1. Obtain copy of Windows XP; 2. Install as VBox VM; 3. Obtain activation key & activate Windows

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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Broytsch
Posts: 39
Joined: 22. May 2021, 12:19

1. Obtain copy of Windows XP; 2. Install as VBox VM; 3. Obtain activation key & activate Windows

Post by Broytsch »

I already have VBox running on my desktop PC (Windows 10 Home 64-bit) with Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit as VM.

I am delighted with the results. My three old programs run fine, and largely normally**, in the VM. There were a few "Teething troubles", but experts on this Forum helped me overcome these.

I finally installed printfil, so I can also print from these programs without the PC having to have a physical parallel printer port (LPT port).

MOVING ON FROM THAT POINT

I now want to install VBox on my Windows 10 laptop (also Home version, 64-bit) and run a further copy of XP as the VM.

I don't anticipate problems installing VBox on that machine, but I have, regrettably, no idea how to obtain and download/install as VM a copy of Windows XP Pro SP3, 32-bit - an exact replica of what I have running in the VBox on my desktop Pc.

The reason for this lack of understanding is as follows.

I used to subscribe to a home computing helpline.

Before i had heard of Oracle's VirtualBox, I had requested a call from this helpline on an unrelated subject. In the course of this call I happened to mention that I had three vitally important DOS programs running on an XP desktop, that this was the latest in a series of such desktops bought second-hand, that these machines rarely lasted for more than about a year before breaking down terminally, and that I was seriously looking for a more sustainable/less expensive way to run these programs.

I had tried DosBox in the past and had had problems with it, so I asked the helpline technician his opinion of trying DosBox again.

He advised that a much better solution was to install Oracle VirtualBox and run Windows XP as a VirtualMachine in it. He offered to perform this installation for me, using one of the systems which allow remote operation of a computer.

He worked incredibly quickly, so I could not follow how he found a suitable copy of XP and installed it into VBox as the (sole) VM. Nor could I follow how he obtained, and inserted into the VM, a working activation code.

I sent an email to the helpline manager praising the service that I had received. His reply was very unexpected. He announced that his helpline's brief was not to assist members with virtual environments/out of date operating systems, and that no further support from his team would be forthcoming.

So I no longer subscribe to this helpline!

Please can a Forum member - perhaps one of the experts who helped me to overcome teething troubles with using the VBox on my desktop PC - now help me to find a suitable online copy of XP, download/install it into VBox as the VM, obtain an activation key for the XP, and activate the copy?

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** The only shortcoming is that they will not run in true full-screen mode. Alt + Return simply removes the window "frame" and places the slightly-enlarged program screen in the centre of the XP desktop. It's a bit small, but one can adapt to it. The desktop itself can be enlarged. which enlarges the size of the window (framed or unframed), This is a bit fiddly, and is cancelled when one exits the VM. The enlarged desktop also means that not all of it is visible, including the toolbar, Start menu etc, though the hidden portions can be brought into view by using the mouse.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: 1. Obtain copy of Windows XP; 2. Install as VBox VM; 3. Obtain activation key & activate Wind

Post by scottgus1 »

XP CDs may be available on ebay or from your friends' old stocks of installer CDs they have lying about.

A couple things to note: Some ebay & other websites' XP CDs may only be the Service Pack installer not the full installation CD, and these won't install XP. Also, Dell & HP & Gateway and other PC manufacturers locked their copies of XP installer discs to their hardware, and the 'brand-named' XP installer CD won't install or activate on different hardware or in a VM. A Microsoft-branded XP disc without other company names should install and activate on any PC or VM. Be careful what you buy.

XP is still a licensed OS, and you can't legally just download it off the internet and use it. I think it may be legal for your friend to give you their XP CD and product code as long as they're not running the OS anymore, but I am not a lawyer.

We don't have sources for XP to give out or sell, and helping people run licensed software without the license can get Virtualbox in trouble, so we don't go there.

To "cut the cackle and get to the hosses", you'll need to find/buy your own copy of XP from wherever you can find it. A web-search or asking local friends should get you started.
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