JDS Australia

Windows 7 has finally been released, and I’ve had the pleasure to install the latest retail release. Whilst the application support for Windows 7 is quite good, I have to unfortunately report that at this time, HP Loadrunner 9.5 does not work at all as a native Windows 7 application.

What’s wrong with HP Loadrunner 9.5 in Windows 7.

The installation seemingly works fine…however at the end of the process, the Loadrunner license dialog pops up. This is a little strange, as the Loadrunner license dialog doesn’t normally appear during installation. Even stranger the 10-day evaluation license is missing from this dialog. Hmm.

Launching the applications gives similar issues. A complaint about registry permissions when launching the Controller, and an exception stack trace when starting the Analysis component. Whilst the Virtual User Generator (VuGen) started correctly, it has not support for Internet Explorer 8 rendering it useless for Web HTML/HTTP scripts.

Fortunately there is a nice solution!

Out of the darkness, came light. XP Mode!

If you are using Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate editions, then you have the option of using the brand new XP Mode. Even if you’re not using one of these Windows editions, using the new Anytime Upgrade option in Windows 7 will allow you to upgrade your Windows edition.

XP Mode is a downloadable component from the Microsoft Website. It basically installs a fully-integrated copy of Windows XP into your computer as a virtual machine.

XP Mode Installation guide

Follow the instructions on the Microsoft website to install the XP Mode component into your copy of Windows 7.

1. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx
   Following the instructions, ensure you download and install both software components.
2. When installed go to your Personal Folder, then Virtual Machines.
3. Select “Windows XP Mode” , then Settings.
4. Reconfigure the Memory setting to 1024Mb or above (1524Mb is recommended).
   By default, Windows XP Mode is preconfigured to 512Mb. This is not sufficient to use LoadRunner.

Installing LoadRunner inside XP Mode.

Launch the XP Mode virtual machine window, as follows:

1. Go to your Personal Folder, then Virtual Machines.
2. Select “Windows XP Mode”, then Open.
3. When the Virtual Machine has started, use the LoadRunner DVD to install.
4. Close the Virtual Machine window when the installation has completed.

Running LoadRunner.

When you install applications inside XP Mode, they are automatically added to your Windows 7 Start Menu. You will find LoadRunner in the Start Menu, under “Microsoft Virtual PC” > “XP Mode Applications”.

I hope you enjoy using Loadrunner inside XP Mode…it’s definately a clever use of technology. And it just works so seemlessly.
Admittedly, you may experience a few bugs with the technology… if this is a particular problem, you can launch the Virtual Machine mode as a normal window and use Loadrunner within there.

But I expect that Microsoft will release bug fixes for many of the XPMode quirks in the coming months. Thanks for reading!

 

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