Windows 7: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7?
- 8/28/09 1:18 PM
You should be able to run XP programs in Windows 7...
by darrenforster99 - 8/25/09 2:12 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In Windows 7 you should be able to run Windows XP programs.
Most programs should continue to run just fine, as they currently do in Vista. I run Vista 64-bit and most of my old XP programs run fine in it with no need to modify things (even Railroad Tycoon 3 and that was made 2 years before Vista even existed).
As for Windows 7 it is probably going to be the same deal, I can't say for certain as I haven't used Windows 7 yet.
However if your program doesn't work in Windows 7 you can always enable an emulation mode, this option is also available in Vista (and I think was even in XP to get old '95 programs running). Most of the time you probably wont need to use this, as you don't in Windows XP (bet you didn't even know XP could emulate '95?
To emulate an older OS all you do is right click on the shortcut to the program or the item on the Start Menu and click properties see image below:-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15195655@N02/3855633394/
Then in the properties box click the Compatibility tab.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15195655@N02/3854843361/
Tick the box "Run this program in compatibility mode for"
and then select the correct OS from the list.
Most of the time this allows Windows to behave just like the old OS, there are a few other settings you can also change in their, like colour settings and disabling visual themes as well, but only play around with these if your really struggling to get things to work, most of the time Windows will automatically apply the other settings.
running xp programs in win7
by rx8993 - 8/25/09 12:31 PM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i heard too about some virtualization so that you can run xp programs in 7... Thing is i curently have vista x64 and didnt bump into any program that i cant run from xp exept those who cant run on x64 OS, and i dont think there will be that much difference between vista and 7.
Dual boot with two drives
by Rick75230 - 8/28/09 7:01 PM In reply to: running xp programs in win7 by rx8993As the other posters have said, if the program will run under Vista it will probably work under Windows 7.
In some cases you may need a slight workaround. For instance, I have Acrobat Standard ver 6 (2003). It *pretty much* works under Vista. However, Acrobat installs a virtual PDF printer and when you install version 6 on Vista it says straight out that there are known incompatibilities and Adobe is not going to issue an update. (Ver. 9 is current.) Basically, "print to PDF" doesn't work. So I found a free virtual printer and installed that. The scanning features, etc., that I can't get free still work under version 6.
However, if there is a program that you have to run that just won't work under Windows 7, there is another trick: move the hard disk from the old computer to the new one. All modern PC's now let you select during boot-up which physical disk to boot from. Right now I have one computer with a full installation of XP Home on one disk and XP Pro on another disk. (I got the Home first. The Pro is a version that will not install if the disk already has a Windows installation.) During boot-up you just go into Setup and select whether HDD-0 or HDD-1 is the first boot drive. Because XP and Vista/Win 7 can read each other's files, etc., it's not a big deal.
Of course, if you need to cut and paste it can be a problem. But realistically, it will be years before most programs that work under Windows 7 won't also work under XP, so if you really DO need the XP program and it won't run under Win 7, you can probably install the OTHER program (the one you'll copy/paste to/from) on both the Win 7 boot drive and the XP boot drive and then just run it under XP when using the legacy program.
transferring old applications
by pbtla - 8/28/09 6:59 PM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been trying to get an answer to this in lots of places, but I haven't found any answers. I can't believe that I'm the only person with this question, tho. Here it is -- how (if at all) can I transfer my existing windows XP programs (embedded now in my "windows.old" folder) to work again in an XP mode installation under windows 7? I know that I can just go back to the old installation files or disks and reinstall the applications in Windows 7, and I've done that with a lot of things, with pretty good results (sometimes needing "compatibility mode" adjustments, but often not even that. But there are a lot of old utilities and minor programs that I don't even have installation files for anywhere, not to mention all the supporting stuff, tied up in the windows.old folder. There's several years worth of experience tied up there, and it seems strange that the only answer is that I've got to throw it all out and start again, even when I have the XP interface through the virtual interface. Obviously, I can't just drag-and-drop from windows-old to the new Program Files directory, since then there is nothing in the current registry that allows me to run the applications (the same goes for trying to run a program directly out of the windows.old/program files directory, except for a few programs that apparently weren't dependent on anything in the Registry to run. And I don't have any idea where the registry might be for a virtual XP mode installation! I did run a full registry backup under XP just before the upgrade to windows 7 RC, so I do potentially have the ability to import registry entries from that into the current registry, either in 7 or XP mode -- but finding out what needs to be imported is a daunting task.
