How-To Geek Forums / Windows 7
Registry hack to trick windows
(9 posts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compatibility_mode It's not a hack.
You can MAKE it think it is running as XP or 2000 but thinking and being able to are TWO different things. W7 for instance has NO 16 bit support. Now if this is a 'program' problem, like it CHECKS the OS version and then bails if it isn't, I know MANY programs did this in the past, especially in DOS timeframe, and IF this is the case, you'd be OK. However if it isn't, I wouldn't bother.
Irv S.
@user23: you might ask your IT department what they did or used. They may have used some kind of third party application or as stated by hArLtRoN, they used a virtual machine.
@hArLtRoN: trouble with using a virtual machine is if the user needs the current video card. An example of that would be using an XP virtual machine to run older games that will not run properly on Windows 7.
@Stinger608 that is what a VM is, it is a 'machine' running inside a host. XP would be installed into the VM and ALL drivers with it. One could even place an icon on the desktop to run a specific program, which might be what the OP meant? In this specific case XP includes ALL the code needed to run a 16 bit program, and it goes and uses virtualized h/w 'hooks' to work the h/w.
The reason mainly that older games do not run on W7 or W8 is because they are either older Windows 16 bit or DOS games. Has nothing to do with the h/w.
Irv S.
user23, if your version of Windows 7 is either Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate, you can also try Windows XP Mode. Read here on how to install and setup.
