14 DAY TRIAL // Customers testing the virtualization extensions of Windows 7, namely Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode have been experiencing performance problems in scenarios in which sharing folders are enabled. Ben Armstrong, Program manager on the core virtualization team at Microsoft, revealed that the issues reported are connected with the latest development milestone of Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode, namely the Release Candidate Builds. Fortunately enough, a hotfix is already available from the software giant.
“A number of users have seen performance issues using shared folders / having shared folders enabled with Windows XP Mode on the RC release of Windows Virtual PC. This can be addressed by installing this hotfix inside the virtual machine. Please note – this hotfix is for Windows XP and is installed inside the virtual machine, not in the host operating system,” Armstrong noted.
Knowledge Base Article 972435 doesn’t mention Windows XP Mode, a Windows 7 feature, which is available as a standalone download. However, the resources designed to help customers resolve “slow performance when you try to open a redirected drive on a remote computer through a Terminal Services session” applies to Windows XP Professional. And Windows XP Mode is indeed based on a free and pre-activated copy of Windows XP that is available for Windows 7.
“You connect to a remote computer that is running Windows XP through a Terminal Services session. On the remote computer, when you try to open a redirected drive in Windows Explorer, the operation is very slow. It will take about 15 to 20 seconds or more for the operation to be completed. In this scenario, if you try to perform other operations, such as clicking Search, View, or Back, the Windows Explorer title bar will show Not Responding until the operation is completed,” the KB article informs.
Windows XP Mode RC and Windows Virtual PC RC are available for download via this link.