Some software is hard to give up -- that old accounting program that saves everything in its proprietary format; that cross-stitch pattern maker you downloaded on a slow dialup modem in 1998; and that awesome DOS-based Jill of the Jungle adventure game. But some of these ancient programs have trouble running under the latest versions of Windows. Here's how to run older programs on Windows 7...
Keep That Old Software Alive
DOS Games There are several ways to run older programs on Windows. First, there's Windows Compatibility Mode, a built-in function of Windows that "dumbs down" the operating system so it's compatible with older programs. If that won't work, you can try running older MS-DOS software in a Windows' MS-DOS command line window. There's also the "safe mode run" that may eliminate modern drivers and processes that interfere with older programs' operation.
Windows Compatibility mode is a feature of Windows 7 designed to help programs written for Windows XP run under Windows 7. It should not be used with older antivirus programs and other programs that work at the system level, as this may cause data loss or security vulnerabilities. Also, Windows Compatibility Mode will not work on programs that have a .msi extension. But your old clunker is a BAT, COM or EXE file, right? I thought so...
To activate Windows Compatibility Mode, click the Start button, then Control Panel, then Programs, and then click "Use an older program with this version of Windows." Follow the instructions given by the Program Compatibility Wizard.
You can manually adjust the compatibility settings of a program by right-clicking on its program icon - not the shortcut to the program that may be on your desktop, but the executable file's icon in its program folder. Right-click on the icon, then select Properties and then the Compatibility tab. Experiment with the various compatibility settings until your program works - or you give up. Sometimes a bit of Googling will help you find an online forum where someone has found the answer.
Running MS-DOS programs under Windows 7 is also possible, though not guaranteed to work for every program or every version of Windows 7. In particular, 64-bit Windows 7 will not run 16-bit MS-DOS applications; you will get an "unsupported 16-bit application" error message.
Sometimes, you can run a MS-DOS program in a Windows 7 command line window. Click Start, then Run. Type "cmd" into the Run window and up pops a black-and-white command-line screen. Navigate to the MS-DOS program's folder, type its executable file name and hit Enter.
But often, you will need a third-party utility such as DOSBox. Such programs are called "DOS emulators" because they create a protected "sandbox" in memory in which the functions of MS-DOS are imitated, or emulated. DOSBox is free and open source, so if you have the technical chops you can tweak it to emulate even older, more esoteric operating systems.
I should also mention Windows 7's XP Mode, which is a virtualized Windows XP environment that can run on your Win7 desktop. It's the geekiest of these solutions, but if you have a program that runs in XP, and you MUST have it in your Win7 environment, this will do the job. See my related article Windows 7 XP Mode for more info.
Running older programs under Windows 7 may cause system glitches such as freeze-ups, lost data, inability to print things, etc. Most of these bugs are harmless, but any old program that connects to the Internet should be used with extreme caution. Old programs often contain security holes that hackers can exploit, and modern antimalware programs may not protect older programs.
Keep That Old Software Alive
DOS Games There are several ways to run older programs on Windows. First, there's Windows Compatibility Mode, a built-in function of Windows that "dumbs down" the operating system so it's compatible with older programs. If that won't work, you can try running older MS-DOS software in a Windows' MS-DOS command line window. There's also the "safe mode run" that may eliminate modern drivers and processes that interfere with older programs' operation.
Windows Compatibility mode is a feature of Windows 7 designed to help programs written for Windows XP run under Windows 7. It should not be used with older antivirus programs and other programs that work at the system level, as this may cause data loss or security vulnerabilities. Also, Windows Compatibility Mode will not work on programs that have a .msi extension. But your old clunker is a BAT, COM or EXE file, right? I thought so...
To activate Windows Compatibility Mode, click the Start button, then Control Panel, then Programs, and then click "Use an older program with this version of Windows." Follow the instructions given by the Program Compatibility Wizard.
You can manually adjust the compatibility settings of a program by right-clicking on its program icon - not the shortcut to the program that may be on your desktop, but the executable file's icon in its program folder. Right-click on the icon, then select Properties and then the Compatibility tab. Experiment with the various compatibility settings until your program works - or you give up. Sometimes a bit of Googling will help you find an online forum where someone has found the answer.
Running MS-DOS programs under Windows 7 is also possible, though not guaranteed to work for every program or every version of Windows 7. In particular, 64-bit Windows 7 will not run 16-bit MS-DOS applications; you will get an "unsupported 16-bit application" error message.
Sometimes, you can run a MS-DOS program in a Windows 7 command line window. Click Start, then Run. Type "cmd" into the Run window and up pops a black-and-white command-line screen. Navigate to the MS-DOS program's folder, type its executable file name and hit Enter.
But often, you will need a third-party utility such as DOSBox. Such programs are called "DOS emulators" because they create a protected "sandbox" in memory in which the functions of MS-DOS are imitated, or emulated. DOSBox is free and open source, so if you have the technical chops you can tweak it to emulate even older, more esoteric operating systems.
I should also mention Windows 7's XP Mode, which is a virtualized Windows XP environment that can run on your Win7 desktop. It's the geekiest of these solutions, but if you have a program that runs in XP, and you MUST have it in your Win7 environment, this will do the job. See my related article Windows 7 XP Mode for more info.
Running older programs under Windows 7 may cause system glitches such as freeze-ups, lost data, inability to print things, etc. Most of these bugs are harmless, but any old program that connects to the Internet should be used with extreme caution. Old programs often contain security holes that hackers can exploit, and modern antimalware programs may not protect older programs.