As mentioned in that boring overview yesterday, Windows XP Mode (XPM) utilizes some key RDP (6.1+) technologies to enable seamless virtual application use in Windows 7. More specifically, Remote Applications and Application Publishing.
For those not Terminal Services wizards, these technologies may sound new. Application Publishing enables you to “install” an application on a client machine – at least as far as the user is concerned. Shortcuts and file-type associations are set up, just as a local installation would, but when the application is invoked it’s started on a server somewhere within your infrastructure. The Remote Applications piece then kicks in and draws the client UI in a very convincing manner.
XPM eliminates the publishing step in the traditional Terminal Services model by incorporating monitoring logic within the Virtual Machine Services components installed on Windows XP for you, at first run. This component, amongst other things, monitors the (All Users) Start Menu for shortcut additions and deletions. For example, after detecting an added shortcut XPM adds the application to the Remote Applications white-list, nabs its icon, and performs some other internal house keeping tasks before passing the baton to the host operating system for addition to the Virtual Applications list in the Start Menu.
In the video below, I demonstrate just that with Internet Explorer 6.
As shown in the video, one of the (current?) limitations with XPM (as a result of client Terminal Server licensing) is that only one user or channel can be open at any given time. This means you cannot execute Internet Explorer 6 while running maintenance tasks within the virtual machine, like installing updates from Windows Update. For the tinker tots, however, you may want to patch the Windows XP guest to allow simultaneous RDP sessions. Doing so, of course, is a violation of a few EULAs but it’s worth the gain in knowledge. It’ll be our little secret, okay?
I am not able to public remote desktop connection to windows 7. Has anyone else had this problem?
I have many client (up to 5000) Windows 7 and i need to publish an older apps in xpmode.
I have build and test an xp machine with remote apps etc… it’s all ok.
Now i need to configure an autologon to this apps (service account). I need to delete the windows 7 authentication windows (when launch xpmode apps).
If i configure the autologon in windows xp the w7 auth windows appears and if you press cancel you can use correctly the apps (xp autologon works). How i can disable the w7 auth windows?
…. or ….
How i can autoconfigure (script?) the credential to access an xpmode machine?
Thnx all !
Stefano
George Smith mentions something about sharing the Cisco VPN connection to the Windows 7 machine. I’m aware that there is a way to do so, however I’m not getting it to work correctly. I know I’m close. Would love additional information on this topic if George or anyone has it. This is not for a 64-bit Windows 7 issue. It’s just getting the proper Cisco VPN client working for people using Windows 7.
Fantastic! Thanks!