Will Works 7 work on a Windows 8 machine?

warmbells

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Hi,

I have just been given an Asus laptop as a present, it is running Windows 8. I have a copy of Works 7 from a previous machine and wondered if it would work on the Windows 8 laptop?

Thanks,

Gerald
 

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I would not even bother. It is not even a supported package by Microsoft. I would not be surprised if Microsoft did not incorporate something into the Windows 8 code to keep their discontinued software from being able to be installed. Works 7 was for Windows 98, Works 9 is the last one that could possibly work with Windows 8.

If you want a word processor, etc, but do not want to pay the cost for Office. Download Open Office from openoffice.org.
 

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Why not try it and see what happens? That way other people with t he same question will know he answer :)
\Make sure you create a new System Restore point forst or do an image backup, then if any problkems do occur, recovery is easy and quick.

Personally, I expect it will work okay.

Does Open Office / Libre Office support Works format files? If so, that is definitely the better way to go.
 

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Yes Ztruker. Open Office & Libre Office supports any format. The only time you run into issues, is when working with databases.
 

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    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
I don't have a copy of Works 7 handy but I have Works 9 so tried it and it installed without fuss and seems to run fine as well. I'm with Ztruker, give it a try and post back whether it works or not. I also suspect Works 7 will work fine.

broe23 - We're not talking about Apple here, MS has tried hard (and been mostly successful) to maintain backwards compatibility with older Windows software. I personally have encountered very few older programs that won't install/run on newer versions of Windows. Yes, there are exceptions but most older software works fine. Sometimes you need to run the program or it's installer in compatibility mode but most times you don't.
 

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strollin is right, backward compatibility is something that windows usually succeeds at. And yes, you should test it yourself.

A good idea might be to download and install the Application Compatibility Toolkit which is part of Windows ADK. The total download is 1 GB+ but you only need to check ACT and SQL Server Express which should amount to around 200-300 MB. Here is the link : Download Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 8.1 Update from Official Microsoft Download Center
It includes fixes to a lot of applications, and you can create your own.
More information at : Windows 8.1 Application Compatibility - Tools, Help, Shim | TechNet
 

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Strollin, Apple has kept backwards compatibility. Microsoft has not for older software & hardware devices. Works 7 will end up not installing. 9 does, because it is built for the later OS's. But personally I would dump works and go with one of the free options I listed, that are out there.

Why people want to use older unsupported software is beyond me. Open Office & Libre Office have no problems opening up the old works file formats.
 

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    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
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    12GB
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    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
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    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
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    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
While I agree with you that using more modern software is a better approach, I completely disagree with your "guess" that Works 7 absolutely will not work, especially since you haven't provided any reasoning other than your assertion that "I would not be surprised if Microsoft did not incorporate something into the Windows 8 code to keep their discontinued software from being able to be installed."

I did some research on Works 7 and it was originally released for Win 98 so you may actually be right that it won't work, depending on whether or not Warmbells new laptop is running 64-bit Win 8 or 32-bit Win 8. This is because 64-bit Win 8 doesn't support running 16-bit apps while 32-bit does. It wouldn't be based on your unsupported conspiracy theory.

As to your wondering why anyone would want to run older, unsupported software, it's possible that warmbells has been using Works for many years and is very comfortable with it, it does what he wants/needs and he does not want to learn how to accomplish what he wants/needs in some newer, more complex software package. It's not always about money, the fact that OpenOffice and LibreOffice are free to download and use may have no bearing on the decision.
 

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iOS is also based on open source.

Newer, updated software is nice, but some people simply can't afford new software. And why buy new if one enjoys the old even without added features.

Not at 100%, but MS solved most of backwards compatibility with Compatibility Mode tool. It's worth a "free" try at least.

Open Office & Libre Office are not all they're cracked up to be since MS Office is so very popular. Yes, they work if writing new files, but most times they don't open Office files properly because they don't support all the features. Then if one sends a solely-created Open Office & Libre Office file to another that only has MS Office it may not open properly if at all.
 

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  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
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    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
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    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
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    Realtek HD
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    Logitech M525
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    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
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    Google Chrome
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    None needed. It is Linux.
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    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
It also shows that 8 out of 11 people that voted said it WAS compatible.So almost 3X as many people found it compatible as not.

This all seems moot now since we haven't heard from the OP since the initial post.

As for whether the alternatives are easier to use or learn, don't you agree that's rather subjective?
 

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    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
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