How to make the previous desktop software run in win8/8.1

When we upgrade our legacy Windows system to Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, we may be concerned about whether the previous desktop software will work properly on the new system. In fact, Microsoft has made a lot of technical efforts to make most of the old version of the software to run smoothly on the Win8 and Win8.1, and the possible permissions and compatibility issues to provide a solution.

From the right-click menu, select Run this program as Administrator

Sometimes the software does not run properly because the file does not have sufficient permissions to run under the Win8 or Win8.1 environment. For this type of problem, we can right-click the software icon and select "Run this program as Administrator" in the pop-up right-click menu. These can run smoothly because the software is running with insufficient permissions.

In the software program file's properties panel, select "Run this program in compatibility Mode"

If you have just chosen "run this program in admin mode" does not solve the problem, we can use the file "compatibility" setting of the Win8 and Win8.1 systems.

Right-click the program desktop icon that cannot be run. Select Properties on the pop-up menu, select the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program in compatibility Mode", and select the Windows version of the program that you can run before the Drop-down list, such as Windows 7 or Windows XP So that the WIN8 or Win8.1 system will simulate the old Windows system environment to run the software program.

Icon: Software compatibility mode setting

Run the Run Compatibility troubleshooter

In addition, we can click the "Compatibility Troubleshooter" menu option or the "Run Compatibility Troubleshooter" button in the two screenshots above, and in the "Program Compatibility Troubleshooter" dialog box, we can select "Try the recommended settings" and "troubleshooter."

For example, we choose "Try the recommended settings", the system will automatically detect the problem.

Wait a moment, the system will give some of the current compatibility settings of the program state. If you click the "Test Program" button, the system will automatically run the program for testing.

Diagram: Win8.1 test program Compatibility

After the test is complete, the system gives the results and options. If the program works correctly, select Yes, save these settings for this program, or if the program is still not running, you can choose "No, try again with another setting" to continue the test, or report the error to Microsoft and fix the problem online.

If we select "Troubleshooter" in the interface just now, the system will give a few problems to run the fault description for the user tick, the user tick the program to run the failure phenomenon, and then into the next step.

Easy to view Win8.1 system Compatibility details in the hardware and Software Compatibility Center

In addition, Microsoft provides a hardware and software Compatibility Center for Windows 8.1 Systems (Compatibility Center), where users can easily learn about Windows 8.1 compatibility information and the system's compatible device drivers, software upgrades, downloads, and more. In the Search field, type the hardware brand and model that we need to check to see if the product is compatible with Windows 8.1, as well as the associated community rating and the corresponding software download address. If the query object is software, you can learn all Adobe Photoshop that is compatible with Windows 8.1, just enter the search keyword, and the Compatibility Center page will give you relevant information.

Windows Hardware and Software Compatibility Center (Compatibility Center)

This is where the user can check if the software installed on their computer matches the name and version of the software listed in the Compatibility Center. You can also download from the Compatibility Center to drivers and software updates, and you can browse user compatibility evaluations for a program or device.

In addition, Microsoft will not regularly give the latest compatibility information for everyone to understand.

Above we described how to make the desktop programs running in legacy Windows work as well as possible in Win8 and Win8.1 systems, and if we find that some software or games are not running on WIN8 or Win8.1, don't worry: if you don't have enough permissions to run, choose Run as administrator "and if it is a compatibility issue, WIN8 and Win8.1 system to run the old version of the program, in addition, we can also provide a compatible center in Microsoft to see the appropriate version of the software, or download the corresponding driver. Hopefully these methods will help you to use the WIN8 and Win8.1 systems more smoothly.