Working with the Windows shell and extensions

'XP Mode' and legacy virtual machines in Win10

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Win10 has caused problems for some users of XP Mode and similar virtual PCs.

Plus: How to ensure your Setup/Install/Repair media are current, and two more options for accessing Win10’s Safe Mode.

Preserving Windows XP VPCs in the Win10 era

Reader Jared Sherman discovered that his Win10 upgrade won’t run the XP virtual PC (VPC) he’d previously created under Win7. He wonders how to get his old virtual machine and its stranded software working under Win10.

(Note: This article deals with using an XP VPC to run very old software in Win10. For a similar take on using a VPC to run XP-era hardware, see “Running XP-based virtual PCs on Win10/8,” in the April 26 LangaList Plus.)

Jared’s note:

• “I just upgraded a perfectly good 64-bit Win7 system to Win10 — and discovered that there’s no support for XP virtual machines in the new OS.

  “Although I can go get other VM software and build a new VPC, the old one is loaded and tuned with a number of legacy apps that I need several times a year. Each of the apps has an initial install and layers of updates, so “just reinstall what you had” could be a two- or three-day-long process that I’d rather avoid.

  “Is there any way to take an existing XP VPC from Win7 and then load (or restore, or overlay, or whatever) it into a new VPC. Must I create a new installation of XP? I need something that will allow the old VPC to be used again, without reinstalling everything.”

Yes, it might be possible to re-use the existing and already-set-up virtual hard drive in a new, Win10-compatible virtual machine. Conceptually, this is the same as moving a physical hard drive from one PC to another. As long as the PCs aren’t too different, the software on the relocated hard drive can usually run on the new machine.

Likewise, a virtual hard drive can usually be moved from one VPC to another. As long as the new virtual machine is configured similarly to the original, the software on a relocated virtual hard drive should run.

But whether this will work for a specific XP virtual PC depends entirely of the kind of VPC you’re talking about.

If you have an XP virtual machine that you created yourself, from scratch, using an XP setup CD and Microsoft’s old VirtualPC software or third-party, virtual-machine software such as Oracle’s VirtualBox, then yes, you may well be able to directly transfer the XP virtual hard drive and setup to Win10.

Win10’s Hyper-V can support some older types of virtual PCs, though with some gotchas. For example, your PC’s chip-level hardware and your Win10 edition must both be compatible with Hyper-V. (See the MSDN article, “Windows 10 Hyper-V System Requirements,” and the companion article, “Hyper-V on Windows 10.”)

Oracle’s VirtualBox (free; site) can create virtual PCs optimized for XP. It works with all common virtual-drive formats, including VDI, VMDK, VHD, and HDD. VirtualBox also is compatible with just about every current Windows version and edition — including XP (see Figure 1).

But if you have a Windows 7 XP Mode VPC — a preconfigured VPC with its own internal, pre-licensed copy of XP — then the answer is no; XP Mode was a stopgap tool designed primarily to help people transition from XP to Win7. By design, XP Mode won’t set up properly on any other Windows version except Win7.

That said, I can think of one possible workaround. Note that this is a thought experiment on my part; I have no way to test it. But the logic seems sound. The idea is to restore your intact XP setup from a full-system backup/image to a new and empty virtual hard drive.

Here’s how I’d do it:

Create a full-system backup of the XP Mode VPC and store the backup files in a safe place that’s off the VPC. Next, use a tool such as VirtualBox to create a new, raw XP VPC that closely matches the virtual hardware in the old XP Mode VPC. As part of the setup process, you’ll create a new virtual hard drive.

Boot the new VPC from your backup tool’s rescue disk and restore the saved XP Mode backup to the empty virtual drive.

The new setup will likely sputter and stumble when you first start it, due to unavoidable differences in the VPC hardware. You might also get nags from the XP-activation process — again, with no way to test this, I can’t say. But with luck, the setup will at least run enough for you to iron out the kinks and get your old applications running again.

For more information on this and similar techniques, search the Net using a phrase such as transfer os to new system or something similar. You’ll find many helpful articles, such as:

• “How to transfer an OS from an old hard drive to a new PC build?” – Tom’s Hardware
• “How to move a full operating system from an old PC to a new one” – MakeUseOf
• “Can you move a Windows installation to another computer?” – How-To Geek

Keep your Setup/Install/Repair media current

Keeping up-to-date Windows-setup files on hand is a wise idea because Windows installation discs are multi-purpose.

