The instance of XP that you run as a virtual machine can’t use more than 4 GB, the same as in a physical machine unless you run 64-bit XP. The Windows 7 host will be simultaneously using the remaining 8 GB.
Hi Rusalka,
As other members of the forum have suggested, Microsoft Windows XP is nearing the end of its life. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 Support will be ending April 8th, 2014. More information on why support is ending, what end of support means to customers and how Microsoft will help customers can be found here. It is wisest to begin migrating systems and all used applications over to Microsoft Windows 7.
Microsoft provides the Windows 7 Compatibility Center where compatibility information for thousands of different applications and devices are listed. A quick check of the Windows 7 Compatibility Center shows that Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS, along with the ImageReady component of Photoshop CS are indeed compatible.
Should compatibility issues arise with other applications, another alternative would be to test the application in compatibility mode first. A great web page to learn more about compatibility mode is Make older programs run in this version of Windows.
As a last resort, one would consider the use of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. Typically speaking, when utilizing Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC, one does not want to depend on the use of such tools for graphic intense applications because they do create a virtualized environment. Many graphic intense applications require and depend on hardware dedicated operating systems as a foundation.
Jessica
Windows Outreach Team - IT Pro
Is this also true with hardware and drivers? I have an HP Scanjet 6300C that Win7 (64 bit) won’t recognize, and I can’t find a driver for it. If I run Windows7 XP mode, can I install the XP driver and use it?
You should be able to just install the Windows XP driver in plain old Windows 7. I don’t know why Microsoft doesn’t make a bigger deal about the work they did to make old drivers still work. It’s not perfect, and some drivers fall through the cracks, but it is a viable option.
From what I’ve found on the net, all you have to do is install the Windows XP driver in Windows 7, then restart the computer.
you can’t install a 32-bit driver in 64-bit windows.
I see no down side to having XP and Win 7. Especially with modern gigantic 1000 Gigabyte drives. XP takes maybe 250 Meg to fully install with a couple software suites. The disk space required is trivial.
I set my system up on separate drives. The trick is, you must install XP first. Then Win 7. That way when the PC boots you’ll get a menu asking which system you want to boot. By default, Win 7 will boot.
That works out great. I typically turn my pc on and run into the kitchen for a coffee refill. I come back and my Win 7 log in is waiting for me. I never see the dual boot menu unless I plan to boot into XP. In those cases, I stick around after the pc is turned on, and up arrow to XP for the boot.
Simple as pie.
My scsi scanner is only recognzed under XP. Win 7 is too damn stupid to recognize ASPI which my scanners SCSI driver requires. I also run Photoshop 6 under XP, because it runs correctly there.
I guess the decision to dual boot is dependent on your hardware. Are you willing to throw out an expensive piece of equipment simply because the jerks at Microsoft couldn’t be bothered to convert XP drivers for Win 7? If so, then dual booting isn’t for you. Take it all to the landfill and never look back.
If you do own perfectly good printers or scanners that Win 7 doesn’t support then dual booting is the best solution. In my case, the scanner I have cost nearly $500 and was considered a pro quality scanner. I’m not trashing an expensive piece of hardware simply because some twit in Redmond doesn’t deem it worthy of an updated driver.
XP Mode in Win 7 works great for obsolete software. But always keep in mind that XP mode is useless for hardware that doesn’t have supported drivers in Win 7.
or, ASPI is owned by Adaptec and was never built into Windows NT 5 and later. Go bitch at the manufacturer of your scanner for never updating their drivers to work with SPTI.
Microsoft doesn’t write other people’s hardware drivers. The “jerks” are the printer/scanner/whatever manufacturers who decide they’d rather have you buy a new printer/scanner/whatever than release a driver for a new operating system.
MICROSOFT DOESN’T WRITE DRIVERS. YOUR RAGE IS MISPLACED.
Sorry, I didn’t realize I let emotion slip into my post. I’ve been dealing with various driver issues since Win 95. Every new version of Windows usually brings the challenge of finding new drivers. I still bear some old emotional scars from the early Plug and Pray days. 
I was trying to answer the OP as objectively and passively as possible. I’m aware we live in a throw away society and many, many businesses and home users throw out equipment every few years. That’s there choice.
At a business level it’s not worth wasting a lot of time searching for drivers. It’s quicker and cheaper to cut a PO and get all new hardware. I’m not aware of any dual boot (XP, Win 7) pc’s at my job. My employer updates their equipment pretty regularly.
At my job we do use XP Mode in Win 7 because our Application software (Accounting, Payroll, Registration) requires it.
well you failed miserably.