In this article, we will examine how to set up Windows XP on a new virtual machine using VMware Fusion 12 Pro in the macOS operating system on an Apple Mac computer.
How to Run Windows XP on macOS / Mac using VMware Fusion 12 Pro
Microsoft completely terminated the Windows XP operating system on April 12, 2014, which was released on October 25, 2001, and was supported for 12 years.
If you have an Apple Mac computer and want to experience this operating system, you can use it as an additional system instead of installing it on your physical computer.
If you want to run Windows XP on a separate partition on Apple computers, you can use older versions of Boot Camp software. However, if you want to switch between macOS and Windows XP systems, you will have to restart your PC.
Therefore, it would make more sense to use Windows XP on a virtual machine. Since this system requires fewer hardware resources, you can use it more efficiently on your host system.
If you are planning to prepare a virtual machine on Apple macOS systems and install Windows, Linux, or macOS on it, VMware Fusion software can be your first choice.
Fusion software developed by VMware works only on macOS operating systems. With this software, you can use the virtual machine you created on your Mac with other VMware software. For example, you can use a virtual machine you set up with Fusion in VMware Workstation software on a Windows computer.
How to Create a New Virtual Machine for Windows XP
Creating a Windows XP virtual machine is easy after you install Fusion on your Mac. However, when you configure the virtual computer’s settings correctly, you can make the guest operating system more compatible and performant.
Step 1
After opening Fusion 12 Pro, you will be encountered a window with installation methods as follows. You can quickly create a new VM by dragging and dropping the ISO file of Windows XP onto the program’s homepage.
To better configure XP’s settings and create a manual virtual machine, select Create a custom virtual machine and then click Continue.
Step 2
Select Microsoft Windows / Windows XP Professional x64 Edition in the Guest operating system selection window and click Continue again.
Step 3
Since you will perform a clean system installation, you should create a new virtual disk by continuing with the default option in the virtual disk settings. If you have already installed an XP machine and want to use it on your Mac again, you can add an existing virtual disk at this stage.
Step 4
In the window showing the summary information of the virtual machine, click Customize Settings to better configure the hardware settings and click the Save button to confirm the default location in the installation location window that opens.
Step 5
After clicking the Processors & Memory in the settings of the Windows XP guest machine, increase the number of virtual processors and memory size depending on the hardware performance of your computer.
Additionally, enable the IOMMU feature to provide better memory management and improve performance in the virtual machine.
Step 6
To include the guest machine in your physical network in the Network Adapter settings, select the Ethernet port instead of NAT and type your user account password in the confirmation window that opens.
Step 7
To add the ISO file to the Windows XP machine, click Choose a disc or disc image from the pop-up window in the CD/DVD device settings.
Step 8
Select the Windows XP Pro x64 ISO file you downloaded to your Mac from the table at the bottom of the article and click Open.
Step 9
If you are not going to use a printer on an XP guest machine, you can delete the printer port.
Step 10
In the advanced settings of the virtual PC, configure the Troubleshooting value to None and also disable the Side Channel Mitigations feature.
Step 11
After preparing the Windows XP virtual computer and making its settings, run it and proceed to the system setup.
How to Install Windows XP on macOS
After preparing and running a new virtual PC for XP on your Mac, you can set up your system as if you were installing Windows on a real PC.
Step 1
In the Windows XP Professional Setup screen, you can press R to perform further system repair and F3 to exit the wizard. Since you will be installing Windows from scratch, press Enter to continue in the wizard.
Step 2
You can press Page Down to read the full text of the license terms of the Windows XP Pro x64 Edition operating system. Or if you do not want to accept the license terms and want to exit, you can press ESC as indicated on the screen.
Press F8 to read and accept the Windows XP license terms and continue.
Step 3
Since you have defined a new virtual disk for the virtual machine, you need to format your disk on the disk configuration screen. You can press Enter if you want the disk configuration to be determined automatically to start installing XP directly.
Press C=Create Partition to configure 40GB of unallocated disk space.
Step 4
If you want to create an additional partition on the virtual disk, you need to reduce the disk size. If you are going to use only one partition, press Enter to confirm the disk size determined automatically by the wizard.
Step 5
After creating a new partition on the virtual disk, press Enter to install Windows on the C drive.
