Indication that program is not compatible?

[treblesum81]

Hi All,

I'm just wondering if errors during install saying that components are not registering correctly are indications that the program is not Win7 compatible, or are they more indicative of incorrect compatibility settings during install?

If its the latter, how can I setup my settings to allow them to be registered correctly?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Night Hawk]

Often for getting something to install on 7 you need to right click on the installer's executable or launcher file and select the troubleshoot compatibility option for the right click menu. Once the troubleshooter brings up a list of questions you check off the "worked with older version of Windows" item at the top of that.

On the next screen you select the version it was originally used on like Vista, XP SP2, or older and click the next button. The troubleshooter then proceeds to create a new registry value and may even start the installer itself.

The troubleshooter and checking off the run as administrator box seems to work for most older programs.

 

[Airbot]

Also, be sure this is corrected as it may be the case in other install failures.
http://www.sevenforums.com/news/2515-windows-installer-error-fix.html

 

[Night Hawk]

That's an odd one since after installing a ton of games and apps on 7 here the default string is all that is seen here when looking.



It's probably easier to simply remove anything else found since it should only be seeing a few entries in not found empty there.

 

[Airbot]

It won't show up if you've disabled the CEIP as the article states.

 

[Night Hawk]

That was never disabled here since I was waiting to submit any logs or reports on compatibility issues.

 

[Airbot]

Hmm, I don't know then. If the entry's not there in the first place, then I guess it doesn't cause the problems.

 

[Night Hawk]

Well I can't speak for treblesum81 there of course. He will have to look in the registry there to see if anything other then the default entry is seen and apply the tweak the article points out.

I added the reference into the IE favorites in case someone else runs into the same problem while the deadline for starting downloads on either or both releases of 7 is past now.

"
Please print this page for your records.
We're sorry, but downloads are no longer available. Here are the Installation Instructions, Release Notes, and FAQ.
NOTICE ABOUT THE H.264/AVC VISUAL STANDARD. This software includes H.264/MPEG-4 AVC visual compression technology. MPEG LA, L.L.C. requires this notice:
THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED UNDER THE AVC PATENT PORTFOLIO LICENSE FOR THE PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE OF A CONSUMER TO (i) ENCODE VIDEO IN COMPLIANCE WITH AVC STANDARD (“AVC VIDEO”) AND/OR (ii) DECODE AVC VIDEO THAT WAS ENCODED BY A CONSUMER ENGAGED IN A PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERICAL ACTIVITY AND/OR WAS OBTAINED FROM A VIDEO PROVIDER LICENSED TO PROVIDE AVC VIDEO. NO LICENSE IS GRANTED OR SHALL BE IMPLIED FOR ANY OTHER USE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C SEE HTTP://WWW.MPEGLA.COM "

This will now only be a problem for those who made the deadline and had signed up for testing.

 

[davehc]

Hi treblesum81.
The compatibilty selection is probably the answer, but to amplify the instruction given, right click the .exe file and select "Properties. You will then se an option tab "Compatibility" If Vista is showing in the list, click that, otherwise XP SP2 is next best, of course. Whilst in that tab, it is a good idea to select "Run this Program as Administrator" Just apply and then rerun the .exe.

 

[treblesum81]

Well, I think I actually found the problem after about 6 uninstalls/reinstalls (should have thought of this sooner)... Programs that I was installing into Win7 with troubles I was installing with compatibility mode set up for windows Vista, but when I had installed them in Vista I had to do it with XP compatibility mode, so I missed a version hop here...

 

[Airbot]

So they are working now?

 

[Night Hawk]

I think he ran them in XP SP2 mode and finally saw workng results since they were written for the older version not Vista.

There's some old stuff that went right onto Vista that still needed to see that option used here. Besides the simply click on compatibility mode and running as admin you sometimes have to use the troubleshoot compatibility option instead to get some things to even install.



That option seems to get far more older stuff on then anything else.

 

[Airbot]

Night Hawk,

You can use the snipping tool within 7 to post screenshots. Usually the more preferable method around here.

 

[Night Hawk]

The problem with the snipping is when moving away to click on that the right click popup menu automatically disappears. You would need two mice and two cursors going at once in order to illustrate that.

The other option is the free hand type capture that allows you to draw free hand around a select aread with a 3rd party capture utility.

 

[Airbot]

Yeah, there's a thread over at Vistax86 on that very thing.
snip tool confusion - Vista Forums

 

[Night Hawk]

Gee? That means I would have to snip the free hand tracing even further.

 

[treblesum81]

Yes, I did get results by running pretty much everything in XP compatibility mode... I've actually just started installing everything in compatibility mode automatically, since it doesn't seem like much of it is happy in Win7 otherwise...

One thing that has me confused is why there isn't an option to run whole file/folder structures in compatibility mode. Not that this is really necessary, but when installing some programs from CD/DVD I've found that in some cases you have to go through every folder on the disc and set every application to run in compatibility mode to get everything to run happy like... something that can be a real pain when you have some installers that use like 10 different sub-programs...

 

[Night Hawk]

The problem with using the compatibility mode option is that the next system restart sees that forgotten fast and is not a definitive method for any secondary items. I ran into that one a few times.

The troubleshoot compatibility option on the other hand creates new registry values to see the same mode set automatically even after shutdown and startup or a simple reboot. When one thing doesn't work you simply use the other.

 

[treblesum81]

Hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind since I've been having a heck of a time getting Win7 to allow the media transfer protocol from my Blackberry software to install... everything else goes in, but not that so I can't transfer files between the device and the computer.

 

[Night Hawk]

Using the troubleshoot option a few XP programs that wouldn't even install on Vista went right on 7. I now have to go back into Vista to see how well it will go there using the same option.

Another tool that can be useful is a compatibility mode cleaner. Once you remove a program you manage to get running those registry values for setting the mode tend to be left behind. Compatibility Mode Cleaner by Marc Foumberg