Back in April, we introduced the Windows XP Mode beta and after a few months of incorporating your enthusiastic feedback, today we are announcing the availability of the Windows XP Mode Release Candidate.

Download: Windows XP Mode Release Candidate

As you may know, Windows XP Mode is specially designed for small and medium-sized businesses to help ease the migration process to Windows 7 by providing additional compatibility for their older productivity applications. The newly updated Windows XP Mode now works with the RC and RTM versions of the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise SKUs.

Before I get into what has changed from beta to RC, I’d like to take a moment to clarify what Windows XP Mode is designed for, and highlight the point that in many cases Windows XP Mode will not be necessary. Windows 7 has a strong compatibility story with Windows Vista, and many applications that currently run on Windows XP-based or Windows Vista-based PCs should just run natively on Windows 7 – allowing you to take advantage of better performance, better management and better security built into Windows 7. In most cases, we recommend running applications natively in Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides what we like to call that “last mile” compatibility technology for those cases when a Windows XP productivity application isn’t compatible with Windows 7. Users can run and launch Windows XP productivity applications in Windows XP Mode directly from a Windows 7 desktop. I also strongly recommend that customers install anti-malware and anti-virus software in Windows XP Mode so that Windows XP Mode environment is well protected. For customers that manage several Windows PCs running Windows XP Mode and want to simplify management tasks, we offer Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) as part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack.

New Features in Windows XP Mode RC

Based on feedback from the Windows XP Mode beta, we’ve made several improvements to the usability of Windows XP Mode for small and medium-sized business users:

• You can now attach USB devices to Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 task-bar. This means your USB devices, such as printers and flash drives, are available to applications running in Windows XP Mode, without the need to go into full screen mode.
• You can now access Windows XP Mode applications with a “jump-list”. Right click on the Windows XP Mode applications from the Windows 7 task bar to select and open most recently used files.
• You now have the flexibility of customizing where Windows XP Mode differencing disk files are stored.
• You can now disable drive sharing between Windows XP Mode and Windows 7 if you do not need that feature.
• The initial setup now includes a new user tutorial about how to use Windows XP Mode.

Customer and Partner Comments on Windows XP Mode

We are very excited that our customers and our partners see the value of Windows XP Mode. We collected testimonials from some customers testing Windows XP Mode; you can view videos from some of these customers here.

Many PCs can take advantage of Windows XP Mode, thanks to hardware capable of virtualization. 

PC manufacturers are using Intel processors with Intel Virtualization Technology on virtually all of their Intel systems aimed at small- to enterprise-size businesses. All PCs using Intel Core 2 processors with Intel vPro technology include Intel Virtualization technology. You can verify that an Intel processor has Intel Virtualization Technology here.

In addition, by Windows 7 launch all AMD CPUs shipping to customers, except Sempron, will include hardware virtualization. Here is what Margaret Lewis, Director of Commercial Software and Solutions from AMD says about supporting hardware virtualization and Windows XP Mode:

With XP Mode, Microsoft has built-in client virtualization technology that makes it easy to install and run Windows XP applications directly from a Windows 7-based PC, allowing users to enjoy the benefits of Windows 7 while maintaining support for legacy applications. AMD has worked closely with Microsoft to deliver highly optimized virtualization platforms and this new operating system continues the maturation of client virtualization while making use of AMD innovations.

We are also working with OEM partners to include Windows XP Mode preinstalled on new PCs.

Michelle Pearcy, director of Global Software Marketing at Dell, discusses the importance of integrating with Microsoft for Windows XP Mode:

Our customers expect their applications to simply work, regardless of their selected operating system. Windows XP Mode provides them with the confidence to migrate to Windows 7 while maintaining access to mission critical applications. Dell worked closely with Microsoft on the development of Windows XP Mode and provided input so that our customers can easily transition to Windows 7, which is a safer, more secure and efficient operating system.

Carlos Montalvo, Vice President of Experience Marketing on the Personal Systems Group at HP, talks about how HP intends to take full advantage of Windows 7 with their products:

For more than two years HP has collaborated closely with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, contributing important innovations. HP is working to ensure our customers can take full advantage of the latest Windows 7 technologies such as offering our small and medium business customers the flexibility to run legacy applications. Our latest high performance multi-core enabled Windows 7 PCs will take advantage of Windows XP Mode once it is released.

