Installing or Upgrading Windows XP (Part 2)

Making Older Programs Run Under Windows XP
If your applications are generally older then 2001, it might be time to consider updating them before upgrading to a new OS. Most of the newer applications will not be affected by this upgrade.

To help prevent problem application incompatibility issues, you might want to consider running the '‘Windows XP Upgrade Advisor' before performing the upgrade. To run this program follow the steps below:

• If the Windows XP installation CD is not in your CD-ROM, put it into the drive.
• From the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen, select 'Check system compatibility'.’

If you have problems running programs after you install Windows XP, try running the '‘Program Compatibility Wizard.'’ This program can identify compatibility fixes written specifically for Windows XP.

To run the '‘Program Compatibility Wizard'’, follow the steps below:

• From the Start | All Programs | Accessories, click the '‘Program Compatibility Wizard'’
• Follow the instructions in the wizard, and then from the list select the program that youÂ’re having problems with.
• Choose compatibility mode (i.e.: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000) and set the visual options (i.e.: screen resolution 640x480, 256 colors, etc.).
• Use the wizard to launch the program, and then test the new setting to see if the program will work.
• The final page of the wizard, you will be allowed to permanently apply these setting to the program, or abandon them all together.

An alternative to using the 'Program Compatibility Wizard' is to manually set these compatibility settings yourself.

• Right-click the program or it's shortcut you want to change the compatibility on, and select Properties.
• Click the Compatibility tab, and select the compatibility settings that are appropriate for your program.
• Press the OK button when done, then double-click the program and see if it runs.

One more tool to help you with program compatibility issues is the QFIXAPP.EXE utility, which is part of the '‘Application Compatibility Toolkit'’. This utility allows you to apply various fixes (known as "shims") to programs to correct known issues.