As with other versions of Windows prior to Windows 8, you can run a program in compatibility mode to run older programs written for older versions of Windows on Windows 8.
Windows 8 also has a new tool called Compatibility Troubleshooter to help you run your old program correctly in Windows 8.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the Compatibility Mode options in Windows 8. If you are using a different version of Windows, see my other post on Using Compatibility Mode in Windows 7 and Windows 10.
Use compatibility mode in Windows 8
First, you need to right-click on the EXE file and select Properties. If you installed the program, it will be located either in C: Program Files, C: Program Files (x86), or in the AppData folder.
You can get to the AppData folder by opening the Run dialog and typing% appdata%.
For example, I installed Google Talk on Windows 8 and was surprised to find that it is not in the Program Files folder. Instead, it was located in the AppData folder, which is located at
C: Users UserName AppData Roaming
By default, you do not see this folder because it is marked as system folder. You can go to “Folder and Search Options” from Explorer and show it, but I find it easier to just type it into the launch dialog and open it. Once you find it, right-click and select Properties.
Then go to the Compatibility tab as shown below.
To run this program for a different version of Windows, select the Run this program in compatibility mode for check box and select from the list. Everything from Windows 95 and 98 to Windows 7 is available to you.
In the “Settings” section, you can choose to run the program in reduced color mode, in a low resolution 640×480, or disable scaling.
In the “Privileges” section, you can also run the program as an administrator if it has problems with permissions. You can always use this technique to always run the program in administrator mode.
Finally, you can click the Change Settings for All Users button so that Compatibility Mode settings apply to all users on the system, not just the current user. If you don’t know what to change, or don’t want to do it manually, you can always click the Run Compatibility Troubleshooter button.
It will detect any problems and prompt you to try the recommended settings or a troubleshooter.
If you click on “Troubleshoot the program”, it will ask you what problems you noticed with the program when it starts up in Windows 8:
Basically, the first option allows you to select a different version of Windows, the second option changes the display settings, and the third option runs the program as administrator.
If you select “I do not see my problem in the list”, you will see which version of Windows it worked with before. If you click Don’t Know Here, you will receive a list of the exact error messages.
After you click on any of the problems, it will automatically select a set of settings for the operating system, display and permissions to run the program and test it. Overall, running older programs in Windows 8 is very similar to Windows 7 and even easier to use. Enjoy!
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