A Windows installation disc (or flash drive or ISO) can not only boot your PC (even if the hard drive is dead), it can also set up or rebuild a Windows system. Moreover, its built-in Recovery Environment can help you diagnose and repair a variety of very serious system problems. (For more info, see the June 23 Best Practices article, “Using Windows’ powerful Recovery Environment.”)

But Microsoft’s rapid pace of releasing major updates to Win10 has made it harder to keep always-current Setup/Install/Repair media on hand. That problem prompted reader Todd Beaver’s question. (The answer can also be easily adapted for Win8 and Win7.)

• “Over the past year, I’ve accumulated several Windows 10-install DVDs and USB drives, using the Media Creation Tool. How can I tell which build or version is on a DVD or USB?

  “Now that there are three public release versions — 1507, 1511, and 1607 — I want to be sure I am using the most current media.

  “For the ISO files, I assume the way to tell is by the size of the ISO file. I assume each successive build will be larger. But after it’s burned to DVD or installed to USB, I can’t figure out how to tell the version.”

You’re working too hard, Todd! There are much easier ways to ensure you’re always using the correct DVD/ISO/flash drive, and how to tell archived versions apart.

To ensure you always have the latest, fully updated ISO at hand, take advantage of the fact that Microsoft is now regularly releasing fresh ISOs that contain the base OS plus all to-date patches. These new ISOs usually appear more or less monthly, around the second Tuesday — and they always appear shortly after a new build of Win10 is released.

So once a month, towards the middle of the month, download the latest Win10 setup files and save them to ISO, DVD, or flash drive; and then keep them in a safe place for a possible future need.

This is not an onerous chore; the Win10 Media Creation Tool (MCT) can make it almost a background task. Here’s how:

• In an administrator account, download and run the MCT from its download page.
• On the MCT’s “What do you want to do?” window, select Create installation media for another PC and then click Next.
• Verify that the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) are correct; adjust if needed. (Uncheck the Use the recommended option box to gain more choices).
• On the “Choose which media to use” screen, select USB flash drive or ISO file, as desired.

  If you choose USB flash drive, the media creation tool will download the files and immediately transfer them to the drive.

  If you choose ISO file, you’ll be asked where to save the file. When the download is complete, the Burn the ISO file to a DVD prompt will appear; click Open DVD burner or exit MCT and use whatever DVD-burning tool you wish.

If you’d like more-detailed instructions, go to Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool site and expand the heading: “Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) ….” You’ll find how-tos and help on using the MCT to create various kinds of installation media.

Finally, with one small extra step you can easily keep your archives of past installation media in order. (This’ll seem obvious when you read it.) When you burn a new DVD or flash drive, use a Sharpie-type permanent marker to label your media with the software name, architecture, build-number, and/or burn-date — for example: Win10Pro/64/Aug. 9 2016 or Win10Pro 1607/64-bit/2016-08-09.

Felt-tip markers usually do no harm when applied to the top (label) surface of a DVD. But test a small, inconspicuous area first, to be sure. On either type of media, if you err or want to delete the markings later, use a bit of rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth — most “permanent” felt-tip inks can be daubed completely away this way (again, test a small area first).

Keeping track of ISO’s is even easier. Rather than relying on file size — which could be inaccurate — use the ISO file’s date. By default, File Manager/Explorer displays the local file creation date, so the ISO file with the latest date is the one you downloaded most recently.

These simple steps, done once a month or so, will ensure that you always have the latest Win10 files on hand — and it’ll always be easy to tell one build/disc/flash drive from another.

Another Windows 10 Safe Mode option

After reading “Easily access Windows 10’s Safe Mode” (July 26 LangaList Plus), Bill DeVercelly wrote in:

• “Hi Fred. In your recent issue, you cover methods for rebooting Win10 in Safe Mode. As a reminder, there’s always good old MSCONFIG‘s Boot tab. And there’s also a new feature — Shift + Restart — which gives fast access to the advanced restart menu.”

You’re right, Bill.

The reader in the original question had said, “I am fed up with … [Safe mode] techniques that require adjusting a setting while Windows is running!” So, I focused on methods that work when Windows doesn’t.

But if Windows is running normally, the MSCONFIG/Boot tab or Shift + Restart methods both work and can be very convenient.

Thanks!

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Working with the Windows shell and extensions

A recent failure of Windows 10’s power menus is eventually traced to an incompatible shell extension.

Also: AV-Comparatives posts its latest report on 19 popular anti-malware applications — but not Malwarebytes.

