Legacy Old Applications Using Windows XP: How to Run
Legacy "Old" Applications Using Windows XP: How to Run
When moving to a new operating system you may be concerned about how well your older applications will perform—or whether they will run at all on the new platform. Microsoft understands this issue and has taken significant steps to improve the user experience on Windows XP. This article discusses the steps to take to get an old (legacy) application to run correctly on this new operating system.
For the Average User
The first section, Using the Compatibility Tab, describes the steps to take when adjusting the compatibility properties for a single application. It describes how to get an application to run correctly on your computer without worrying about distributing this solution to anyone else. The information in this section refers to technology that is built into Windows XP, and does not require any additional downloads.
• How to employ the QFixApp tool to find the precise compatibility fixes required to support your application on Windows XP. (For the average user.)
• How to take the information discovered in QFixApp and use it to create a custom compatibility database in the Compatibility Administrator tool, which can then be distributed to other Windows XP computers.
• How to use the tools found in the Application Compatibility Toolkit.
Note The Application Compatibility Toolkit can be found on the Windows XP CD-ROM, or downloaded from Microsoft's Web site at Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit Fix for Windows XP
Using the Compatibility Tab
This section discusses the compatibility fix process along with how to apply a compatibility mode to a single application. Issues that may arise from using the new visual themes incorporated into Windows XP are also addressed.
How a Compatibility Fix Works
Microsoft has included support for application compatibility in Windows XP in the form of compatibility fixes. These fixes are small pieces of code that intercept programmatic behaviors that are not supported on Windows XP and redirect those behaviors to supported methods.
Example: Looking for a Specific Version of Windows
In the case of an application that is hard-coded to look for one specific version of Windows (other than Windows XP), that program would receive what it considers incorrect information from Windows XP. There are a series of compatibility fixes that could be applied in this instance; which one you choose would depend on the version of Windows the application was designed for.
After selecting the appropriate compatibility fix that corresponds to the version of Windows required by the program, any time the program queries the operating system for version information, the compatibility fix would intercept the request and return the version information the program expects to receive.
Identifying Required Compatibility Fixes
An application that has one or more compatibility issues with Windows XP will often give some kind of error message that indicates the nature of the problem. Other times the application may simply fail to start, or it will terminate improperly after it is launched.
Error messages from the application can give you vital clues to the compatibility fix that will resolve the problem. The other issues may take a process of trial and elimination to identify the required compatibility fixes.
Use Compatibility Mode When Multiple Fixes Are Needed
Often an application will require more than one compatibility fix. In this case, Microsoft has grouped commonly used compatibility fixes into something called a compatibility mode. When trying to find a solution to a compatibility issue it is best to begin by applying a compatibility mode. Compatibility modes may be applied using the Compatibility tab found in the Properties sheet for the executable, as shown below Below:
To apply a compatibility mode to a single application
1. Select the application executable by using My Computer or Windows Explorer to browse for it.
2. Right-click the executable file for the program and select Properties from the context menu.
3. Click the Compatibility tab to display the Property sheet as shown above.
4. Check the box beside Run this program in compatibility mode for, and then select the compatibility mode to apply. Click OK.
5. Launch the application and test the effectiveness of the compatibility mode.
You may need to repeat this process until you find the correct compatibility mode.
Using Visual Themes with Older Applications
If the compatibility modes do not solve the compatibility issue with your application, try the Display settings options on the Compatibility tab.
Windows XP incorporates new visual themes that might cause issues with older applications. If your application appears to run, but the display is corrupted or blank, try checking the option Disable visual themes. Old applications may benefit from the options to Run in 640x480 screen resolution or Run in 256 colors.
Using the Program Compatibility Wizard
This section discusses the Program Compatibility Wizard and how to use it to compensate for the various compatibility issues that might prevent a legacy application from running correctly on Windows XP.
The Program Compatibility Wizard
Windows XP includes another very simple approach to application compatibility: the Program Compatibility Wizard. This wizard makes it easy to compensate for the various compatibility issues that might prevent a legacy application from running correctly on Windows XP.
Essentially, the Program Compatibility Wizard is a graphical user interface (GUI) to the compatibility modes found in Windows XP, and is incorporated into the Help and Support Center.
To use the Program Compatibility Wizard
1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories and then click Program Compatibility Wizard.
Caution Take note of the caution statement to not use this wizard to make older anti-virus, disk utilities, backup, or system programs run on Windows XP. These older programs rely upon kernel-level drivers to operate and may disrupt system stability if they are run. Also, do not use the wizard on applications that work on Windows XP.
2. Click Next. You will be prompted to select the method to use when locating the program to be "fixed." The options are to: choose from a list of programs, use the program in the CD-ROM drive, or locate the program manually. Click one of the radio buttons to make your selection and then click Next.
3. Select the program to be run with compatibility settings. The dialog box shown at this point will be determined by the selection method you chose in step 2. Click Next when you have selected the application.