Step 6
Format the C partition you created using the NTFS file system. If you want to format the C partition slowly, click on the lower option using the arrow keys.
If you have previously installed more than one Windows on your virtual or real disk, it is recommended to format your disk normally. But if you need to format to install on a new disk, you can use the Quick option.
Step 7
Wait while Setup copies the system files of Windows XP to your virtual disk.
Step 8
After the wizard has copied the system files, press Enter or wait for the specified timer to restart your system.
Step 9
After restarting your guest machine, you need to configure your system settings. To change the standard English (United States) region and format in the Regional and Language Options window, click Customize and select the language you use in your location.
Continue by clicking Next to accept the English language and location.
Step 10
To customize your Windows software, type the name of your company or organization and click Next.
Step 11
Type your 25-character Windows XP Pro product key and click Next again.
Step 12
Type the computer name of the guest operating system and also click Next after setting a password for the admin account.
Step 13
Configure the time and date settings of your virtual system, as well as the time zone, according to the region you live in.
Step 14
Select Typical Settings for the network settings of the guest machine and continue.
Step 15
If you are not going to use your Windows XP virtual computer in a domain environment, include it in the WORKGROUP network.
Step 16
After your Windows XP system is installed, wait while it restarts.
Step 17
Your desktop environment will be ready when your Windows XP virtual system restarts.
How to Install VMware Tools in macOS Windows XP Guest System
After installing Windows XP with VMware Fusion on macOS, you need to install VMware Tools to increase system performance and adjust screen resolution.
Step 1
While the XP guest machine is running, click Virtual Machine / Install VMware Tools from the Fusion tool menu and click Install in the warning window that opens.
Step 2
Click Next to continue with the VMware Tools setup wizard.
Step 3
If you plan to use your Windows XP guest machine with other products of VMware, select Complete from the installation options and click Next.
Step 4
Click Install to start the installation of XP virtual machine tools.
Step 5
Wait while the drivers for the video and other devices of the virtual PC are being installed, and do not close the wizard.
Step 6
After installing VMware Tools on Windows XP, restart your virtual system for the settings to take effect.
Step 7
After restarting your guest machine, click View / Full Screen from the Fusion tool menu and set the screen resolution of the virtual machine to full screen.
Step 8
You can transfer files by dragging and dropping a folder or file on your Mac’s desktop environment to the desktop of your Windows XP machine.
How to Upgrade Windows XP SP1 to SP2
You can find SP1 and SP2 versions of Windows XP ISO files on the internet.
Since the ISO image we used while preparing our article contains SP1 (Service Pack 1), we will use an additional ISO image to upgrade to SP2.
Step 1
Click Virtual Machine / CD/DVD / Choose Disc or Disc Image in the tool menu of your XP machine.
Step 2
Select the Windows XP SP2 Installer ISO file you downloaded to your computer from the table below the article and click Open.
Step 3
After mounting the SP2 (Service Pack 2) ISO image to the VM, click My Computer and view the content of CR0SPX2_EN.
Start the SP2 installation by double-clicking the SRSP2 script from the files in the CD image.
Step 4
Click Next directly in the Windows x64 Service Pack 2 installation wizard.
Step 5
After accepting the Windows XP Service Pack 2 license agreement, continue without changing the default location in the next Uninstall Folder settings window.
Step 6
Wait while your Windows XP system is upgraded to SP2.
Step 7
After completing the Windows x64 Service Pack 2 installation, click Finish.
Step 8
When your virtual computer restarts, open My Computer properties and check the Service Pack version under System.
How to Check Internet Connection in WinXP
When you run a Windows virtual machine on your macOS operating system, it is useful to check the local network and Internet settings. You may need an Internet connection for operations on the guest machine.
Step 1
After opening the CMD command prompt by pressing the Windows Key + R on the Windows XP machine, test your Internet connection by pinging the Google servers with the ping 8.8.8.8 command.
Step 2
Also, after the ping test, open Internet Explorer and check your connection by visiting the Google homepage.
How to Configure Shared Folder
One of the great features of VMware Fusion Pro virtualization software is the Shared Folder feature. With this feature, you can quickly transfer files between your macOS system and your guest machine.