Restoring quick access to Control Panel

Troubleshooting unexpected changes to key Windows functions can be vexing. Recently, the right-click/Start power menu suddenly stopped working on my primary Windows 10 testing system. Odd failures are not uncommon on that machine; it’s subject to frequent tweaks and many third party–application installs/uninstalls. But it appeared that this specific problem was going to be a difficult fix.

And losing the power-menu function was particularly annoying — I use it frequently to load tools such as the Control Panel, Task Manager, and command windows. The problem: When I right-clicked Start and selected any of the power-menu tools, nothing happened. However, I could, for example, enter “control panel” into the search box and access the applet that more-cumbersome way.

At first, I suspected that a Win10 update was the source of the failure. Online solutions included Registry changes, restoring the WinX folder, and other potentially difficult changes. But several posts pointed to a problem with a shell extension — and an easier fix.

Before I detail the actual cause and solution, let’s review what the Windows shell is and its many functions.

As detailed in a Wikipedia article, the shell is your interface with the Windows operating system. The desktop, File/Windows Explorer, and all other visible elements are part of the shell. You manage files and launch applications via the shell, and the many system and application menus are defined by the shell. And right-click context menus — such as the power menu — are also part of the shell.

Shell extensions let Windows applications add additional tools. For example, when you install 7-Zip, the app adds new options to the right-click context menus for files and folders. (If you install a bunch of apps that add their own extensions, your context menus can get overly long. We reviewed ways to manage those entries in the Nov. 19, 2015, Best Practices article, “Taking some control over long context menus.”)

The number and range of apps that add shell extensions can be surprising. Two tools that reveal what’s installed are the ever-popular and powerful CCleaner (site) and NirSoft’s ShellExView (site). I opted for CCleaner because I already had it installed.

To view and troubleshoot shell-extension issues with CCleaner, open the app and click Tools/Startup; then select “Context Menu.” You’ll get a (possibly long) list of installed extensions that might launch when you start Windows or a browser (see Figure 1).

The best technique for checking whether an extension is causing problems is to temporarily disable most or all of them. Because I had a long list, I started with extensions I didn’t recognize and apps that I’d installed fairly recently. For example, I ignored extensions from 7-Zip, Dropbox, VLC Player, WinZip, and others that I’ve used for years. I selected suspect extensions and turned them off with CCleaner’s Disable button. (Note: You can make multiple selections and then use the right-click context menu to disable or enable them.)

With most shell extensions disabled, I right-clicked my Win10 power menu — and found that it was working properly. That proved that at least one of the disabled extensions was the problem. (If the menu still failed with all shell extensions off, I’d know that there was some other issue with the system — a potentially long and difficult process.)

Next was the somewhat tedious process of enabling extensions, one at a time, and testing the power menu. Eventually, I discovered that the recently installed docLock (DocLock_ext64.dll) was the culprit. (docLock’s publisher, Large Software, said it would investigate the problem.)

Note that CCleaner also makes it easy to review and disable Firefox and Chrome extensions.

The more advanced tool: As a dedicated utility, it’s no surprise that NirSoft’s ShellExView is somewhat more comprehensive shell manager than is CCleaner. As with CCleaner, ShellExView pops up a long list of installed extensions, their status, and their location. You can easily select multiple items — or all items — and either enable or disable them.

But NirSoft’s tool provides more information about extensions and gives additional options such as looking up an extension’s information online. You also have the option of hiding all Microsoft extensions, to make reviewing the list easier (see Figure 2).

Which of these two products is best? CCleaner is a safe and general-purpose tool for troubleshooting and cleaning Windows systems. (It’s the only “system cleaner” Windows Secrets recommends.) NirSoft’s tools are more focused and typically dig deeper into the system, making them a better bet for advanced users.

An quick update on anti-malware testing

AV-software testing organization AV-Comparatives has released it July report on full-time anti-malware applications. The organization tested 19 products, giving top scores to AVG, AVIRA, F-Secure, and Lavasoft. Trend Micro earned a perfect score for protection, but it also had a relatively high number of false positives.

Unfortunately, the popular Malwarebytes is missing from the charts. One of the criticisms of AV-Comparatives is that it only reports on products whose publishers agreed to be tested. On the other hand, the company has a handy interactive, online chart that lets you see how tested products fair over several months. It can show who’s improving and who’s falling behind over time.

Just as you should never use one anti-malware product exclusively, it’s best not to rely on the results published by one testing organization. Check out the reports posted by Virus Bulletin, too. (Oddly, it doesn’t include Malwarebytes, either. Perhaps users should put some pressure on its publisher.)

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