If you plan to purchase a new computer after Windows 7 has been released, but you want to run Windows XP on it, you’ll need to pay close attention to the license you purchase with your new computer. Some users, particularly those in networked environments still wish to run Windows XP because later versions of the operating system may not have the hardware drivers they need to make their computer equipment work properly.

Windows 7 Downgrade Rights Limited

According to Microsoft, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate versions will contain downgrade rights to XP but those downgrade rights will be limited to sales on or before April 22, 2011 or until the first Windows 7 Service Pack is released, whichever is sooner.

Originally, Microsoft had planned to limit the downgrade option to systems sold within the first six months following Windows 7’s release. With the 2011 date, Microsoft is giving users another 12 months to use their downgrade rights. Following the deadline date, users will only be able to purchase downgrade rights to Windows Vista.

For corporate users that are enrolled in Microsoft’s Volume Licensing program, the deadline date is meaningless. These users will retain the right to use any Windows OS, thereby preserving their ability to run “legacy” applications. This will be a big plus for most corporate users. Research shows that about 90 percent of corporate IT departments never upgraded to Windows Vista, primarily due to fears regarding driver compatibility.

Microsoft has addressed the issue of driver compatibility with Windows 7 by requiring all Vista-certified hardware manufacturers to provide Microsoft with compatibility metrics for Windows 7. Those drivers that don’t pass muster on the first blush must be made Windows 7 compatible by the time the new OS is released if the manufacturers wish to retain Vista certification.

In addition to allowing a downgrade path for Premium and Ultimate purchasers, Microsoft has built in a Windows XP hardware emulator so users can still run Windows XP applications on the newer operating system via a virtual machine. The addition of virtual machine capabilities will require that computer hardware running Windows 7 supports virtualization.

It’s clear that Microsoft expects most users to migrate to Windows 7 once it hits the market and is doing everything possible to remove user objections to the process of migrating from XP to Windows 7. Windows XP, originally released in October 2001 and is badly dated as far as operating systems go. For most users, upgrading to Windows 7 (or even Windows Vista) is a move that’s long overdue.

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