If you’re thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows XP, you’re not alone. Legions of individuals and businesses either skipped the Windows Vista upgrade or, once they had tried it, decided to revert back to XP.
Windows 7, though, is a different story. Given the almost universally favorable reviews it has received, many tried-and-true XP users are preparing to give Microsoft’s latest operating system a try. But Windows 7 is quite a bit different from XP, and that means a lot of upgraders have a lot of questions. Here are a few.
Q: I have some ancient proprietary software that runs well in Internet Explorer 6 but not in 7 or 8. I’m running Internet Explorer 6 on my XP machine. Can I run Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 7?
A: No. Internet Explorer 6 will not install on Windows 7. But Windows 7 does offer you the capability of running the Windows XP Mode add-in, available at (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx). XP Mode allows you to run a complete Windows XP system inside of Windows 7. That means, essentially, that you have two operating systems in one. So if you find that you have one or more older applications that simply require Windows XP, you can run them in XP Mode.
XP Mode requires that you download and install two components: the Windows XP Mode installation program itself and Windows Virtual PC. You should install XP Mode first, followed by Virtual PC. Once both are installed, you’ll need to restart your machine. After your machine is back up, open the Start menu, and navigate to All Programs — Windows Virtual PC — Windows XP Mode.
Before XP Mode starts, you’ll be asked some questions, similar to those you see during the installation of an operating system because, in fact, you will be installing a separate operating…