IN THIS CHAPTER
Recognizing old programs to avoid
Installing incompatible programs
Checking for compatibility
Using DOS commands in Windows 8.1
You can run almost any program that's installed on your computer just by clicking its tile on the Windows 8.1 Start screen. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Chief among the list of exceptions are old programs that were originally written to work with earlier versions of Windows. Or, even worse, programs that were written to run on DOS.
That's not to say Windows can't run old programs. Most of the time, it can run an older program as is, without any changes at all on your part. This is especially true if the program was written for Windows XP or later versions of Windows. So, before you assume that you have to do something to try to get an older program to run, try running the program normally. If it runs, you're done. If it won't run, then this is the chapter you need to (hopefully) get the program to run.
A couple types of programs could be considered old in the context of this chapter:
What does “16-bit” mean? Three classes of Windows applications exist: 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit. The number of bits indicates the maximum amount of addressable memory supported by the program. Table 29.1 indicates the differences.
Table 29-1 Processor Technology and Directly Addressable Memory
Technology |
Meaning |
Memory Addresses |
16-bit |
216 |
65,536 |
32-bit |
232 |
4,294,967,296 |
64-bit |
264 |
18,446,744,073,709,600,000 |
Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP were all originally 32-bit operating systems. Windows XP was also offered in a 64-bit edition. Windows 98 and earlier were 16-bit operating systems. Windows Vista and Windows 7 were offered in two versions, 32-bit and 64-bit. Likewise, Windows 8/8.1 is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Suffice it to say, the higher the bits, the more capable the operating system. For the purposes of this chapter, the key point is that you can run a program on the OS it was designed for or (possibly) on a later version, but you can't go backward. For example, you can run a 32-bit application on a 64-bit OS, but you can't run a 64-bit program on a 32-bit OS.
Let's make a distinction between DOS programs and DOS commands that you can run in Windows 8.1. DOS programs are programs that were written specifically to run on a DOS without (and prior to) Windows. It's so unlikely that you would want to run an old DOS program on Windows 8.1 that we don't even cover the topic in this chapter (although we do have a copy of Zork lying around somewhere that would be fun to play again . . . ). That doesn't mean you can't run that DOS program under Windows 8.1 — many of them will run without any major problems.
DOS commands are developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Windows package, instead of being developed and marketed by third parties. We do cover DOS commands to some degree later in this chapter.
Windows 8.1 is a revision of the Windows 7 operating system, so almost all Windows 7 programs should have no problems running on Windows 8.1. Likewise, many of your basic Windows Vista and Windows XP application programs will work. But you should validate compatibility for other kinds of programs before attempting to run them under Windows 8.1. These include
Read Chapter 6 on how to deal with malicious software that attacks your computer.
To install an older program, first try installing it normally. For example, if it's on a CD, insert the CD and wait for the installation program to appear automatically. If nothing starts automatically, open your root folder (open File Explorer and choose the root folder or This PC). Then click the icon to open the drive that contains the installation disc and double-click the setup launcher program (typically setup.exe, setup, install.exe, or install). If Windows 8.1 determines that the program is older, you'll see the Program Compatibility Assistant.
If you believe that the program installed normally, just click the option that indicates that the program installed properly. Otherwise, click the option that specifies compatibility mode. Windows 8.1 assigns some compatibility mode attributes to the program and tries the installation again. With any luck, the second try will do the trick.
If you still have problems, here are some things to consider:
See Chapter 32 for details on Task Manager.
If all else fails, contact the program publisher (if it's still in business) or look for information about that program online. Only the program publisher really knows if the program will even run in Windows 8.1 and what's required to get it to run.
To check out your installed applications and devices before upgrading to Windows 8.1 visit the program compatibility web page at Microsoft at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/get-apps-devices-working
.
Installing a program is one thing; getting it to run after it's installed is another. If an installed program won't start or isn't working right, try using the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter on it.
