window with the virtual machine lights up.

The installation of additions for the guest OS should begin:

Possible questions: if the installation has not started for you, then manually add the image VBoxGuestAdditions.iso in the folder with VirtualBox into a virtual drive as was done when installing Windows XP, and then run the disk in the virtual machine.

Put a tick next to Direct3D Support:

During installation, the following warnings will appear several times:

Click Continue anyway. After installation, it is advisable to reboot the virtual machine:

To maximize the virtual machine window, in the menu Car select the item:

Now the frame has been removed and it has become much more convenient to work:

Now all that remains is to deal with shared folders. IN Windows XP launch Command line:

Connect the previously created shared folder as network drive. To do this, enter the command net use x:\\vboxsvr\Documents(Documents name here shared folder):

IN My computer disk appeared x:\, which we just connected:

The contents of this disk correspond to the contents of the shared folder that we created earlier.

That's all.

If you have any questions about working with the VirtualBox utility, we present them in this forum topic: . Please post all questions related to installing Windows XP in this forum thread:

Detailed Guide on installation Windows XP from a flash drive or memory card to any laptop, netbook or computer.

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Operating systems are developing quite rapidly, and with each new version The issue of compatibility of applications and games written, for example, for XP on later versions of the OS - Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 becomes more pressing. For versions, the solution to this compatibility problem is to install a separately downloadable component Windows XP Mode.

In more detail, we have a computer running Windows 7, on which we install an additional package Windows Virtual PC, which allows you to create virtual machines. Inside it we deploy Windows XP Mode - this is a virtual machine surrounded by Virtual PC in which we install XP Mode and, on which XP is already installed, in a sense it is a Windows XP emulator . Due to additional updates, our applications that we install in Windows XP are translated into Windows 7, creating a virtual environment.

Windows XP Emulator for Windows 10

In operating rooms Windows systems 8 and 10 support for virtualization is also present, only now on Hyper-V technology. Where can you install a full-fledged operating system on a virtual machine. Hyper-V is included by default in all new OSes. But initially, during installation, it is disabled, and in order to start working with virtual machines and, for example, install Windows XP, you will need to enable it in the settings for enabling and disabling Windows components.

If the computer processor does not support virtualization, then you will not be able to work with Hyper-V, you simply will not be able to enable it, this item in the settings will be inactive.

Virtual machine

If Hyper-V is not available due to limited technical capabilities, or, more precisely, the processor does not support virtualization. In such cases, you can use third party applications, with which you can create virtual machines and deploy our operating systems in them. One of these third party programs is VirtualBox. Here we can deploy as many machines as needed, of any version and capacity. These are full-fledged operating systems running in a virtual environment.

• In order for VirtualBox to be in a window running program Click on the “Create” button. This is necessary in order to create a virtual hard disk for subsequent installation of the operating system into it.
• We set a name and select the version and bit depth for our future machine; the system will automatically determine the size of the required disk space that will be allocated for installation. The amount of memory can be set manually, of course.

• Next, we do not change anything in the settings, but three times in the wizard for creating a virtual hard drive click “Next” - Next – Next.
• Specify the file name and size, as well as the path (the location on the hard drive where our machine will be stored).

We have created a virtual hard drive, now you can install our operating system into it.

Click on the “Run” button and in the window that opens, select the section where we have the ISO image of the system. The further installation process will not differ from the usual one Windows installations XP.