4. Select a compatibility mode for the program. If the program was designed for a specific version of Windows, choose the compatibility mode for that Windows version. You can also choose to not apply a compatibility mode. When done, click Next.
5. Select from the list of three additional display settings for your application. You can apply any or all of the settings to configure the display for the program: 256 colors, 640x480 resolution, disable visual themes. Once you are done click Next.
6. The wizard will display a summary of the settings you have chosen to apply. If everything looks correct, click Next to test the settings on the program. This will launch the program with the selected settings.
7. The final page of the wizard enables you to select whether to permanently apply the compatibility settings, abandon the changes, or save them and run the wizard again to apply different settings.
Once you have completed the Application Compatibility Wizard the compatibility fixes will be applied to your program until you remove them or reinstall the application. You won't be required to perform any additional steps when running the program to benefit from the application compatibility technologies in Windows XP.
Diagnosing Compatibility Issues with QFixApp
This section discusses the different parts of the QFixApp tool and how to use them to determine which fixes are needed by an application so that those fixes can be distributed to other computers. Also addressed is how to create an XML file based on a custom compatibility database.
The QFixApp Tool
QFixApp is a GUI tool designed to aid in determining which compatibility fixes are required to resolve application compatibility issues for a specific executable file. QFixApp gives you direct access to the compatibility fixes included with Windows XP to test custom compatibility solutions for your legacy applications.
The main interface of the QFixApp tool displays two tabs
• The Layers tab displays the complete list of compatibility modes (layers) that can be applied, as shown below.
• The Fixes tab provides the entire list of compatibility fixes for Windows XP.
QFixAPP and Distributing Fixes to Other Computers
The QFixApp tool is best used to determine the precise mixture of compatibility fixes required by an application so that the fixes can be distributed to other computers. This process involves selecting the compatibility mode that best fits the program and then testing it to see if the program will run.
When the Compatibility Mode You Selected Works
Once you have a compatibility mode that seems to support the application correctly:
1. Use the QFixApp log file to determine which individual compatibility fixes are being used and which can be discarded.
2. Use the Fixes tab to select or deselect the compatibility fixes actually required by the application.
3. Open the Advanced settings and complete the process by supplying matching information so that Windows XP can uniquely identify the program, even if it has the same name as some other application installed on the computer.
4. You can compile this information into an .SDB compatibility database file for distribution.
Note: While QFixApp can be used to create custom compatibility database files for distribution, it can only compile a database for a single application. To distribute compatibility fixes for a number of applications simultaneously you need to use the Compatibility Administrator, which is described in following sections.
DEMOAPP.EXE—A Sample Application
The Application Compatibility Toolkit provides a sample application called DEMOAPP.EXE, which is located in the Demoapp folder under the Application Compatibility Toolkit folders. This sample application has a few intentional compatibility issues with Windows XP, such as requiring Windows 95, which will enable you to practice with the tools described in this article.
To apply a compatibility mode to DEMOAPP.EXE
1. Launch QFixApp by clicking Start, All Programs, Application Compatibility Toolkit, and then click QFixApp.
2. With the Layers tab selected, click the Browse button. Use the Select an executable dialog box to browse for the executable file to be "fixed." Select the file and click Open when you are done.
3. If the application requires any command line parameters, enter them in the Command line text box.
4. Click to select the compatibility mode to apply. (For the exercise with DEMOAPP.EXE you would know the program requires Windows 95 because when you execute the .EXE file it will report that it needs Windows 95.)
5. Once you have selected the compatibility mode to try, click the Run button to test the compatibility mode. If the program appears to run normally you have the option of using QFixApp to create a permanent fix or continuing to refine the compatibility fixes required.
Creating a Custom Compatibility Database File With QFixApp
QFixApp has a limitation in that the compatibility fixes you select for an application are only in effect while you are running QFixApp.
To make compatibility fixes more permanent
1. In the QFixApp Layers tab, show the Advanced options by clicking the Advanced button.
2. Click the Create fix support button. This step will create a custom compatibility database file called (in the case of DEMOAPP.EXE) DEMOAPP.SDB located in the C:\Windows\AppPatch folder.
3. When QFixApp has created the database file you will be prompted to install the file. This step enters the compatibility fix information into the system Registry so that Windows XP will know to use the compatibility database file when the program is launched. Installing the database file will ensure that the compatibility mode will be applied whenever the program is used.
Optimizing Application Performance
It is possible that applying a compatibility mode will cause a decrease in performance for the patched application. This may be caused by compatibility fixes within the compatibility mode that are not required by the application. You can optimize the performance of the application running with a compatibility mode by analyzing the QFixApp log file to see which compatibility fixes were actually used by the program. Once you have this information, you can disable the other compatibility fixes within the Windows 95 compatibility mode using QFixApp.
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