Solved Older software compatibility with W8

cytherian

Member
Member
Messages
39
Location
Hoboken, NJ
Is W8 sophisticated enough to be able to run software that was created to work in Vista and W7, or will there be compatibility issues? I would expect Office 2003 to still work on W8, but for 3rd parties like Adobe software, I wonder...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
So far, everything I run seems to work just fine.

Even games, now that I've sorted the openGL issues.

One notable exception was SIW, but it WAS an
older version to begin with.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Um, yes, sorry about that.

Brink is correct.

Some progs do need to be run/installed using Compatibility Mode.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Good tips... thanks Brink. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built: Atomic City Computer
    CPU
    AMD A4-4000 3.0/3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI FM2-A55M-E33
    Memory
    8BG of Corsair DDR3 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    On Board
    Sound Card
    On Boardi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 27" VA2703
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB, Crucial 120Gb SSD
    Case
    Thermaltake
    Cooling
    N/A
    Keyboard
    Corsair Raptor K40
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic Optical
    Internet Speed
    56Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, Chrome and Opera
    Antivirus
    Micro Soft Defender
    Other Info
    Getting this on May 1st:
    AMD A8-6600K
Thanks for your testimony, Kat. And thanks Brink for that compatibility list. Really useful. I guess it is to be taken with a "grain of salt", as some users will report incompatibility when there might be other factors unique to their system. But as long as you see at least a good 50% or more voting compatible, that's a good sign.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
A policy I would suggest to Microsoft is that when an OS version "goes off support" that they provide a downloadble "virtual machine version" for the current "still on support" OS's. The inability to run legacy software is a thing that holds many people back from upgrading to a new OS, including me. I have programs that I absolutely HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RUN on some of the machines that I use, so I will stick with an "off support" version just to be able to run that software. The notion of having to "buy a license" to the older version, install it separately, fight with getting a virtual machine set up correctly, etc. etc. is just too much hassle (and often doesn't work).

I'm fighting exactly that right now. I have a PC that is the controller for a CAM machine. Said PC just "croaked", and I need a new machine quickly. The only ones available quickly are loaded with Windows 8. I have spent much of the past two days fighting to get the software to run. FAR better to simply be able to go to "compatibility mode", choose "7", "Vista", "XP", "Millenium" (well, maybe not Millenium), "98" or even "3.1 and DOS", and then load my software and KNOW that it will run on the new machine.

I suspect the result of such a policy would be a much faster hardware AND software upgrade cycle.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Wimdows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion All-in-One
Back
Top