Compatibility--very old programs

F

Fred

I need a new laptop and found a good deal at Staples on a Compaq, BUT
it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, and I am running some pretty
old legacy programs. I'm wondering how to determine if they will run
OK under Vista.

One program is a development program (a superset of Basic) by Computer
Associates called "CA-Realizer." It originally ran under OS/2 and in
Windows 3.1 (see what I mean by old?). It does exactly what I want and
I wouldn't want to have to recode things for VB. I don't use an
installer but simply copy the whole directory onto a new computer. So
far (with Windows XP) that's always worked. Will it work with Vista?

Second is the Lotus SmartSuite which came with a W95 laptop. In
particular I use Lotus Word Pro as my word processor and have much
stored there. I also copied that directory onto one XP computer, and
used the installer for another. Will that program work OK?

Any help most appreciated.

Fred
 
M

Michael Chare

Fred said:
I need a new laptop and found a good deal at Staples on a Compaq, BUT
it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, and I am running some pretty
old legacy programs. I'm wondering how to determine if they will run
OK under Vista.

One program is a development program (a superset of Basic) by Computer
Associates called "CA-Realizer." It originally ran under OS/2 and in
Windows 3.1 (see what I mean by old?). It does exactly what I want and
I wouldn't want to have to recode things for VB. I don't use an
installer but simply copy the whole directory onto a new computer. So
far (with Windows XP) that's always worked. Will it work with Vista?

Second is the Lotus SmartSuite which came with a W95 laptop. In
particular I use Lotus Word Pro as my word processor and have much
stored there. I also copied that directory onto one XP computer, and
used the installer for another. Will that program work OK?

Any help most appreciated.

Fred
Click to expand...


I certainly had difficulty with Lotus 123.

What you can do is install Microsoft Virtual PC, which is free, and then
create a Win 95 virtual machine in which you can likely run the above
applications.
(I have done this using Win98SE and other similarly old applications.)
 
F

Fred

Michael--

That sounds like a great solution, but Microsoft's site said the
"It runs on Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows
Vista Ultimate, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition." My anticipated purchase comes with Vista Home Premium. Will
that OS support the Virtual Machine?

Fred
 
V

vista user 43

sure it will...


there are some other free alternatives too, VPC is simple and will do what
you want but just in case some are interested in trying out other
solutions>>>>

one is vmware server (free)
or vmware player (you must create the virtual machine configuration files
using www.easyvmx.com) free
and there is also virtualbox also free and opensource
 
V

vista user 43

yeah as if you get any real support on products they supposedly support!

You are better off with linux with the support MS gives! lol
 
R

retroman

Hello Michael,

I'v been using Lotus Word Pro on Vista for ten months and it runs very well. As with
any older program on Vista, there are compatibility settings and permissions to deal
with. I've posted detailed instructions, tips, and comments for installing and using
Word Pro on Vista at Xpertss.com.

You have to register at Xpertss to read the discussions but there is no charge. After
logging in, look for "Word Pro R9.8 on Windows Vista" in the Tips section of the Word
Pro discussions.

Doug Mackie
Co-host, Lotus Word Pro discussions
http://www.xpertss.com
Doug M. in NJ
 

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