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    I want to make a back up of my XP Mode.  I have it configure and several legacy software installed and it work very nicely on my Dell E6400 w 4gb of ram and 64bit Windows 7 Pro.

    What files do i need to copy over to my USB Hard Drive and what are their locations?
    Is there an automated way of doing this built into Window 7?

    How would i restore this if my os blew up and i had to do a clean reinstall of windows 7?

    Regards,
    Friday, January 15, 2010 5:41 PM

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    Open Windows Explorer and browse to %USERPROFILE%/Virtual Machines. This is the default location of the vmcx files. You will see a Windows XP Mode.vmcx file. This XML file contains the full paths to the files that make up your virtual machine. The default full paths are:

    %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vhd

    %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vmc

    When you navigate to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines, you may see additional files depending on the state of the virtual machine (i.e., is it hiberated or not). My XP Mode vm is hibernated, so these additional files appear:

    Windows XP Mode.vmc.vpcbackup
    Windows XP Mode.vsv

    The vmc and vmc.backup files are XML files that contain full paths to vhd files. If you restore to a different path, you'll have to edit the XML files so that all file references are correct and consistent. Windows 7 does not have an automated backup specific to virtual machines.



    • Marked as answer by Linda Yan Monday, January 18, 2010 7:17 AM
    Saturday, January 16, 2010 1:37 AM
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    It would also be wise to backup a copy of the XP Mode base.vhd.  If you can't get an exact copy of it to match to your backed up child VHD, it will be useless. 
    This has already been an issue with XPMode RC to RTM.
    C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\Windows XP Mode base.vhd.
    • Marked as answer by Linda Yan Monday, January 18, 2010 7:17 AM
    Sunday, January 17, 2010 2:19 AM

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  • Question
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    Open Windows Explorer and browse to %USERPROFILE%/Virtual Machines. This is the default location of the vmcx files. You will see a Windows XP Mode.vmcx file. This XML file contains the full paths to the files that make up your virtual machine. The default full paths are:

    %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vhd

    %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vmc

    When you navigate to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines, you may see additional files depending on the state of the virtual machine (i.e., is it hiberated or not). My XP Mode vm is hibernated, so these additional files appear:

    Windows XP Mode.vmc.vpcbackup
    Windows XP Mode.vsv

    The vmc and vmc.backup files are XML files that contain full paths to vhd files. If you restore to a different path, you'll have to edit the XML files so that all file references are correct and consistent. Windows 7 does not have an automated backup specific to virtual machines.



    • Marked as answer by Linda Yan Monday, January 18, 2010 7:17 AM
    Saturday, January 16, 2010 1:37 AM
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    It would also be wise to backup a copy of the XP Mode base.vhd.  If you can't get an exact copy of it to match to your backed up child VHD, it will be useless. 
    This has already been an issue with XPMode RC to RTM.
    C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\Windows XP Mode base.vhd.
    • Marked as answer by Linda Yan Monday, January 18, 2010 7:17 AM
    Sunday, January 17, 2010 2:19 AM
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    You can use XP-More to make copies of your XP Mode VM (as well as any other Windows Virtual PC VM). It's free and portable, and will save you the manual work. God knows why such functionality was not built into Windows 7.

    • Proposed as answer by eranisme Sunday, April 18, 2010 9:50 PM
    Sunday, April 18, 2010 9:49 PM
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    Probably because duplicating the XP Mode VM many times would violate the EULA.

    "1.1 Installation and use.  You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Software in a single virtual machine on a single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device (“Workstation Computer”), that contains a licensed copy of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate edition."

    Monday, April 19, 2010 9:06 PM
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    Probably because duplicating the XP Mode VM many times would violate the EULA.

    Yes, I know. But Windows Virtual PC can run any other VM, not just XP Mode. It does have an ability to create VMs, change VHDs etc., and MS has not otherwise made any attempt to enforce that part of the EULA (and I'm sure they could have). So it's really up to the user and the VM's EULA.

    Anyway, it is not my intension to be argumentative. I'm happy with Windows 7, and I'm happy with the Virtual PC feature, and having XP Mode has proved to be quite useful for me, solving compatibility issues.

    Tuesday, April 20, 2010 6:40 PM
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    There's nothing against the EULA for Windows VPC to have other VM's, you just have to have a license for the other VM's OS's if needed.
     
     
    Bob Comer - Microsoft MVP Virtual Machine
    Tuesday, April 20, 2010 6:46 PM
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    Yes, you're right, you can have other VMs with VPC. 

    The EULA referenced is for XP Mode, not Virtual PC.  With XP Mode, you get a single XP VM, not the right to unlimited XP Mode VMs copied from the original.

    Tuesday, April 20, 2010 8:44 PM
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    All this having been said, how is the best way to back up and restore the XP Mode?  Could you 'dumb it down a bit with step 1, 2...   First, what to back up and where.  Then, how to restore if the original gets corrupted.  I too have lots of legacy and proprietary software under XP Mode and would be in a 'world-o-hurt' if it crashed.  The object is to find the fastest way to get it up and running again.  I'm not pleased with my current option, which is to make regular system images from Win 7 Ultimate.  That has it's purpose, but a defined procedure for backing up the XP Mode separately would be great.  I'm surprised MSFT didn't include this in the 'package.'

     

    Thanks,

    John

    Sunday, April 25, 2010 6:35 PM