Compatibility of old programs with Windows 7

Solving program compatibility issues

Most programs created for previous Windows versions, also function successfully in Windows 7. However, some applications may not work correctly or may not start at all due to their incompatibility with the new operating system.

When compatibility problems arise, the Program Compatibility Assistant automatically opens, informs the user about the existing problem, recommends that you familiarize yourself with its solution on the Internet, automatically launches compatibility tools, and offers to launch the program based on their work.

When troubleshooting a compatibility issue, the Program Compatibility Assistant tries to resolve a security issue (which was greatly improved in Windows 7) or runs a simulation of a previous version of Windows in which the application runs correctly.

If serious problems are detected that make the program completely impossible to work in Windows 7, the assistant blocks it, and a corresponding message is also displayed. In this case, you will have to go to the developer’s website for a new version of the product that is compatible with Windows 7.

Activating Compatibility Assistant

The Program Compatibility Assistant only activates automatically when a problem is detected. However, for an application that is not working correctly, you can change the compatibility settings manually. To do this, click Start Control Panel System and Security, in the Action Center section click on the link Fix common computer problems, and then click on Run programs designed for previous versions. The same can be done by entering the StartWord compatibility menu in the search field and clicking on the desired link.

Following the wizard's instructions, indicate the problematic program and how to diagnose it.

One of the reasons for application incompatibility may be an attempt to old program run with administrator rights (refer to system folders and registry areas), which is unacceptable in Windows 7 when User Account Control is enabled (we will talk about it in one of the following chapters). From now on, for system security reasons, all programs are launched with the rights regular user. Since in previous versions Windows had no such restrictions; in the seventh version, when opening an application, a “legal” conflict may arise: the old program will not be able to work in normal mode user. Windows 7 allows you to bypass this limitation by running the problematic application with administrator rights.

Once you have decided on the compatibility parameters, check whether the program works correctly. If unsuccessful (if the compatibility issue message appears again), return to the wizard and try other settings. If, after reviewing all the compatibility options, you still cannot find the optimal one, all you have to do is try to launch the application despite the warnings about compatibility problems. In some cases, problematic programs operate quite successfully. If this attempt is unsuccessful, contact the program developer’s website to obtain new version. On this moment most manufacturers software made sure that latest versions their products were compatible with the new Microsoft operating system.

Please note that it is strongly recommended not to configure compatibility settings for outdated antiviruses and various system applications, as this may lead to data loss or reduced security.

Let's consider the operation of this mode on Windows example 10. This functionality is intended to help the user launch one or another software, usually outdated. Its principle of operation is to monitor programs launched by the user, and if the program has known problems with the installed version of Windows, the user will be notified about this. How to disable Windows Compatibility Mode if you don't need it - read on.

How to quickly disable Windows Compatibility Mode

It does not introduce any special difficulties into the operation of the system and programs. The reasons why you need to disable this mode can be assumed to be the following:

• Load reduction for older computers;
• Disabling “tracking” of running programs;
• Are you annoyed by compatibility mode pop-ups?

The Program Compatibility Assistant service is responsible for this feature in Windows. It controls the work of the “assistant”, which sends you messages about known problems.

How to disable compatibility mode

The instructions assume that you have an idea of ​​what it is Windows services and that thoughtlessly turning them off can lead to inoperability operating system.

Go to the following path: “Control Panel” - “Administration” - “Services”. Find the "Program Compatibility Assistant" service in the list. Right-click on it and go to its properties. Click the "Stop" button, and in the "Startup type" field, select "Disabled".

Finally, click “Apply” and “OK”.

How to disable Windows Compatibility Mode - video instructions

Compatibility existing applications with operating system Microsoft Windows Vista (and this year's Windows 7 operating system, which is built on the Windows Vista kernel) is one of the main problems that users may encounter when upgrading to a new version of the operating system. Despite the efforts made by Microsoft, some software manufacturers continue to use outdated operating system functions, incorrectly perform operations to check OS versions (more than 50% of all application launch failures), and do not follow recommendations for working with file system and, often, are not guided by advice on ensuring the correct operation of applications in new versions of the system. All this leads to the fact that in the operating room Microsoft system Windows Vista has more than 5,600 “system patches” (shims) to ensure the correct operation of applications from various manufacturers - from utilities from Chinese manufacturers to large products from well-known companies. In Windows 7, the number of “system patches” has increased - in the beta version of the new operating system there are more than 5,700 of them!

