The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

FrankenMauser · March 10, 2020, 10:04 AM

The update to Win 10 on an existing Win 7 installation automatically set the non-compliant, incompatible programs up to be run in the equivalent of a Win 7 'virtual machine' environment -- or, as Microsoft refers to it, "compatibility mode".
Win 10 simulates the prior versions, in order to run applications that are not compatible with the current.
(Similar things were possible with Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1; there just weren't as many incompatible programs [except video games that required physical discs in CD/DVD drives] and a lot of applications had compatibility modes set automatically. So, most people didn't run into the headaches.)

Usually, you can get away with running the installer/setup program in the "compatibility mode" for its originally intended version of Windows. Sometimes, however, Win 10 doesn't give you the option, or still won't run the application correctly.

I've had a few Vista / Win 7-era applications fail to run correctly on Win 8, 8.1, and/or 10, no matter what I tried with a direct installation. However, installing on a removable drive (external HDD or flash memory) was not only successful, but allowed the application to be run on ALL of my computers, directly from the removable drive.

March 10, 2020, 10:04 AM	#15
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,427	The update to Win 10 on an existing Win 7 installation automatically set the non-compliant, incompatible programs up to be run in the equivalent of a Win 7 'virtual machine' environment -- or, as Microsoft refers to it, "compatibility mode". Win 10 simulates the prior versions, in order to run applications that are not compatible with the current. (Similar things were possible with Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1; there just weren't as many incompatible programs [except video games that required physical discs in CD/DVD drives] and a lot of applications had compatibility modes set automatically. So, most people didn't run into the headaches.) Usually, you can get away with running the installer/setup program in the "compatibility mode" for its originally intended version of Windows. Sometimes, however, Win 10 doesn't give you the option, or still won't run the application correctly. I've had a few Vista / Win 7-era applications fail to run correctly on Win 8, 8.1, and/or 10, no matter what I tried with a direct installation. However, installing on a removable drive (external HDD or flash memory) was not only successful, but allowed the application to be run on ALL of my computers, directly from the removable drive. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.