Peter Schrady, Vice President and General Manager of Software, Peripherals and Enterprise Products at Lenovo discusses optimizing their PCs for Windows 7 and Windows XP Mode:

We’ve optimized our Think-branded PCs for Windows 7 and Windows XP Mode so businesses can enjoy the latest computing platform while still being able to use legacy applications that are supported only in Windows XP. Giving users seamless integration in a virtual environment is another way we’re working together to support commercial customers that have limited resources to spend on IT.

At the beta, there were concerns about the licensing for anti-virus and security software under Windows XP Mode and as we progressed to RC, we worked closely with those partners. Today, Kaspersky and Symantec confirmed their software will be supported in Windows XP Mode in addition to running on Windows 7 natively. We continue to work with additional anti-virus and security vendors to ensure their software will also support Windows XP Mode.

Here’s what Alexey Kalgin, Director of Product Marketing on the Corporate Business Division at Kaspersky Lab says:

By working with Microsoft, we are confident that Kaspersky Lab will provide XP users running Windows 7 in a virtual environment with an excellent security option that is easy to manage, and protects their valuable data without slowing them down. With the continued dramatic increase in malware and web attacks, our mission is to provide the best security possible for end-users and keep them educated and aware about the evolving threats.  Our Kaspersky Lab technical prototype for Windows 7 has been installed by more than 950K people since January. Thanks to collaboration with Microsoft, we have received an exceptional amount of valuable feedback from testers that will enable us to ensure that our products are fully compatible and permit everyone to safely take advantage of the new and unique features of Windows 7.

Blake McConnell, Senior Director, Product Management, SMB Security Solutions, Symantec, discussed the importance of running security software in Windows XP Mode:

Symantec has a long history of securing, managing, and assuring the availability of millions of desktops, laptops and servers running Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft applications. Symantec security products will give customers running Windows XP Mode on Windows 7 the peace of mind that their systems are up-to-date and protected from complex security threats including malware, spam, and viruses.

Please note: Windows XP Mode RC requires RC or RTM version of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise. It also requires additional 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of available disk space, and processor capable of hardware virtualization with AMD-V or Intel VT turned on in the BIOS.

In late February, the Windows Engineering Team offered a little sneak peek at upcoming changes with the Windows 7 RC based off on the amazing amount of feedback we’ve received (and continue to receive) from the Windows 7 Beta. Today they are offering another peek at some more changes coming with the Windows 7 RC. These 2 blog posts represent only some of the changes coming for the Windows 7 RC and as Steven notes in his intro – this is not an exhaustive list.

Last week we announced the Release Candidate (RC) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. We initially made it available for TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Today, we’re making it available to anyone interested in testing SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 prior to final release.

You can download the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RC from our Customer Preview Program site or install through Windows Update using our Windows Update Experience Kit.

If you have the SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Beta installed, you will need to uninstall that first before installing the RC. 

You can also check out the SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 RC notable changes here. And you can submit feedback on SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 here on the TechNet Forums.

Microsoft has released the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) ‘Release Candidate’ (RC). This is the last step before the official SP1 is released in the first quarter of 2008. Note that this is still not official code, so there could still be bugs (but hey, there will still be bugs in the official release as well). If you install this, you will most likely need to remove it before installing the final release.

If you have a fast network connection, the easiest way to install will be with one of the stand-alone installers, which include everything you need to get rolling. Just pick which one you need, based on if you are running 32-bit (most common) or 64-bit, and what language you are using (choose from the last two if you use multiple languages).

• 32-bit in English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish
• 64-bit in English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish
• 32-bit in 36 Windows Vista languages
• 64-bit in 36 Windows Vista languages

The other way to get it (beside the inevitable P2P connections) is to download it directly through Windows Update. Microsoft describes it as ‘Experience the WU based Vista SP1 installation by following 4 simple steps’. This involves running a script that modifies your registry. Windows Update will then begin to download the pieces you need, which will take some time as some components are dependent on other components already being installed (so there will be multiple downloads and restarts). The script is available here, as well as a detailed description of the four simple steps.

