In reply to James Ingraham: I believe the "Windows XP Mode" you are referring to is actually just running a copy of MS Windows XP in a VM. Certain (more expensive) versions of MS Windows 7 will have a copy of Virtual PC bundled with it (Microsoft bought the company a couple of years ago). You can then download a special VM image of MS Windows XP from their web site and run it in the VM.

The problem is that the VM they are using is only compatible with certain specific x86 CPU versions (out of dozens of models). You would have to get the exact part number of the Intel or AMD CPU in each specific computer and do a bit of research to see if it will work. If you were doing this on a server with a Xeon or Opteron CPU, chances are it would work. On a laptop, there is a very good chance that it wouldn't. In other words, you might get it to work on a specific PC, but there is no guarantee that it would work on just any PC.

Microsoft supposedly did a nice job of integration with the rest of their product, but the VM product they bought was not exactly one of the better ones. Someone looking for a VM solution would probably be better off with something like VMWare.

 

M Griffin: "Windows XP Mode ... is actually just running a copy of MS Windows XP in a VM."

Yep. But the XP is license is already there, I believe, and set up. That makes it easier to implement than downloading VirtualPC, installing a valid XP copy, and activating, not to mention running the VM and then running your programs inside the VM. It is (as I understand it; haven't actually tried it) an easier, more seemless way of doing things.

M Griffin: "[Windows XP Mode] is only compatible with certain specific x86 CPU..."

True.

M Griffin: "Someone looking for a VM solution would probably be better off with something like VMWare."

I actually had better luck with VirtualPC than VMWare when using a VM to get Siemens Step 7 software running on a Vista machine. And while VMWare Player is free, the ability to make an image in the first place is not.

Bottom line: it is possible to use a Virtual Machine to run old versions of software and / or old OSes, probably including RSLogix 500. The exact method for doing so is left as an exercise to the reader.

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.

 

Actually, RSLogix 500 AFTER version 8.10 requires Factory Talk for activation. EVMove continues to work with 8.00 and 8.10.

I'm using RSLogix 500 8.10 with EVMove activation and that is the only reason I haven't upgraded to 8.30 yet. 99% of the equipment I work on is not connected to a network and my "work laptop" does not have access to my employer's network and they don't provide wireless access anyway. I don't work "in the front office", so I'm a low-level employee.