XP mode adds complexity
Microsoft tried hard to convince its XP-using customers that the best migration path to Windows 7 was to move to Vista first. Eventually, though, Microsoft relented and said it would offer XP Mode with Windows 7, and that move won Microsoft praise for making life easier for small-business customers.
XP Mode, a virtual Windows XP SP3 environment running under Windows Virtual PC, is designed to let small businesses upgrade to Windows 7 without breaking compatibility with their older productivity applications, which in many cases are custom-built. But while XP Mode seems a logical and shrewd approach to the issue of backward compatibility in Windows 7, its complexity could pose problems for the audience to which it is targeted.
Some experts have noted that running XP Mode on Windows 7 doubles the security software requirements for PCs and presents a bigger target for attackers. And in August, Richard Jacobs, CTO of security vendor Sophos, publicly called out Microsoft over the lack of built-in management in XP Mode, claiming that companies will find the management of virtual machines to be prohibitively complicated.
"XP Mode is not a bad idea, but without built-in management, it's a security disaster," Jacobs said in a blog post.
Earlier this year, the CRN Test Centre also ran into problems after installing XP Mode and Virtual PC on a machine with a verified AMD-V virtualisation processor. The Test Centre was able to solve the issue by upgrading the BIOS. However, small businesses that wish to use XP Mode may not have the time, inclination or resources to find their way out of the mess.
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