What does legacy mean?

[Craig]

Here is a quote from somewhere:

"Sticking Vista machines into legacy networks is going to be problematic for
a while".

My question is what "legacy" means. I also saw the term legacy in registry
files under registry editor.
I also saw the usage of the term "legacy programs" like that. What does
this term mean? Please enlighten me.
TIA. Craig

 

[Malke]

Here is a quote from somewhere:

"Sticking Vista machines into legacy networks is going to be
problematic for a while".

My question is what "legacy" means. I also saw the term legacy in
registry files under registry editor.
I also saw the usage of the term "legacy programs" like that. What
does
this term mean? Please enlighten me.
TIA. Craig

It means "old". MS has tried hard to meet customer demand to have
whatever the current operating system is also be backwards-compatible
with old programs ("legacy" programs). It is a difficult decision for
MS because having support for legacy apps can cause system instability.
Supporting legacy apps and hardware isn't the best decision from a
"make a rock-solid never-crash operating system" perspective. MS has
such a huge install base with many customers running ancient programs
that it is hard for them to do an Apple and just say "sorry, your Mac
OS 9 apps won't run under OS X" but that is what they are having to do
to some extent with Vista.

It is a trade-off - stability for backwards-compatibility. Hope that
answered your question.

Malke

 

[Craig]

Thanks Malke,

Then, how about those terms in registry? Here are some samples. Under
Registry Editor,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>System>ControlSet001 OR ControlSet003>Enum>Root >
Legacy_Adobe_version_cue_cs2, Legacy_Broswer_, etc.

There are tons of Legacy_xxxx.

What does the Leagacy mean here?

Thanks. Craig

 

[Malke]

Thanks Malke,

Then, how about those terms in registry? Here are some samples.
Under Registry Editor,

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>System>ControlSet001 OR ControlSet003>Enum>Root >
Legacy_Adobe_version_cue_cs2, Legacy_Broswer_, etc.

There are tons of Legacy_xxxx.

What does the Leagacy mean here?

Same thing. There are entries and settings in XP to allow legacy
programs to work with it. Unless your computer is experiencing problems
and/or you have malware (which sometimes creates "Legacy" services in
the registry in order to make it harder to remove them) you should
leave these things alone.

Malke

 

[Craig]

Thank you so much.
Regards,

Craig

Same thing. There are entries and settings in XP to allow legacy
programs to work with it. Unless your computer is experiencing problems
and/or you have malware (which sometimes creates "Legacy" services in
the registry in order to make it harder to remove them) you should
leave these things alone.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Chuck Davis]

Craig,

Another thought. On the "legacy" operating systems constant tweaking was
necessary. Along came Windows XP with virtually no tweaking necessary, yet
people remembered what they "used to do" and continue to muck around. Simply
automatically update your Windows XP system. Maintain your anti-virus and
firewall protection, ignore phishing and just enjoy your computer.