upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
scottgus1
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by scottgus1 »

One sure-fire way to fix all this XP-mode-guest-failure stuff permanently is to get a real XP install disc (eBay, friend's house, etc.) and start a new native Virtualbox guest, then transfer the data to the new guest, perhaps by attaching the XP mode virtual disk as a second disk to the new XP guest.
Sandshark
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by Sandshark »

It's not the media that's the issue, it's the license key. There is no way corporate IT is going to give me their WinXP Enterprise key. And, using this method makes the VM completely portable to a new host. Corporate is licensed for all versions of Windows, so I'm legal doing this. But they don't like it when non-IT people need "the keys to the palace." And, besides, they are two time zones away.

They are about to migrate our desktop/laptop computers to Win10, and I will need access to my XP VM as well as a Win7 one because some of our tools only run on those systems. I'm currently fighting a major battle to get corporate to build me a Win7 VM using the corporate key instead of the one on my PC for use after the migraion. I don't need to fight another battle for an XP VM.
scottgus1
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by scottgus1 »

A Virtualbox guest can easily be transferred to another host, very often without being reactivated if it is moved properly - see Moving a VM. Fighting corporate can be hard, thus the XP disc sources in the parentheses above.
BillG
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by BillG »

So you are willing to run an illegal hacked version of a vm on a corporate machine to avoid an argument with your IT department? Odd.
Bill
michaln
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by michaln »

BillG wrote:So you are willing to run an illegal hacked version of a vm on a corporate machine to avoid an argument with your IT department? Odd.
Ha, how naive :)

Anyway, according to what VMware says, it may be completely legal.
Sandshark
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by Sandshark »

BillG wrote:So you are willing to run an illegal hacked version of a vm on a corporate machine to avoid an argument with your IT department? Odd.
Just how is it illegal? And the machine itself isn't hacked, by the way -- the runtime environment is. I am running the Microsoft XP mode VM on a legal Win7 Enterprise host that is authorized to run that VM. That I am running it using VirtualBox because of the better host-to-guest interface and better portability instead of on Microsoft's built-in VM host does not make it illegal. It may become illegal when they upgrade my machine to Win10. I say it may become illegal because our corporate license will still cover all versions of Windows. So does the method I am using to do it, which does not involve me entering any license key, really in some way make it illegal? I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think so; though it may now be moot if that method was intentionally removed.

I had a working solution that kept me from having to battle IT, and now it suddenly doesn't work. I know all about how to make a VM portable and how to install it from an XP disc if I had access to the license key . I'm just some engineer in a small division of a multinational corporation. Corporate IT isn't just going to email me the license key. Anyone who doesn't understand this has never worked in such an environment. Enterprise versions can't just be activated that way, anyway. Plus, I have all of the programs and data I need on the existing machine. I'm sure that I can find a valid OEM key on some XP machine on the floor and make a VM using it. But that solution is clearly in violation of Microsoft's licensing.
BillG
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by BillG »

Strictly speaking it does make it illegal. XP Mode was a feature of Windows 7 and was regarded as part of the Windows 7 OS. It did not have or need a product key of its own. Therefore there is no valid way to activate a normal vm using the XP Mode .VHD file running under VirtualBox (or even under Virtual PC on Windows 7 for that matter). That is a different function from using XP Mode to run XP programs from within Windows 7. It is a technical/legal point and of no real significance, but that is (or was when last time I checked) Microsoft's position.
Bill
mpack
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by mpack »

BillG wrote:Therefore there is no valid way to activate a normal vm using the XP Mode .VHD file running under VirtualBox
I'm pretty sure that is incorrect Bill. Remembering the discussions from 2009: AFAIK the XP license (for XP mode) restricted you to using it with that specific Win7 host, it didn't restrict you to using the XP Mode software.

AIUI, the devs made specific changes to VirtualBox is order to make it possible to do exactly this, which they wouldn't do if there was anything shady about it. I didn't care what the changes were at the time, but I assume those might have been the BIOS mods we've been discussing, which allegedly pass host details to the guest to maintain activation.

All perfectly legit, unless the OP was asking VirtualBox to fake a licensed host, which doesn't seem to be the case.
Feevo
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by Feevo »

Sandshark wrote:I'm just some engineer in a small division of a multinational corporation. Corporate IT isn't just going to email me the license key. Anyone who doesn't understand this has never worked in such an environment. Enterprise versions can't just be activated that way, anyway.
Now we understand authors of defeat device :lol:
BillG wrote:Strictly speaking it does make it illegal. XP Mode was a feature of Windows 7 and was regarded as part of the Windows 7 OS. It did not have or need a product key of its own.
still not clear purpose of txt file?
daved1948 wrote:XP Mode is actually a .vhd file with a copy of XP preinstalled, ready to license and run. A KEY.txt file containing an installation key is included in your C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode folder.
csmccarron
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by csmccarron »

My company also uses XP Mode on Windows 7 Enterprise edition and I need to find a solution to this problem. XP Mode is required for some of our older software that does not run on Windows 7 or newer operating systems. If you own Windows 7 Pro or Enterprise, you are legally licensed to use XP Mode. I do not see why it would matter if I use Microsofts crappy VM solution or use VMWare or Virtualbox. I find it interesting the VM Ware supports XP Mode through their UI and wish VirtualBox would do the same. A little help from someone would be nice to help get this issue resolved.