Anyway, is there any solution to this, or am I simply doomed to reinstalling everything one damn program at a time, losing all the setups and settings that I've accumulated as well as anything where I don't have the disks -- or is there some way I can use this great mass of stuff in a reasonable way?
I await the guidance of the community with bated breath...thanks!
JD
XP-Vista-7
by dangnad1 - 8/28/09 7:37 PM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Substitute "Vista" for "7" in the question. For the resulting question, why was Vista trashed for 2½ years, even resulting in lawsuits? Could you advice-givers have such subjective bias that you can't think straight? Yeah, I think so.
W7 x86 should work fine W7 x64 expect some issues
by Sheitan86 - 8/29/09 1:18 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've three PCs working with W7 two of them are running W7 x86 and all is working fine. I've not found any program that can't be run using the XP compatibility mode (I'm not talking about Windows XP mode but XP compatibility mode which is available on ANY W7 edition).
That's another story with the computer running the x64 flavour.
The key point is that the x64 flavour works the same way the x86 does, it runs an thunking layer to allow running x86 32 bits apps, the same thing the x86 flavour does to allow running x86 16 bits apps.
If you have any old 16 bits app IT WON'T RUN XITH THE x64 FLAVOUR OF W7 (it did not run anyway with both the XP and Vista x64 falvours).
"Can I run on windows 7"YES WORK GREAT!
by julesov - 8/29/09 1:53 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Actully i'm satisfaied on Windows 7,manny programs work perfect,drivers also if you have one special and W7,doesn't have.If you really have problems,check drivers stuff for Vista.Don't worry about.You must to have some hardware in your PC,I recomended 2Gb of RAM,and Dual processors.It's an operation system verry stable,some bugs have fixed,also work registry key from XP.Good luck and expect finall version of this W7.
Re: "Can I run on windows 7" YES WORK GREAT!
by JessicaD42 - 9/8/09 5:10 PM In reply to: "Can I run on windows 7"YES WORK GREAT! by julesovJulesov,
Thank you for evaluating Windows 7 and it's great to hear that you are enjoying your experience so much! If you are planning on purchasing Windows 7 when it is released it may be helpful to know you don't have to wait until October to reserve your copy of Win 7! You can pre-order your copy of Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional today. For more information, see the Windows 7 Pre-Order offer page here: http://tinyurl.com/nldc8p
Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team
Give it a try
by LucJs - 8/31/09 4:29 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I can't speak for your programs, but I'm still running my good old Office 95 suite on my Vista home PC. During installation I got a message that it wouldn't work, ignored it an it does work!
Same for Nero CD burner, it gives a message that there are known compatibility issues but so far, I have't encountered on of those "issues".
So I'd give it a try if I were you.
Sun Virtual Box
by JoeEH - 9/4/09 10:56 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The free Sun Virtual Box handles running XP alongside your Vista installation, and I'm guessing that it will also work for Windows 7.
BTW, it is running on a 64-bit Vista installation.
Of course, you do need you XP installation materials and license key.
In my case I had to go way back to install an even earlier version of Windows (98) because everything I had in between were upgrades. I then upgraded to WinMe and finally XP. It took some time, but it works.
XP Programs on Windows 7
by pauly1651 - 10/3/09 9:33 AM In reply to: Can I run my current Windows XP software programs on Windows 7? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
So far, I have found that I can run anything on Windows 7 32 Bit, that I could run on Windows XP Home, or professional 32 Bit. This is not the case when running Windows 7 64 Bit; some XP programs work, some do not, it is a 64 Bit issue, that some software companys have not bothered to resolve, even after all the issues that have cropped up since 64 Bit Vista, and XP have been available, and pre-installed on some new machines.
Another very important consideration is to make sure you get a new machine that has a processor that has 64 Bit support, and that it has Virtualization Technology. Also, be sure to have a least 2 GB of DDR2 or DDR3 RAM,using THE fastest RAM speed available for your PC, a 7200 RPM hard drive, etc. In other words, if you are going to buy a new PC, with Windows 7, (especially with a 64 Bit operating system) than get THE newest technologies, and the fastest, V.T. CPU you can afford.
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