There are three main approaches to ensuring application compatibility: using the above-mentioned “system patches”, running the application in a virtual environment (terminal services or Microsoft use Application Virtualization) and, changing the application code so that it meets the requirements for correct operation in the operating system - for this purpose, use the application certification guidelines for obtaining the Works With Windows Vista and Certified for Windows Vista logos, as well as the corresponding test cases, which can be found on the website in the section dedicated to Windows Vista.

The key reasons for application incompatibility described above forced Microsoft company implement at the operating system kernel level a special mechanism known as Application Compatibility Infrastructure, whose task is to simulate the functioning of the OS in compatibility mode with previous versions and, in some cases, even introduce errors that depend on the functionality of third-party applications - even when these errors are detected and fixed in the current version of the OS.

Compatibility tools can be divided into three levels: operating system tools, a set of free utilities, “patches” created by Microsoft specialists.

Operating system tools

At the operating system level (both Windows Vista and Windows 7) there is a mechanism that allows applications to run in compatibility mode. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, this mechanism is available by right-clicking on the name of the executable file, selecting the command "Properties" and switching to the tab "Compatibility" in the dialog panel "Properties".

Compatibility tab Properties panel

The panel is divided into 3 groups - “Compatibility Mode”, “Settings” and “Privilege Level”. Options in the “Compatibility Mode” group allow you to run the application in compatibility mode with one of the following versions of the operating system Windows systems:

• Windows 95; Windows 98/Me; Windows NT4 (SP5); Windows 2000; Windows XP (SP2); Windows Server 2003 (SP1)

When you select compatibility mode for an application, a set of system “patches” is enabled that emulate the selected version of the operating system.

The options in the “Options” group allow you, without changing the runtime itself, to set some modes that will help the application function - number of colors, screen resolution, scaling in HiDPI mode, etc.

Finally, in cases where an application requires execution under an administrator account (either due to validation built directly into the application code or access to system administrative functions), the application can be run as an administrator.

All changes made in this dialog panel are stored in the system registry - in the branch HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrent VersionAppCompatFlagsLayers

In the example above, we used two compatibility tools - the so-called. “compatibility level” - in our case, Windows XP SP2 – and two system “patches” - DisableThemes And RunAsAdmin.

Windows 7 has a simpler interface that allows you to enable mechanisms to ensure application compatibility with current version operating system. This interface is called Program Compatibility Troubleshooter - it is called via Control Panel | Trouble shooting | Programs | Run programs made for previous versions of Windows or from command line team

%systemroot%/system32/msdt.exe –id PCWDiagnostic

When we call Program Compatibility Troubleshooter, we are taken to a set of screens that allow us to either select an application from a list, or specify a new application and, after answering a series of questions, try to resolve compatibility problems.

Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – select application

Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – problem categories

Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – selecting OS version

Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – application testing

Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – applying settings

As you can see from the illustrations above, Program Compatibility Troubleshooter allows you not only to select certain settings, but also to check the functionality of the application and, if necessary, return to the settings panel - this is the main difference this tool from directly using the Compatibility panel in Windows Vista.

Many application compatibility problems can be resolved by using settings at the Compatibility panel level in Windows Vista or the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter in Windows 7, but in some cases, “heavy artillery” may be required.

To be continued...

If you use the Windows 7 operating system in your work, then you may have already encountered a situation where, when you start an old program, it displays some error messages or does not start at all. And at the same time, you know for sure that earlier, when another version of Windows was installed on your computer (for example, Windows XP), this program worked fine for you.

What's the matter? And how can you get out of such a situation?

And the whole point is the incompatibility of the Windows 7 operating system and some programs written for earlier versions of Windows. Those. If we run any program in Windows 7 that was originally written for Windows XP, then such a program may not start, but may close on its own or produce errors during operation.