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/micro ... Id=2014936

Does VBoxDD2.dll still contain the VirtualBox BIOS?

Does the BIOS still start at 5589E55051 and is it still 65536 bytes long?

The HACK or fix says that you have to insert 51 bytes starting at C4CEB845 in the VirtualBox BIOS. Is this still a valid memory location to make the modification?

If someone can help me, I will attempt to modify and export of the new VirtualBox BIOS and post it back to this thread to allow XP Mode to work in 5.1.


All locations mentioned about are refering to the old Virtual Box 4 BIOS file and are no longer valid. Keep reading for a fix.

Thanks in advance,
Chris McCarron
Last edited by csmccarron on 21. Sep 2016, 22:53, edited 2 times in total.
mpack
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by mpack »

csmccarron wrote:I find it interesting the VM Ware supports XP Mode through their UI and wish VirtualBox would do the same.
You seem to be missing the point of the above discussion. VirtualBox has supported XP mode VMs for a considerable time (since 2009 in fact), on the licensed host. What VirtualBox won't do is help you run it in unlicensed scenarios. I can guarantee that no other reputable VM platform would help you break the law, seeing as none of them want to be sued.

There may or may not be a bug currently in VirtualBox which prevents legitimate use of this feature even on licensed hosts. If so then it's a bug and not a policy.
csmccarron
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by csmccarron »

I know VirtualBox supports running Windows XP. I am talking about running the XPMODE.VHD that is licensed to run using the crappy Windows 7 Virtual Machine. VMWare will allow you to run that VHD file in there player. In order to run that, there is a string that is stored in the virtual machine BIOS that has to be emulated/reproduced in VMWare or VirtualBox to allow the XPMODE virtual machine to legally activate. I am currently running a licensed version of Windows 7 Enterprise which is licensed to run 1 XP Mode virtual machine (can be downloaded from Microsoft), and 4 other Windows 7 virtual machines on a single license. Those of us that are running the Microsoft XP Mode virtual machine under VirtualBox are doing so because VirtualBox is leaps and bounds better than the one supplied with Windows 7 Profession/Enterprise.

Based on what I have read, in order for XP Mode to activate you have to add the XP Mode product key, into the SLIC table in the Virtualbox 5.1 BIOS. This is all the old HACK used to do.

All we want to do is use VirtualBox as the "Player" to play the VHD file supplied by Microsoft.

Thanks again,
Chris McCarron
Attachments
Application Running in VirtualBox 5.0 with PCBIOS.BIN loaded
Application Running in VirtualBox 5.0 with PCBIOS.BIN loaded
HACK_SLIC_TABLE.JPG (84.77 KiB) Viewed 12998 times
Applcation Running in VirtualBox 5.1 without PCBIOS.BIN loaded
Applcation Running in VirtualBox 5.1 without PCBIOS.BIN loaded
VB51_SLIC_TABLE.JPG (88.79 KiB) Viewed 12998 times
csmccarron
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by csmccarron »

I have a working Virtual Box 5.1 BIOS file that will allow XP Mode to boot and activate.

Regards,
Chris McCarron
csmccarron
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by csmccarron »

How to Dump and Modify the VirtualBox 5.1 BIOS to allow XP Mode to boot and activate

All this mod does is insert the Windows XP Mode activation key into the VirtualBox 5.1 BIOS so windows XP Mode will be allowed to Boot and activate. It is only legal to use if YOU own a licensed version of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise Edition. Not sure about Windows 8 Pro or Windows 10 Pro.

Tools Required

Hex Editor like HxD - Hexeditor V1.7.7.0
SLIC_ToolKit_V3.2

1. Open a Windows Virtual Machine that is running VirtualBox 5.1. It does not have to be the XP Mode Virtual Machine.
2. Run SLIC_ToolKit and dump the BIOS to a file, I used PCBIOS.BIN.
3. Open the PCBIOS.BIN file using a HEX Editor.
4. Find memory Offset 9130, and Paste the following values from 913A to 916C.

String of data to Past into the Hex Editor
57696E646F77735F5669727475616C5F58505F4639313631443845374643433131444442464141333639383536443839353933

5. Save the modified BIN file.
6. Replace the existing PCBIOS.BIN file with the new VirtualBox 5.1 modified BIOS file.

Regards,
Chris McCarron
Attachments
Modified BIOS File
Modified BIOS File
Memory Location.JPG (117.16 KiB) Viewed 13014 times
Dump VirtualBox 5.1 BIOS to File
Dump VirtualBox 5.1 BIOS to File
Dump_VB_BIOS.JPG (119.97 KiB) Viewed 13014 times
Last edited by csmccarron on 23. Oct 2019, 22:01, edited 1 time in total.
mpack
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Re: upgrade to 5.1.4 breaks XP mode hack

Post by mpack »

csmccarron wrote:I know VirtualBox supports running Windows XP. I am talking about running the XPMODE.VHD that is licensed to run using the crappy Windows 7 Virtual Machine.
My previous post specifically said "XP mode". I don't see how it's possible to interpret it as discussing XP in general.
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