croy wrote:

Machine: Refurbished HP 8200 Elite Small Form Factor

OS: Windows 7 Pro SP1, fully patched

Question: Does this machine have XP Mode? How would I know? In the Control Panel, I don't
see any such thing. Does it need to be installed?

On this page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...s.aspx?id=8002

I see two different files offered for download, with no explanation of what the differences
are.

Do I even need either of these to get XP Mode up and running on this machine?

Previously the XP Mode had 2 download files. You needed both files only
*if* you wanted to use Microsoft's modified VirtualPC program (the
virtual machine manager that loads the virtual machines). Microsoft's
..vhd (disk images) can be used by other VMMs. As I recall, VirtualBox
will load VHDs. If you want to use a VMM other than Microsoft's, all
you need is the VHD download.

From the web page that you specified, the VirtualPC VMM is not listed.
My guess is the .exe files are either just the .vhd files or contain
both the VirtualPC and VHD files. The 2 files there are differentiated
only by the "N" substring. The N version is without the Windows Media
Player as required by a European Union requirement (the EU often screws
over their own). The N versions are regularly ignored by the users in
Europe as they don't need the EU telling them what they can get and
they're smart enough to choose what media they prefer (e.g., VLC).

https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2004/12/4480-2/
"Microsoft had violated European antitrust law by abusing its monopoly
position to squeeze out rival audio and video makers, ..."

A bunch of bull****. It was the EU proving they could flex their
muscles. Users ALWAYS have had the choice of using non-Microsoft
software which is the whole point of a general-purpose OS. Ooooh,
Microsoft should also be forced to remove Notepad, Wordpad, MSPaint,
Internet Explorer or Edge, Solitaire, Calculator, Snipping Tool, Sticky
Notes, and Defender because, awwww, someone else might want to make
money off equivalent low-grade programs.