Re: Is there a HOWTO to get Windows 7 (and possibly 8) to run XP software?

If you want to run XP Mode nested inside a Fusion Windows 7 (Professional and higher) VM, it definitely works, without hardware virtualisation and also with reasonable speed, both via Windows Virtual PC and via VMware Player, with Player being much faster than VPC (and thus the recommended method; and it also works in Windows 8, where VPC and XP Mode are not available: but there you will need to install XP autonomously); here are some links which might be useful:

http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8970

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/10911/run-xp-mode-on-windows-7-machines-without-hardware-virtualization

The latest VMware Player also requires the vCenter Converter, installed in client-server (advanced) mode, in order to import XP Mode:

http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html

It looks complicated, but is really quite simple, once tried...

Another approach could be to simply use XP compatibility mode while installing the programs directly into Windows 7 or 8:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/10436/using-program-compatibility-mode-in-windows-7

... which perhaps might be sufficient for many XP age programs.