What happens if I try to install old software?

[MrHope]

I have been reading about UAC and I was wondering...

1) What happens if I give admin priveleges to an install/setup program originally designed for an old system (Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP)?

2) Will I be at any risk of losing system files by them being overwritten with older versions?

I read this recently...

In “UAC Administrator Approval Mode”, the default mode in Vista even for administrators, if an application attempts to write to certain prohibited registry or folder locations, Vista will “virtualize” these operations writing to a different location instead. This can be very confusing to an end user since files are not written in the expected location. Additionally, virtualization only applies to the X86 flavor of Vista.


3) Where are these virtualized locations?

Thanks for your help.
With your answers I'm hoping to find out if I'll be able to install Cool Edit 2000 and see if it works on Vista (other Windows 98/2K/ME/XP programs as well).

[itsplayed]

Mr. Hope, I'm not sure if this was already asked and gone over, but why not just use Windows XP instead?....Is your system limited?

[MrHope]

Mr. Hope, I'm not sure if this was already asked and gone over, but why not just use Windows XP instead?....Is your system limited?

My current system many would call limited (Windows 98 SE, 256 MB RAM, 750 MHz CPU).

It may sound crazy amidst all the anti-Vista facts and sentiment, but I'm taking a calculated risk and buying a new computer with Vista on it. I'd rather deal with the changeover now and go through some service packs and hotfixes than deal with a new operating system purchase and changeover later. I have plenty of experience with running a system older than what others are using, and I'm going to try something new. I'm kind of starting from scratch anyways.

I have MultitrackStudio which runs on Vista and an Audiophile 2496 which (hopefully) runs on Vista with the new drivers. In a few days I'm buying Music Creator 4 which can run on Vista.

Anyways, that's the abbreviated background. As with everything regarding computers, it's more complicated than that, but that's another story. I'm not expecting lightning speed, but I'm confident that a new computer with Vista will at least be as good as what I have now (probably better), with more upwards compatibility.

[itsplayed]

Sounds good Mr.Hope.....not exactly the road I'd take, but at least you seem to know what your up against. Best of luck with that new system.....make it at least a dual-core with lot's of ram.

[MrHope]

Thanks ItsPlayed.

I thought I'd get flamed by whoever had the first response. Thanks for being civil and polite (as usual).

The system is dual core with 3 GB RAM upgradeable to 4 (max for 32bit Vista).
I'll do the RAM upgrade eventually. The (Intel/Intel chipset) processor and bus speed is fast compared to my current system,
but slow compared to a lot of AMD systems I'm seeing. But I was advised to go with strictly Intel processor and Intel chipset for greater stability and hardware compatibility.

Well I did google out this much so far:

To install an older program...

> Run as Administrator=Right click on the .exe and select "Run as Administrator"
>
> Compatibility Mode= Right click on the .exe, Properties, Compatibility tab

You can combine those two as one by opening the Compatibility TAB, setting the
compatibility and checking [x] Run as Administrator on that TAB .....

Using both compatibility mode and admin mode allows the old program to run, and then to do it's dirty work.

But I still don't know for sure what happens if the program tries to overwrite new system files with old system files. Apparently it uses "virtual locations" to redirect that kind of action. But Lord only knows what that actually means in practice.

Someone please explain the detailed risks of installing older software in Vista.
Thanks for your help in advance.

[itsplayed]

I don't see a problem with this MrHope, just create a restore point before attempting the install.

[MrHope]

That's a good idea. I've been busy reading about restore points. They are new to me since I've been running Win98SE for the last few years. I've also been reading up on this: http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/00d04415-2b2f-422c-b70e-b18ff918c2811033.mspx?mfr=true

That article on Windows Vista Security seems to answer my question I think. It's very heavy reading though. But if anybody else is wondering about Vista UAC and compatibility modes and such, that article is very helpful.

[MrHope]

Well I successfully installed Cool Edit 2000 on Vista Home Premium. It has a minor conflict with Windows Media Player; Media Player refuses to let CoolEdit be the main program launcher when double-clicking on .WAV files. However, .WAV files can be opened in CoolEdit by using the "Send to" contextual menu.

In order to have a smooth installation, I used Windows98 compatibility mode and administrator mode on all installation/registration files and on the CoolEdit program itself.

Ultimately, CoolEdit 2000 works. It can open and record and save and edit just like it's supposed to do.