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I am considering the use of VirtualBox's Seamless Mode to support a legacy app which we need to use. This app requires XP and doesn't support any newer operating systems. I have XP licenses available, and am hoping to run the app via XP in a a VirtualBox guest.
However, this app will not work if it detects it's being run in a "terminal services" session. We have tried to run the app using Windows XP Mode in Windows 7, but one of the problems with Windows XP Mode is that when Guest Extensions are enabled, it apparently uses an RDP session for the display, thus the app detects RDP is being used, assumes it's being run in terminal services, and does not allow license checkout, since it's not licensed to be run on Terminal Services. If we disable Guest Extensions, it works. However, this would disable necessary functionality. Also, Windows XP Mode doesn't work on Windows 10.
Before I go onsite and do a huge amount of work setting this up, can anyone tell me how the VBox Seamless Mode works? Does it use RDP, or some other protocol to display the guest windows seamlessly on the host's desktop, and can I prevent the guest apps from thinking they're being run on a terminal services session?
Thanks!
Ryan Griggs
Posted 2017-09-14T02:43:19.863
Reputation: 682
Note that historically, in Linux, the technique "seamless virtualization" does involve using a network connection to pipe application graphics from the VM to the host, but this is entirely different from VBox "Seamless Mode", which relies on the VBox application UI to display the VM on the desktop. VBox seamless removes the guest background so that your guest's application windows interleave with your host's application windows. VBox seamless is essentially a display option, like Full Screen. – Frank Thomas – 2017-09-14T04:16:38.673
So it does or doesn't use the RDP protocol in Windows guests to achieve this? – Ryan Griggs – 2017-09-14T12:34:38.167
which one are you using? – Frank Thomas – 2017-09-14T12:43:17.613
Vbox on Windows host running Windows guest. Version is latest download from Vbox site. – Ryan Griggs – 2017-09-14T12:56:23.120
I meant, do you intend to use the VBox Desktop Seamless mode, or another technique called "seamless" which relies on the network to connect to a headless guest. The VBox Desktop Seamless Mode does not use the network at all, let alone RDP, but if the VM is running headless, RDP or X-forwarding are common protocols for accessing windows on the guest. – Frank Thomas – 2017-09-14T13:00:20.067
Seamless mode in vbox by pressing host+L key. – Ryan Griggs – 2017-09-14T13:07:04.147