The Program Compatibility Troubleshooter provides a step-by-step means of configuring and testing an older program so that it will run in Windows 8.1. Before you bother to use it, try running the installed program without it. You could discover that the program runs just fine without any compatibility settings and save yourself quite a bit of trouble.
If you're sure an installed program isn't running, or is not running correctly, follow these steps to start the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter:
Complete the wizard by selecting options that relate to the problems you're having with the program.
The process is mostly trial and error. If the program runs when you finish the wizard, great. Otherwise you can run it again to try some different settings until you can get the program to work right.
Here are some general guidelines to help you get your programs running:
There's no guarantee that the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter will make the program run. Some programs are so old and so far removed from modern computing capabilities that there's just no way to force them to run. In those cases, the only hope is to contact the program publisher or search online to see if they have any solutions or a compatible version of the program.
The Program Compatibility Wizard provides an easy way to choose and test settings for program compatibility. Those settings are stored on the Compatibility tab of the program file's properties sheet. You can use the wizard to change compatibility settings, or you change settings manually right in the properties sheet by following these steps:
The compatibility settings stick to the program so you can just start the program normally, from the All Programs menu, at any time. Just keep in mind that there's no guarantee you'll be able to force all programs to run in Windows 8.1.
If you've used personal computers since the DOS days, you might still want to enter the occasional DOS command. DOS commands will let you do things you can't really do in Windows. For example, in those rare instances where you can't delete a file in Windows, using a DOS erase
or del
command with the /F
switch will often do the trick. You can use the DOS dir
command to print filenames from a folder to paper or a text file.
There is one big catch to using commands in Windows 8.1. User Account Control (UAC) may prevent you from doing things you'd otherwise take for granted. You can get around many of those by using the Run as Administrator option to open the command prompt. Here are two different ways to open the Command Prompt window:
The Command Prompt window that opens is much like DOS. By default, you're taken to the home directory for your user account. But you can navigate around using the DOS cd
command. For example, enter cd.. to go to the parent directory, or cd “program files” to go to the Program Files folders.
To see a list of all supported commands, enter help at the command prompt. For the syntax of a command, type the command followed by /?. For example, entering dir /? displays the Help for the dir
command.
You can copy and paste a lengthy pathname to a cd
command to simplify opening that folder in a DOS window. In Windows, open the folder in File Explorer, highlight the path in the address bar as in Figure 29.7, and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
In the Command Prompt window, type cd and a space. Then right-click the Command Prompt window and choose Paste. Press Enter, and you'll be in that folder.
Use the dir
command with various switches to view, or optionally print, all the filenames in a folder and also its subfolders if you like. For example, let's say you navigate to the Music folder for your account (C:UsersyourUserNameMusic
). From that folder, entering dir /s lists all file and folder names for all artists, albums, and songs in your Music folder.
You can use the /b
, /n
, and /w
switches to choose how you want the information displayed. For example, entering dir /s /w. shows filenames in the wide format.
To send dir
output directly to the printer, try dir /s /w > prn
. You're probably better off sending the output to a text file rather than straight to the printer. That way you can open and edit the text file before you print or even import it into Excel or Access to make it more like tabular data. To send output to a file, end the command with a filename (or path and filename). For example, entering the following from the Music folder puts the output listing in a file named MyMusic.txt
in the Music folder.
dir /s /w >MyMusic.txt
You can then open that MyMusic.txt
file with any text editor or word processor to clean it up. If you have database management skills, you can import the data to Access or a similar program and treat it like any other tabular data.
To exit the Command Prompt window, enter the exit
command or just close the window.
This chapter has focused on techniques for getting older programs to work in Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 offers several tools to help with compatibility issues. Whether you have any luck with them depends on how old and how incompatible the program is. Most of your programs will run fine under Windows 8.1. A few won't, until you upgrade to the Windows 8.1 version, but those should be few and far between. The main points are as follows: