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I am attempting to run a Windows XP guest VM on a Windows 10 host, with GPU acceleration and audio.

This is so that I can convert a really old XP computer with really old installed games into a VM, and continue to play them on modern hardware. I lost some of the original install files, so no, I can't just reinstall on a new computer.

I tried Hyper-V, but it seems that RemoteFX is not compatible with an XP guest, and the audio doesn't work either.

Does anyone know a solution that will work? Can VMware or VirtualBox handle this? Is anything free, and if not, what's the cheapest solution? And if VMware is the one, which specific products are best for this?

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VirtualBox is probably going to be your best bet since you're only looking to have one VM running at a time. It can do audio no sweat, but 3D acceleration is going to be limited. For one, it will only support up to 256M of RAM for graphics at this time, so anything requiring more will be a no-go. Don't bother with the remote access unless you really need it in VirtualBox. When you run a VM, it gives you a screen that you can use like a normal PC. Other VM Hypervisors would probably require some remote control software to get audio to work. Some free ones are: RDP (built into the Pro versions of Windows), and VNC (free with various flavors). Screen Connect and TeamViewer are paid remote control software that you could use too. The remote control software may have some issues with high movement games, (low framerate due to sending the screen over the network constantly, unless you run them on the same machine).

Do keep in mind that what you're planning to do has the potential to break the Microsoft XP license agreement. I am not a lawyer, so I can't say how or what parts. You'll have to consult someone else for such information.

Righto, you may also need some drivers for XP, but I don't remember for sure. I think the default ones should get you going for a bit though.

Good luck, have fun.

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  • Would VMware allow me to use more than 256MB of VRAM?
    – howrad
    Commented Jun 21, 2016 at 23:53
  • My terminology was wrong with my other comment, so I removed it. This PDF shows that 512M is the maximum for vSphere 5.5.
    – Blerg
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 0:56

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