6.12 Running Pre-XP Programs


As any Windows 2000 user can tell you, stability has its price. For years , people who ran Windows 2000 enjoyed far fewer system crashes than Windows Me people did ”but they were limited to a much smaller set of compatible programs. (Barney the Dinosaur CDs, for example, simply wouldn't run on Windows 2000.)

Although it's based on Windows 2000, Windows XP isn't quite as limiting to your software library. Microsoft has pulled every trick in the book to make older, pre “Windows XP programs run successfully. For example:

6.12.1 16-Bit Programs

A 16-bit program is one that's so old, it was written when Windows 3.1 roamed the earth and George Bush Sr. was president. (Programs written for Windows 95 and later are known as 32-bit programs.)

Amazingly enough, even Windows XP can run most of these programs. It does so in a kind of software simulator ”a DOS-and-Windows 3.1 PC impersonation called a virtual machine.

As a result, these programs don't run very fast, they don't understand the long filenames of the modern-day Windows, and they may crash whenever they try to "speak" directly to certain components of your hardware (the simulator stands in their way, in the name of keeping Windows XP stable). Furthermore, if just one of your 16-bit programs crashes, all of them crash, because they all live in the same memory bubble.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION
This File Is in Use

Hey, I tried to uninstall a program using Add or Remove Programs, like you said. But during the process, I got this scary message saying that one of the deleted program's files is also needed by other programs. It asked me if I was sure I wanted to delete it! Heck, I wouldn't have the faintest idea. What should I do?

Don't delete the file. Leaving it behind does no harm, but deleting it might render one of your other applications non-runnable.


Even so, it's impressive that they run at all, ten years later.

6.12.2 DOS Programs

These programs are 16-bit programs, too, and therefore they run just fine in Windows XP, even though DOS no longer lurks beneath the operating system.

To open the black, empty DOS window that's familiar to longtime PC users, choose Start All Programs Accessories Command Prompt. (See Section 7.1.7 for more on this program.)

6.12.3 Programs Written for Windows 95, 2000, Etc.

In principle, programs that were written for recent versions of Windows should run fine in Windows XP, even if they don't specifically say so. Unfortunately, some of them contain software code that deliberately sniffs around to find out what Windows version you have. Because these programs were written before Windows XP existed, these programs (or even their installer programs) may say, in effect, "Windows what?" ”and refuse to run.

Microsoft is way ahead of them on this one. The Properties box of every program (or program shortcut) now offers you the opportunity to fool such programs into believing that they're running on a Windows 95 machine, Windows 2000 machine, or whatever. Figure 6-17 details the process.

Figure 6-17. If you've successfully installed an older program that doesn't seem to work in Windows XP, fnd its application icon as described in Which One's the Program?. Right-click the icon and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. In the Properties dialog box, click the Compatibility tab, turn on "Run this program in compatibility mode for," and then, using the drop-down menu of past Windows versions, choose the version you suspect will make your program happiest. When you click OK, Windows XP will try to fake out the program, making it run. Your dialog box may differ slightly from the one you see here, depending on the program you are trying to run.
figs/06fig17.gif

GEM IN THE ROUGH
Not Your Father's Keyboard

Keyboards built especially for using Windows contain some extra keys on the bottom row:

  • On the left, between the Ctrl and Alt keys, you may find a key bearing the Windows logo ( figs/diamond_icon.gif ). No, this isn't just a tiny Microsoft advertising moment; you can press this key to open the Start menu without having to use the mouse. (On desktop PCs, the Windows key is usually on the bottom row; on laptops, it's sometimes at the top of the keyboard.)

  • On the right, you may find a duplicate Windows key, as well as a key whose icon depicts a tiny menu, complete with a microscopic cursor pointing to a command. Press this key to simulate a right-click at the current location of your cursor.

Even better, the Windows logo key offers a number of useful functions when you press it in conjunction with other keys. For example:

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +D hides or shows all of your application windows (ideal for jumping to the desktop for a bit of housekeeping).

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +E opens the My Computer window in Windows Explorer view (Section 4.1.4).

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +F opens the Search window (Section 2.8).

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +Ctrl+F opens the Search ”Computers window.

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +M minimizes all open windows, revealing the desktop. (Windows key+D is better, however, since the same keystroke also returns the windows.)

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +Shift+M restores all minimized windows.

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +R opens the Run command (see Section 2.7).

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +V turns your speaker on and off.

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +Tab switches through all the application buttons on the taskbar.

  • figs/diamond_icon.gif +Break opens the System Properties dialog box.


Despite the fact that this sneaky trick often works, a few footnotes are in order:

  • You're much better off securing an updated version of the program, if it's available. Check the program's Web site to see if an XP-compatibility update is available.

  • Don't try this trick with utilities like virus checkers, backup programs, CD burning software, and hard drive utilities. Installing older versions of these with Windows XP is asking for disaster.

  • If the program you're trying to run is on a CD or on a hard drive elsewhere on the network, you won't be able to change its properties using the steps described in Figure 6-17. Instead, choose Start All Programs Accessories Program Compatibility Wizard. A series of wizard screens explains the concept of compatibility-fooling, and then lets you choose the program you'd like to fool.



Windows XP Pro. The Missing Manual
Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596008988
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 230

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