Compatibility Mode in Vista
From Provider Wiki
The Compatibility Mode in Vista is designed to allow users to install and run programs that may not work in Vista, but had originally worked with older versions of Windows. This feature changes certain aspects of the environment a program is running in, eliminating some of the problems that may be preventing the program from running in Vista. As a warning, compatibility mode should not be used for antivirus, disk management, or similar software. Such use could result in data loss or security breaches as a result of running in an incompatible environment.
Compatibility Mode for Installation and Use
Depending on the program experiencing compatibility issues, there are different ways you may need to use this feature. For some programs, the installation may need to occur in Compatibility Mode. For others, installation may proceed as expected, but the program itself may need to be run in Compatibility Mode. Still others may need to be run in compatibility mode for installation and use. In the case of Remedy, for example, once installation is done in compatibility mode no further modification is needed, and Remedy will run normally. Following are the steps you need to follow to activate Compatibility Mode.
Enabling Compatibility Mode
- Right-click on the program or executable experiencing compatibility issues.
- If you have not yet installed the program, this will be the installation executable. If you have already installed the program, this will be the program's icon in the Start -> All Programs dialog.
- Click Properties
- In the following dialog box, select the Compatibility tab.
- In the Compatibility tab, select the check box for Run this program in compatibility mode for: and choose the version of Windows you would like Vista to simulate: Server 2003, XP SP2, 2000, NT 4.0 SP5, 98/Me, or 95.
- Note: The older the operating system simulation needed, the less likely the program will actually run properly. This feature will not work for getting older drivers to function.
- Some programs may need to be run with elevated privileges to function properly. If this is the case, select Run this program as an administrator under Privilege Level.
- Click OK to apply the changes.
At this point, the program or installation should run in Compatibility Mode. Please note that this is an unsupported configuration, and that the preferred solution is to use an updated version of the program.
