1. Install Windows XP Mode (WindowsXPMode_en-us.exe | MD5: bf3726d684d3acb98185665123c9efcf)
2. Install VMware Player 3.1.6 (VMware-player-3.1.6-744570.exe | MD5: 258ca5ac40efa389b0bb221191dbdd65)
3. Open VMWare Player and click File > Import Windows XP Mode VM
4. That's it!

• The imported XP Mode virtual machine should not require activation. If it does, simply add this line to the virtual machine's .vmx file: xpmode.enabled = "TRUE"
• Tested with VMWare Player 3.1.6 running on Windows 7 64-bit host
• Windows XP Mode import is reportedly broken in VMWare Player 4.
• Attempting to play the imported XP Mode virtual machine under Windows 8 returns the error: "This system is not allowed to run 'Windows XP Mode'. Virtual machine will now power off." The VMWare documentation sadly confirms this: "The XP mode virtual machine can only be run on a host that supports XP Mode natively". UPDATE: It turns out that the Windows XP Mode EULA explicitly prohibits running under anything other than Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate. See Notes section of Import Windows XP Mode into VirtualBox for further details.

• Importing Windows 7 XP Mode as a virtual machine in VMware Workstation
• Run XP Mode in VMware Workstation or Player with Activation Intact
• Using Free Windows XP Mode as a VMware Virtual Machine
• Run XP Mode on Windows 7 Machines Without Hardware Virtualization

/windows | Oct 20, 2012