In this case, very different messages can be issued. For example, this:

...or maybe any other.

To fix such problems, Windows 7 provides the ability to run such programs in a special mode - compatibility mode with more earlier versions Windows.

Note!

- this mode can not use for antiviruses, as well as programs that work with disks or the registry (“tweakers”, “cleaners”, etc.), because this may damage the system or compromise its security.

- before using compatibility mode, check the update of the problematic program (or driver) on the manufacturer’s website, because there is always a possibility that a new version of the program has already been released forWindows 7.

- Compatibility mode is not a panacea, and in some cases its use does not give positive results.

So, to run the program in this mode, right-click its icon and select Fixing compatibility issues:

Press the button Starting the program...(1) and see what happens.

If the program starts, great! If not, then it’s too early to get upset! In any case, click the Next button (2) and in the next window select the desired option:

If the program has started, then click the item Yes, save these settings for the program and in the next window select the item Close Troubleshooter:

If the program did not start (or again generated an error), then select the item No, try using other parameters:

After this (depending on what checkboxes were checked), we will be asked to answer some questions (select options):

Press this button again and check the functionality of the program. If the program starts, then close the compatibility mode (as described above), and if not, then we can repeat this procedure several more times, using other parameters (until the program starts or until all possible options have been used).

So we tried to run the program using the Compatibility Wizard.
It should be noted that the same actions can be done in another way (manually). If you wish, you can try to do this.

To do this, right-click on the problematic program icon and select Properties, then go to the tab Compatibility:

Here after checking the box Run the program in compatibility mode for: from the drop-down list (1) you can select the operating system in which this program worked fine.

Below, if necessary, you can set Extra options screen (2):

Use 256 colors

This parameter limits the number of colors in the program to 256 (this number was used in older programs).

Use screen resolution 640×480

Run the program in a window with a resolution of 640x480. You can try turning on this option if the image in the program takes a very long time to appear (“slows”) or has unevenness.

Disable visuals

You can enable it if you have problems with the menu or program buttons.

Disable desktop composition

Disable transparency and others visual effects. Enable this if you have image problems or problems displaying windows.

Disable image scaling on high screen resolutions

Enable this option if there are problems with the font size or size of the program window.

You can check the box even lower Run this program as administrator(3) if the program is blocked by the control service accounts. This option will give the program full access to the system (some programs require this).

Button Change settings for all users will open another similar window, but the settings in it will be applied to all computer users. If you are the only user of your computer, then you do not need this button.

After all the settings, click Ok and try to run the program again.

That's all! I hope that you will now be able to run your favorite (but outdated) program on a modern operating system.

The point of operating a computer is to use software to solve certain problems. However, errors and malfunctions are possible due to a variety of reasons: software and hardware failures, lack of resources, destructive activity malware, software incompatibility, etc. Let's look at how to “treat” a computer in such situations.

Every user has at least once encountered the problem of software incompatibility. This situation may arise because software developers initially adapt their product to work in a specific environment (for example, Windows XP), which is current at the time the program is developed. When a new version of the operating system is released, the application is not ready to work in the new conditions. For example, many programs written for Windows XP refuse to work in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

In some cases, the problem is solved by downloading a new version of the program, adapted for the latest version of the operating system. But this is not always possible: the application may be removed from service, and therefore there will not be a new version. It is also sometimes necessary to use old version program because the new release does not meet user requirements. Other examples can be given, but the essence will not change: software incompatibility in many cases can become a serious problem.

Windows 7 implements a mechanism to ensure compatibility with applications designed to run on previous versions of the system. To switch to this mode, you need to right-click on the shortcut for launching the program whose compatibility you want to configure, and in the opened context menu select Properties. A window will open in which you should go to the Compatibility tab.

In this window, you need to select the Run this program in compatibility mode for: checkbox, and in the drop-down list below, select the version of the operating system in which this application works stably, then click OK or Apply.

If you cannot resolve the compatibility issue, you should select the Run this program as an administrator checkbox (administrator rights may be required to access some resources). As practice shows, in most cases the compatibility problem is successfully resolved in this way. If this does not help, then, in all likelihood, you will have to stop using this program in Windows 7.