Today we’re making available the release candidate (RC) of Windows Vista SP1 via Microsoft Connect, and tomorrow subscribers to TechNet and MDSN will have access to those RC bits too.  In addition, the RC will be available to the public next week via Microsoft’s Download Center. The release candidate phase of beta software is typically the final phase before the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) of a product and indicates that the code has attained a significant level of performance and stability.

Let me call out several changes made since the Beta release of Service Pack 1 — many of which came about as a result of direct feedback from our Beta-testing community (thank you!):

• The size of the standalone installers have decreased significantly. For example, the standalone installer packages consisting of all 36 languages (x86 and x64 chip architectures) are smaller by over 50%. The standalone installer packages consisting of just the 5 languages (again, x86 and x64) slated for initial release are more than 30% smaller in size.
• The required amount of disc space for SP1 installation has also decreased significantly. Furthermore, with the RC, if more space is required to install SP1, an error message will now display exactly how much space is needed to complete the installation.
• Previous SP1 versions left behind a directory of files that wasn’t needed after installation and occupied about 1GB of space; the RC includes automatic disk clean-up to remove this directory.
• Installation reliability has been improved based on bug reports and error codes reported from Windows Update (thanks, Beta testers!). Testing shows that these improvements have significantly increased the proportion of successful installations of the RC.
• We’ve improved the user experience of installing SP1 via Windows Update. During the Beta release, users installed without much guidance from Windows Update. The RC now contains a series of screens with detailed information on SP1.

We also have information to share with IT professionals and system administrators regarding final plans for SP1:  we’re on track to complete and release SP1 in the first quarter of 2008.  When SP1 is complete and we reach our release to manufacturing (RTM) milestone, then shortly after the standalone installer will be released to the Web in two waves.  The first wave will consist of the standalone installer (x86 and x64) for the 5 initial languages — English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese.  These languages will be deployed shortly after the RTM milestone.  The second wave will launch 8-12 weeks after the first and will consist of all remaining languages, for both chip architectures (x86 and x64).

For administrators managing Windows Vista PCs configured to use Windows Update but not wishing to deploy SP1 upon its release, we have a “blocker patch” that will prevent installation of SP1.  Information on the blocker patch can be found here starting tomorrow: http://technet.microsoft.com/windowsvista/bb927794.

If you’re not familiar with SP1, you can find more information in this whitepaper.  We built Windows Vista SP1 to address specific reliability and performance issues and also to support new types of hardware and several emerging standards.  Further, SP1 is designed to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista.  Of course, those of you familiar with SP1 already know that some of SP1’s improvements are already available via Windows Update.

A reminder to anyone installing the SP1 RC bits: you will need to uninstall the release candidate of SP1 before you can install a later version.

Also, Windows Server 2008 RC1 was made available today for testing; find the download here: http://www.microsoft.com/ws08eval.  And, we announced two updates to the WGA program yesterday:  the first addresses two exploits to the activation process while the second adjusts how Windows differentiates between the genuine and non-genuine Windows Vista experience.  More information can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/dec07/12-03wga.mspx.

And last, thanks once more to our Beta testing team for their diligence and devotion, as you’ve made a big impact on this RC release!

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate build is live. Microsoft is hammering away at the third and final service pack for Windows XP, and is making consistent headway in the matter. Truth be told, since the 2004 availability of XP SP2, and after the numerous delays of SP3 across 2006 and 2007, Service Pack 3 is long overdue. But at the same time, the refresh is getting closer and closer at a fast pace. Microsoft has in fact synchronized the development milestones of Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP SP3.

The third service pack for XP was initially introduced as a Beta preview version concomitantly with Windows Vista SP1 pre-Beta in mid July 2007. Ever since that point, Vista SP1 and XP SP3 have been joined at the hip. In this regard, Vista SP1 moved into Beta stage at the end of September 2007, with XP SP3 Beta following closely behind in early October. Last week, Microsoft opened up the test driving process of Vista SP1 with a preview of the first Release Candidate to the service pack shipping to approximately 15,000 testers. (more…)

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