Vista Program Compatibility

I'm going to take a guess and bet that most of you who have upgraded to Windows Vista are having a little trouble getting your older programs to work. Am I right? You know, programs that worked fine for you with Windows XP (or even older versions of Windows) just don't work so well anymore. So, is there anything you can do to get the programs you love back up and running with your new Vista PC?

Well, as a matter of fact, there is! Microsoft is good at making sure all of that is covered. They have integrated what is called a Program Compatibility Wizard into Vista. So, if you have an older program that is not working with the new operating system, you can run it through this wizard to simulate earlier versions of Windows to try and get it to work again. To get to the wizard, just go to Start, Control Panel and click on Programs. Next, click on the option that says "Use an older program with this version of Windows" and the wizard will then open.

You can then just go through the steps and see if the program will actually work with Vista. Now, most of the programs that worked with XP also work with Vista, but you may have some trouble with a lot of the older programs. Also, you shouldn't use the wizard with any older antivirus programs, disk utilities or other system programs. Doing that could cause some security holes or even data loss. So, if you feel like you're in a rut with getting your programs to work with your new Vista computer, give this wizard a try!

~ Erin

Vista Program Compatibility: An Update

As you may remember, last week, I wrote an article about the Windows Vista Program Compatibility Wizard you can use if you're having trouble getting some of your programs to work on your Vista computer. After it appeared in the newsletter, I received several e-mails and even a few phone calls with questions about it. It seemed like a lot of you were having trouble finding the feature, so I thought I'd take some time today to clear all of that up. Here we go!

After so many of you told me you couldn't find the Program Compatibility Wizard, I got to thinking that maybe it wasn't available with every edition of Vista. I tested the tip on a Vista Home Basic computer and it worked just fine, so I thought maybe it wouldn't work for everyone. I thought that was strange, but I know it has happened with other things, so it was possible. But then I started researching it a little more and luckily, that's not the case at all. Keep reading as we solve this mystery!

In order to find the Program Compatibility Wizard, you have to be in a certain Control Panel view. In Vista, there is a Control Panel Home view and a Classic view and you must be in the Control Panel Home view to find the Wizard. If you happen to be in the Classic view, you won't be able to find it. So, to check on that, go to Start, Control Panel and look in the top left hand corner. You will see a dot next to whichever view you're in. If you're not in the right one, simply click on Control Panel Home and you'll be taken to the correct spot. You can then go to Programs and click on the option that says "Use an older program with this version of Windows." Then just follow along with the wizard and you'll be all set. I hope this clears up all of the confusion!

~ Erin