Step 1
Open the settings of your guest operating system, activate the Shared Folder in the window that opens after clicking Sharing, and then click the + button.
Step 2
In the window that opens, click New Folder to create a public folder in any location of your Mac, and after creating the folder, click the Add button.
Step 3
After enabling the shared folder feature and creating a folder on your host computer, check the public folder on your host by creating a folder or file in the vmware-host\Shared Folders\WinXPVM on the guest machine.
How to Use USB Flash Memory
You can use your USB flash drives or storage devices in virtual machines you run on your Mac. When you insert a flash drive into the USB port of your host computer, the Fusion software will ask where you want to connect that device. This way, you can easily plug a USB stick into both your Mac and your guest operating system.
Step 1
When your guest operating system is running, when you insert your USB memory into your host and you see a window like the image below, first connect your device to your Mac.
Step 2
You cannot use a USB disk with an NTFS file system in macOS, so open Disk Utility and right-click / Erase on your device. When the Format window opens, select the ExFAT file system from the Format section and click the Erase button again.
After changing the file format of your USB stick, you can now use it on both your Mac and Windows guest machine.
Step 3
Click Virtual Machine / USB & Bluetooth / Connect (Name of Your USB) from the tool menu to attach your USB stick to the virtual machine.
Step 4
Since the Windows XP operating system does not support the ExFAT format, you can see the RAW format in the properties of the disc. You need to install update KB955704 to enable exFAT support.
Step 5
Download the Windows XP ExFAT (KB955704) update from the table below the article to your computer and double-click the setup file.
Before proceeding with the KB955704 setup wizard, back up your system and click Next after closing all open programs.
Step 6
Accept the license agreement of the KB955704 update and continue.
Step 7
Wait while the KB955704 update is installed on Windows XP.
Step 8
After completing the Windows x64 (KB955704) installation, restart your system.
Step 9
When you check your USB stick again on the guest machine, you can see that it is working and the file system is ExFAT.
Step 10
Reconnect your USB flash drive to your Mac and create a new folder.
Step 11
You can see the folder you created when you check your USB stick on your Windows XP virtual PC.
How to Establish a Remote Desktop Connection from a Mac to a Guest Machine using Microsoft Remote Desktop
You can use the Microsoft Remote Desktop application when you want to remotely connect to the virtual operating system you have installed from your Mac computer.
Step 1
After downloading the Microsoft Remote Desktop application from the Apple App Store, double-click the PKG file to start the installation, and then click Continue in the window that opens.
Step 2
Accept the license agreement of the Remote Desktop software and continue.
Step 3
While the Installer is trying to install the new software on your system, type your user account password, and click the Install Software button.
Step 4
After installing the remote desktop application on your macOS system, close the wizard.
Step 5
Open Applications on your macOS system and run Microsoft Remote Desktop.
Step 6
If you want to use the camera and microphone devices of your host computer while establishing a remote desktop connection to your guest machine, allow access.
Step 7
Right-click My Computer on your Windows XP guest machine, then click Manage and open Computer Management.
Click Users under Local Users and Groups in the Computer Management window and list the user accounts. To assign a password to the user account in your virtual system, select your username and right-click / Set Password.
Step 8
In the password creation window, create a strong and memorable password and click OK.
Step 9
To allow remote desktop connections on the guest machine, right-click on My Computer, open System Properties, and click the Remote tab.
Check the “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer” option under Remote Desktop and click OK.
Step 10
To find out the IP address of your virtual computer, execute the ipconfig command at the CMD prompt.
Step 11
Click the Add PC button in the Remote Desktop application on your Mac.
Step 12
After typing the IP address of your guest machine, click Add User Account from the User Account options.
Step 13
Type the user account name and password of your Windows XP virtual computer and click the Add button.
Step 14
Right-click on the virtual machine you added to the Remote Desktop application, and then click Connect.
Step 15
Click Connect again when you receive the warning that the remote PC could not be authenticated.
Step 16
You can now easily make remote desktop connections to Windows guest machines on your Mac.
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TolgaBagci
Hi, I'm Tolga, a computer expert with 20 years of experience. I help fix computer issues with things like hardware, systems, networks, virtualization, servers, and operating systems. Check out my website for helpful info, and feel free to ask me anything. Keep yourself in the loop about the newest technologies!
