Running Old and Older Programs or Games on Vista
Windows Vista is very much different from Windows XP in kernel design, graphics, security control, and many other aspects. Although most programs previously works properly in XP should run smoothly in Vista too. However, some old programs or older applications may have compatibility problems and issues when running in Vista, making the program unable to run, distort display, cannot right click and etc. In this case, Program Compatibility mode can come to a rescue.
Windows Vista offers Program Compatibility mode that allows users to run programs not compatible or not compliant with Windows Vista, such as those written specifically for earlier versions of Windows or using features that no longer exists.
To run a program or executable in Vista compatibility mode, follow theses steps:
- Right click on the .exe or .com executable file for the program that needs to be run in compatible mode. It’s also possible to right click on the shortcut to the program instead of actual executable itself, which is more accessible in desktop, Quick Launch bar or Start Menu.
- On the right click contextual menu, select Properties.
- Click on the Compatibility tab.
- In “Compatibility mode” section, check the Run this program in compatibility mode for: option’s checkbox. Then, in the drop down list, select the operating system that you want Vista to emulate in the compatibility mode. In most cases, Windows XP (Service Pack 2) will work.
- In some really old programs, there may be a need to configure other settings if simple XP compatibility mode doesn’t work. The additional settings mainly related to display issues. Under the “Settings” section, tick any additional settings such as Disable Visual Themes and Disable Desktop Composition check boxes to try if the program now run properly.
- Click OK button.
Program Compatibility mode is not the guarantee way to make old programs work in Vista. It’s wise to ensure that an application is compliant and certified to support Vista before commit a purchase. Always check for updates with developers as there may upgrades available for Vista. And also, Program Compatibility mode feature should not be used with certain applications such as anti-virus, disk management utilities, or system utilities as it may cause data loss.
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April 30th, 2009 21:55
I’ve tried all that, but Ignition (A racing game from 1997-1998 or something) won’t still work on my Vista… and I know some other guy said it worked on his, and we’ve got the same type of vista.
Got any ideas of what I can do?
February 11th, 2009 16:06
Run in compatability mode is usually worthless because …SAMPLE : I had and old win98 webcam and tried to install it in XP. No xp drivers were ever made cause the company went out of business. So the install program would ERROR saying wrong version of windows and halt install. So I pulled a Harddrive from a 98 machine with the working cam software already installed drivers and all and set it as a slave. Still would not work as dll’s reported wrong ver.also. And compat mode on the exe. failed and was useless!(XP also has that compatibility mode.)So maybe it will only works for a prog that is complete in the one exe file only (meaning it does not have to install dll and othe system files, etc.).