How can I run very old software under Windows 10?

[Eldritch]

After using an XP computer for 14 years, I was thrilled to find Frys Electronics offering an
HP Elite 8200 SFF.  The Googling I did before the purchase assured me I could run most old software on it; so did the 13 year old salesman.  ;-)   

At home, I tried loading my software on it.   Nothing too exotic or challenging:  WordPerfect 11, Microsoft Office 2000, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, Nero 7 Essentials.   I have too many files in those formats to just dump them.

Nothing runs.

Windows 10's old software function doesn't run them.  Excel 2000 looks like it runs, but Word 2000 shuts down in the middle of a document. 

Googling pointed me at Virtual PC 2007, but that won't run either.  An article offers a procedure to fool Windows 10 into thinking it's running, but that involves changing the name of the program in multiple places, replacing certain files, and making a number of elaborate changes.   Feels like diving into ice water.

Then the article mentioned Hyper V, which, if I understand correctly, is the Windows 10 version of Virtual PC.  Then why are there so many articles about Virtual PC 2007?  A link took me to Virtualbox and other possibles.

I have no clue which way to turn.  Which alternative is better?  Pros/Cons?  Are there others that might be better?

Can anyone offer some wisdom?



8200 SFF Intel i7 that runs at 3.4 gig, has 8 gig RAM and 2 Terabyte HD under Windows 10 Home.

[BC_Programmer]

For Wordperfect 11, find the executable file and go the compatibility tab under properties in the right-click menu. You want to set the compatibility mode to "Windows 95" (not Windows XP as you might expect), check off "Run as Administrator" as well as "Disable Display scaling on High DPI Settings".

For Office, the 2010 releases are the earliest version that is supported on Windows 10. However, earlier versions can be made to work going back to Office 95.

For Office 2000 this claimed it was doable by simply clicking ignore during some setup prompts, and Outlook 2000 required a compatibility mode.

From what I found, Photoshop Elements will not run if you have more  than 1TB of Free disk space.

I cannot find many details on Nero 7, but one forum thread I found suggested using "Windows XP" in the compatibility tab for the properties of the *installer* file when installing the program, as well as after installation if it didn't work.

Virtual PC 2007 isn't compatible with Windows 10 to begin with so I don't know what articles might have pointed you at it. They may have been intended for describing how to run older software on Windows Vista or Windows 7.

[Mark.]

Microsoft’s free virtual machine software is only available on Win 10 Pro.


Have been using it for a few months now when VMWare and VirtualBox VM’s both stopped working on 1803 release.  and the solutions to get them working was harder than just getting Hyper V setup.

[strollin]

Setting up a virtual machine is probably your best bet for what you want.

I use both VMWare and VirtualPC on Windows 10 (build 1803) without issue, not sure why they stopped working for Mark. I didn't need to make any changes to accommodate them. Both are free to download and are usable on both Win 10 Home and Win 10 Pro.

Since you are new to virtual machines, do you realize that you must install an OS into the virtual machine first, prior to installing your software?  For your use, you will need an XP install disk.  A virtual machine works very similarly to a physical machine, the difference is that it is implemented only in software.

Your original question asks, "How can I run very old software under Windows 10?".  I have Virtual Machines running many OSes under Windows 10 such as DOS, Win 3.1, Win 95 and XP so it's definitely possible.

A possible alternative is to find newer software that is compatible with your old files.  For instance, Office 365 would be able to read/write your Office 2000 files.   LibreOffice (which is free to download) can read/write Office and Wordperfect files. 

[Geek-9pm]

From dictation.
For what it's worth, I also use WordPerfect 11 **and I have a valid reason for doing that. I have some important legal documents that were created in WordPerfect 11 eachyear.
Now I  have no intention of going back and re-formatting years of legal documents. In fact, I believe that would make the documents invalid. So I have to keep a working copy of WordPerfect 11 in order to be able to read tea those documents and their original format without any changes. And I have no reason to experiment with something else. For my intended purpose WordPerfect 11 works, so why change it?

And yes, Windows 10 does not do a perfect job of working with older software. My personal solution to the problem was to create a dual-boot machine that has both Windows XP and Windows 10 on the same hard drive. I've done it many, many times and have found that it is always a challenge but not impossible. Just very annoying.

The preferred way to dual-boot a desktop computer is to have two separate physical hard drives. But with a small form factor machine is very hard to find a place to put another hard drive. One way to get around that is to buy a 2 1/2 inch laptop hard drive and find someplace inside the small form factor case where you can stick a 2 1/2 inch hard drive.

The machine that the original poster bot looks to be a very attractive small form factor desktop. Here is a video from an Australian who bought one used and is very satisfied.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NSocVEYPJE
Looks like there mightbe a place to put a small drive inside. 

** Thee is a service pack for  Wordperfect 11.

[soybean]

A possible alternative is to find newer software that is compatible with your old files.  For instance, Office 365 would be able to read/write your Office 2000 files.   LibreOffice (which is free to download) can read/write Office and Wordperfect files.

I'd go this route. 

Regarding Nero, why do you need it?  Have you explored the burning capabilities built in to Windows 10?  You might find you no longer need Nero.