protecting a xp machine for longer term

thank you for all the useful comments and pointers.

i should mentioned this- this may be a decision maker..

the old pc is dedicated to only one access program that runs in access 2000(2). so xp is one issue, ms-access is another. the program is not supported in later versions of access (2007 or 2010). so it is preferred to keep using 2002 license to use this program for the foreseeable future.

in the above scenario, would you advice be the same?

i will find the machine model for you later today.

for the backup part, would you suggest Carbonite as OK?

this is the existing machine details:

OS Name      Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version      5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer      Microsoft Corporation
System Name      ULTRAIII
System Manufacturer      INTEL_
System Model      D845GBV_
System Type      X86-based PC
Processor      x86 Family 15 Model 1 Stepping 3 GenuineIntel ~1699 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date      Intel Corp. RG84510A.86A.0009.P04.0206051327, 6/5/2002
SMBIOS Version      2.3
Windows Directory      C:\WINDOWS
System Directory      C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device      \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale      United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer      Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name      ULTRAIII\RonW
Time Zone      Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory      768.00 MB
Available Physical Memory      397.72 MB
Total Virtual Memory      2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory      1.96 GB
Page File Space      1.83 GB
Page File      C:\pagefile.sys

great..thanks.. to go to VM is the consensus.. will do..

can you suggest what is the resources/cost I need to plan for?

1)do you recommend me to move access 2000/xp clone to VM right away, or only after a potential crash?

https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28378381/Intel-Active-Monitor-error-message.html is the warning we got few days ago.. hence this urge to get some planning.

1a)does the above solution mean a new Win7/8 machine right away?
1b)plus VM player? (is that a software that comes with new machines?)

2)is there a native tool for cloning? what is your recommendation for either one time use or once a month use?
3)right now, the service from Carbonite  is being used on another machine. we can either tap into it, or use another recommended service.. (if it makes easy to use one tool for clone and also backup files)

thanks Gary for that detailed answer.. yes, we might as well move to something better than what is setup right now.

so if my understanding is right from the expert guidance, the main need right now is VMware Player. With it, I can make a VM in the xp machine, and is possible to run the same VM in the same xp machine (or any PC, for that matter). am I missing any other part?

would you suggest if the xp machine described above capable of running VMware Player and then using the VM created?

in this sense, is VMware Player a cloner? or do I need a tool over this to do clone+backup?

thanks much again!

Wow... thanks very much for your kind efforts to kind and prove the case! that settles is :)

now, can you comment on the tool for clone+backup also please?

>>Or are you referring to how best to backup the virtual machine?
the above Gary..

the below is what I envision.. please correct If I missed anything.. specifically I am asking about point #6 from below:

1)Get VMPlayer (this is like a bare PC with nothing installed, right?)
2)Install WinXP on/inside  VMPlayer (this is like install OS for the first time on a machine, right?)
3)Install Access 2000(2)
4)Copy mdb/mde files.
5)save VMPlayer - this is the complete new 'machine'.
6)how to backup this machine? is it a clone process or just a regular backup process? what tools are best recommended for backup/clone of vmplayer machine?
7)like a regular PC or OS can be corrupted or crash, can a VM crash/get corrupted? how about the XP inside a VM, is it equally vulnerable to corrupt/crash as a regular PC install crash/corruption?

in one of the earlier posts you mentioned "This can then be trivially backed up by just copying the virtual machine directory." - is this a manual process you had suggested? can you elaborate this more please, since this will be my first time dealing with backups of VM.

thank you.

Gary- truly appreciate your help. i will get to work on the machine in concern tomorrow. if you dont mind, i'll keep the ticket open till i finish through.

one question: what abt licensing? can i use the same license for xp/access on both the original and also on VM?

Gary, wanted to update and need to close the post soon too.. it has been open a while.

the reason i am still waiting is the person in charge to get the CD into the PC will bring said will bring in 20th and hence waiting. i should probably close this ticket and open another if there are any issues later.

could you tell me this. when this person puts the CD in the PC, I have to install VM on the machine through teamviewer (as there is some distance between me and this PC). Do you envision any issues installing VM, then XP into through teamviewer, with the XP CD in the CD drive?

thanks again for your great help!

"...  Do you envision any issues installing VM, then XP into through teamviewer, with the XP CD in the CD drive? " ==>   Absolutely not.   In fact that's much easier than trying to do a remote install on "bare metal" ... since the PC will be running the whole time and you'll just be running VMware to do the installation.

If the install CD is in a physical drive; then you just run VMware Player; and in the settings for the VM you created assign the CD device to that drive ... then start the virtual machine (this is like "booting") -- and the XP installation will start as normal (as if it was a "real" machine).    One thing to remember:  Until you get XP installed and the VMware Tools installed, if you click inside the VM window the cursor will stay there until you press Ctrl-Alt to "release" it ... so you can move it into the "real" computer's display area.    Once VMware tools are installed, you can freely move the mouse in and out of the VM.

I'd install VMware Player on one of your machines and "play" with it a bit so you feel comfortable with the process -- just install ANY OS in a virtual machine that you happen to have install media for (you don't have to activate it ... just use it to get a feeling for how simple this process is).

thanks Gary.

I see a limitation.. any thoughts to overcome this, please:
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28391830/not-able-to-install-vmware-player.html