One of the most attractive things about Windows 7 is its ability to load a virtual copy of Windows XP, with full Windows 7 Start button integration, allowing you to run XP software on a Windows 7 machine.

I say attractive – not so much for me – but for all the stone age IT departments in the world who are still using XP as their operating system of choice. This means that they can start using Windows 7 on their machines, and should they have some software that only works with XP, all they need to do is install it within the virtual machine, and it’s seamlessly available via the Windows 7 Start button.

This is all well and good, and was indeed something I was looking forward to using in Windows 7, until I found out the only way you can get this working is if your CPU supports Hardware Virtualization. I have no idea exactly what this is, all I do know is that my CPU doesn’t support it.

Drat!

Luckily for me, however, I’ve just recently subscribed to the Lifehacker RSS feed. Lifehacker is a groovy little site that collects all the best hints, tips and tricks on just about any subject from across the Web and puts them all in one location, allowing you to find out how to Make a Better Cup of Coffee in Your Hotel Room, How to Cook Something in the Dishwasher, and indeed, how to Create Your Own XP Mode for Any Version of Windows.

This linked to a fantastic article on How-To Geek with very detailed instructions on how to Create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Versions & Vista.

FANTASTIC!! *Said in a 9th Doctor voice*

Why do I even want Windows XP? I hear you ask! Well, quite simply, it’s for website testing purposes.

Internet Explorer 6, a browser first launched in 2001 bundled with XP, is still a fairly active browser. This is largely due to the afore mentioned stone age IT departments preventing the latest editions of IE to be installed on corporate. IE 6 hasn’t always been bad, and at the time of launch it was a revolution in the way sites were built. Fast forward 9 years (yes, NINE), and it is now causing many a webmaster to rip out their hair!

Now there are a few different ways of testing a site in IE6 without the need to go to the trouble of installing a virtual machine, but none of them have the same effect as being able to use an actual copy of IE6.

So that is where I am at the moment. The instructions on How-To Geek were very easy to follow, with lots of screen shots, and before you know it, I’ll be pumping out a whole ton of IE6 compatible sites.

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