How to address a software legacy problem

[markg2]

Existing, older, Lenovo, Win7, Deskcentre M and Quicken 2003. Don’t want to upgrade Quicken 2003 but need to replace the Deskcentre to current. Quicken 2003 needs Win7.

Option 1: Purchase a mid-level laptop strictly for Quicken and install Win7 in addition to a new Deskcentre.

Option 2 (of which I know zilch): Order a Deskcentre from Lenovo (assuming they will do) with a larger primary SSD allowing for dual boot (meaning I’d be paying Lenovo for the Win7 OS + whatever build charge) along with a large mechanical second drive for Reflect images.

Mark

 

[samuria]

Noy clear what you are saying you have it running on 7 and want to get it running on 10 is that correct? Simply run in compatabilit mode as 7. It shouldnt be a problem I run MS money 1990 on 10 ok

 

[dg1261]

Don’t want to upgrade Quicken 2003 but need to replace the Deskcentre to current. Quicken 2003 needs Win7.

I like Win 7 so don't want to dissuade you from sticking with it, but FYI it is possible to run old Quicken versions on Win 10.

I have installed Quicken 2002 (my favorite, so I understand why you don't want to "upgrade" to current Quicken versions) on Win 10, so I don't see why you couldn't do the same with v2003.

Can I assume you still have the Quicken installation CD? If so, the trick is to run SETUP.EXE instead of INSTALL.EXE. INSTALL.EXE is just a stub to launch SETUP.EXE, which (on v2002, at least) is in the DISK1 folder on the CD. INSTALL.EXE will fail on Win 10, but bypassing it and launching DISK1\SETUP.EXE directly seems to work just fine.

If you have any trouble with Quicken saving files you might also try configuring the shortcut after installation to run in XP compatibility mode and/or "run as administrator". I didn't run into any such trouble, but those are common tweaks to keep in mind when coaxing XP-era programs to run in Win 10.

 

[markg2]

Darn if both you guys aren't a super help. I'm getting back to acknowledge but may it'll take several days until I read up on compatibility mode and have the time to do - Income tax preparations are competing.

I'll likely be back at that time for another question or two.

Mark

 

[wither 2]

Right click on the .exe file and select Properties. You will see the Compatibility tab. Set it to Win 7 and Apply. While there, you might want to set it to "run as administrator."

 

[markg2]

For those of you married for a long time... you'll understand
I told Connie the good new this morning before she left. She was delighted BUT as she said 'you know I'm a doubting Thomas'... She needn't have said more since I know what was coming.
She's all for doing as you all (and MS) have instructed on her new desktop yet to be purchased BUT she wants another new machine with a clean Win7 install that will just have Q'03.
Is it possible to download Win7 from MS or must you purchase same from Amazon and not know what you're actually getting?
Mark

 

[samuria]

A new pc may have win 11 on it and to wipe that and try to put 7 on can be dodgey as there may be no 7 drivers and if there isnt any your in trouble

 

[markg2]

Understand I'm way above my head here... but,

'If' a machine was initially configured as dual boot (Win7/Win11) then wouldn't the driver problem you refer to also be problematic?

Whilst applying oxygen and going further up and out... If a machine used a VPN wouldn't it too face the same problem to which you refer?

Believe me, you need not go into a painful explanation if the answer to both is complicated - not my intention.

Mark

 

[samuria]

'If' a machine was initially configured as dual boot (Win7/Win11) then wouldn't the driver problem you refer to also be problematic?

If and its a big if it was duel boot then it had correct drivers it can be hard to get 7 going on modern hardware the answer is to run 7 as a virtual pc simple
Whilst applying oxygen and going further up and out... If a machine used a VPN wouldn't it too face the same problem to which you refer?

Vpn has nothing to do with drivers or cpu support

 

[markg2]

I wasn't clear on the dual boot idea. Her current machine is Win7 period. I was thinking about her pending new desktop.

I didn't think drivers would be a problem... that current drivers would be backward compatible. Guess not. Good to know.

BUT that thinking is in the rear view mirror given Compatibility Mode. I've read up on it and think I've got a good shot installing Q using the mode on a new Win11 or her Win10 laptop.

Btw, VPN was a typo - I meant virtual machine.

You all have been really helpful - appreciated.

Mark

 

[dg1261]

'If' a machine was initially configured as dual boot (Win7/Win11) then wouldn't the driver problem you refer to also be problematic?

Drivers are specific to the OS and have to be applicable to the machine's hardware.

For example, say you have a Radeon video card. When you boot 7 the OS needs a Win 7 Radeon driver. When you boot 10 the OS needs a Win 10 Radeon driver. That's true whether you single boot or dual boot -- whichever OS you boot needs the right driver for that OS and that hardware.

I didn't think drivers would be a problem... that current drivers would be backward compatible.

That's not always the case, especially since Microsoft and Intel began (around the time Intel's 7th-gen CPUs were released) deliberately putting up roadblocks to thwart the installation of older Windows versions on newer hardware. We've had to rely on people finding various hacks or modified drivers to use W7 on the newer CPUs.

If a machine used a [virtual machine] wouldn't it too face the same [driver] problem to which you refer?

Not necessarily.

The difference is a VM does not get installed on your physical computer, it gets installed on a *virtual* computer. Thus, it needs drivers for the virtual computer's emulated "hardware", not your machine's real hardware. If your virtualization platform (VirtualPC, VirtualBox, VMWare, et al) emulates hardware that is still W7 compatible, you can install 7 in a virtual machine even if the host machine (the real hardware) doesn't support 7.

(If you'd like a backgrounder on virtualization, perhaps this webpage I wrote will help. It's old, but the general idea hasn't changed.)

FWIW, here's a real-world example of what VMs can be used for: A client's old W7 computer died so he had to get a new computer, of which W10 was his only option. But he uses QuickBooks 2005 and it will not install on 10. QB said he had to buy the new version. But he's nearing retirement and couldn't stomach having to buy a new copy of QB (which isn't cheap) just to go another year or two. So I set him up with a VirtualBox Win 7 VM so that he can continue running his old QB 2005 on his W10 desktop computer. When he retires he'll just toss the VM.

 

[markg2]

dg1261 I appreciate the schooling, particularly re drivers.

I printed the VM link and will read this evening.

Connie is the gratis bookkeeper for a local non profit so we're, unfortunately, intimately aware of QB's pricing. Since she has the unlimited payroll add-on she's forced into up versioning.

Mark