software installation
- Thread starter vandy80
- Start date
Often when a software is written for NT 5.0 even and not 2000 along with the older 9X Windows family prior to ME the software is too outdated for an installer to recognise the current OS. With some old programs that installed to dos you could simply copy the unpacked files in the installation directory onto an XP drive and use a utility like DosBox to mount a virtual dos drive in a window and run the program there. You would have to first install the software to a machine running one of the older versions and drag the entire directory into a window for a writing software. Then copy that onto the XP system you are running. It takes a little work to try this out. The likelihood of that method seeing good results however is next to none with many older programs.
magicman
VIP Member
What's the software you're trying to install? Most software (broadly speaking) has a version designed for XP. Or else you could try the Program Compatibility Wizard.
The compatibilty mode is generally set after the installation by right clicking on the desktop shortcut and selecting the third tab(compatibility) and checking the first item in order to drop the menu of choices(95, 98/ME, NT with Service Pack 5, and 2000). The problem here is getting the installer to run on XP. If the compatibilty tool allows the installer to run then setting the compatibility mode with a right click on the shortcut afterwards or creating a shortcut in order to set the mode would allow you to run it. The help+support instructions there only refer to the Start menu which would work if the installer creates a link there in the program group. Some older programs only create a desktop icon to click on. What type of program are you trying to install there?