Copying Windows XP Mode Virtual PC on Windows 7 to a new PC

Recently I was trying to setup a new laptop. I had been using Windows 7 64-bit OS for a while with Windows XP Mode virtual PC to run apps not compatible with the 64-bit OS. (For those of you who haven’t used the Win XP mode, this is a great way to run apps that don’t work on 64-bit Win 7 OS. Check out details here at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/).

Anyway, I didn’t want to setup and reconfigure the Windows XP Virtual PC again on the new PC but couldn’t find instructions to copy the files over. Since this is a virtual PC, I imagined the process would be as simple as copying the VHD files over but that didn’t work for me.

Here are the steps I had to take to move my Windows XP Mode virtual PC from my old laptop to the new one.

1. Go to the Virtual PC folder under AppData: “C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC” (Your path will be different; replace the highlighted username with the appropriate name). If you don’t know the path, just type “AppData'” in the run window and press Ok to go to the AppData folder.

1. Update Options.xml here to include:

<default_vm type="string">Windows XP Mode</default_vm>

<configuration>

<paths>

<defaults>

<configuration type="string">C:\Users\xxxxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\</configuration>

</defaults>

</paths>

</configuration>

1. On the old machine, go to Start –> Windows Virtual PC –> Windows Virtual PC.
2. Copy over Windows XP Mode.vmcx file to corresponding location on the new laptop.

1. Copy the "Virtual Machines" Folder under the AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\ folder from the old machine.

Note: DO NOT COPY the Virtual Applications folder. It is rebuilt when you start the VPC for the first time.