Jan 1, 2010 Posted by Andrew on Jan 1, 2010 in Featured articles, Windows 7

Windows 7 am I compatible?

Windows 7 – What’s in a name?

October 22nd 2009 saw the release in Europe of the next generation operating system from Microsoft, and this is the first in a series of articles exploring their new offering. Unlike previous releases of Windows, this one actually has a version number rather than either a date reference like Windows 95/98/2000 or a nickname – Windows XP / Windows Vista. Nearly fifteen years of date numbered or named operating systems have finally drawn to a close with the advent of WINDOWS 7.

Windows 7 – So will my existing equipment still work if I upgrade?

The answer is “Probably”.

In actuality, Windows 7 is Windows version 6.1, superseding Microsoft Vista (Version 6.0). Normally this would indicate a minor release to existing software. Obviously this isn’t the whole story here,

this version number isn’t designed to cause confusion, but is rather an attempt by Microsoft to avoid the (somewhat) calamitous release of Windows Vista which made obsolete any number of software and hardware items that people had been relying upon and using happily with earlier versions of their operating system.

By keeping the Major version of the Operating system in Windows 7 at “6″ Microsoft have potentially prevented issues with software not recognising the version number and refusing to run. Whilst seemingly a small detail, it gives some insight into the efforts that Microsoft have gone to, to prevent history repeating itself. Microsoft have clearly learned from the Vista release, making compatibility one of their goals.

Microsoft offer a Compatibility centre to allow those of you who know what is contained within your computer system to check that the upgrade will allow everything therein to remain functional. They also provide an automated Upgrade advisor that will scan your PC to check for any potential issues. The compatibility mode offered in Vista is still present, and extended. By right clicking on the application executable and selecting properties you can select the compatibility tab and run the executable in a compatibility mode for one of the “legacy” applications as you can see below.

To supplement these facilities, in the Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions there is a new feature called “Windows XP mode”.

Windows 7 – Windows XP mode – two machines for the price of one!

Windows XP mode actually runs a Windows XP machine inside your Windows 7 Operating system using Virtual PC. This may sound a little odd if you’ve never heard of Virtual PC before, the best way to picture the Windows XP “Virtual PC” is simply as another application. So in the same way you’d open Word, you’d open up your Windows XP virtual PC.

Once opened, the “Virtual machine” allows you full access to your Windows 7 machine and all devices attached to it. So if you have printers or scanners that will only work with Windows XP, simply install the driver and plug them into your Windows 7 machine, your “Virtual” Windows XP machine will then have full access to the device using the legacy drivers. We’ve tested this using a legacy USB webcam and some very old drivers, it worked first time and was very straight forward.

Similarly any software applications that only run on Windows XP can be installed and used in Windows XP Mode relatively seamlessly within Windows 7. So, Microsoft have really worked hard on making the transition from Vista or Windows XP pretty painless, or at least as painless as they can with regard to devices and applications. Try and install under Windows 7 before going through the motions with Windows XP Mode, you may be pleasantly surprised.

A few caveats:

• Virtual PC (and therefore Windows-XP-Mode) requires Virtualisation capability from your chipset, you need to download THIS TOOL [Click] to check if you can use it.
• Windows-XP-Mode is not available in the “Home Premium” edition. Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate both allow you to use the tool.

Overall, we’ve had very little difficulty using the integrated Windows XP Mode.

Additionally, to make life easier, Microsoft have attempted to tightly bind any applications installed into Windows XP Mode with your Windows 7 operating system. You can see below how they have achieved this:

Essentially, any application installed under Windows XP can be directly accessed from the Windows 7 start menu and run directly. It opens up the Windows XP Mode Virtual PC silently but presents the application to you as part of your Windows 7 desktop. It’s not a “1st class” citizen i.e. no Aero effects or gestures, but it does make for a nicer integration with the legacy applications.

Windows 7 – Ok, so I should be covered, should I get the 32 or 64 bit version?

If you are buying a new machine get the 64 bit version.

If you are upgrading and able to run the 64 bit version, that is what you should go for. If you’re running Windows Vista follow these instructions to see if your chip is 64 bit compatible:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.
2. Click View and print details.
3. In the System section, you can see what type of operating system you’re currently running under System type, and, under 64-bit capable, whether you can run a 64-bit version of Windows. (If your computer is already running a 64-bit version of Windows, you won’t see the 64-bit capable listing.)

If you’re running under Windows XP and aren’t sure. You can run DXDiag to get your processor information. Start button -> Run -> Enter “dxdiag” and examine the entry for “Processor”. You’ll then need to look up at the Intel or AMD websites whether the chip is 64 bit capable.

Be wary though, it’s far more likely that if you’re running Windows XP that you need to do research about whether everything in and on your machine is capable of being used, not just with 64 bits, but on Windows 7 at all. If you have older hardware on your existing machine, it’s probable that you’ll have to run it through the Windows XP mode rather than the main system.

Running most 32 bit applications under 64 bit Windows should be fine, If you’re unable to run them in Windows 7, Windows XP Mode will handle it. It’s the drivers that will be the issue if anything, so do check before purchasing.

This is the first in a series of articles relating to Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7. Please subscribe to our RSS feed.