Application Compatibility Problems in Windows 8.1

To troubleshoot any compatibility issues effectively, it is important to be aware of the general areas that typically cause the most issues.

Here are few important “Compatibility Problem” that IT Pro might needs to know :

1 – Software Setup & Installation

• When you install software in any Microsoft Windows, the software you installing might try to copy files and shortcuts to folders that existed in a previous Windows OS , but no longer exist for the new OS. This can prevent the software from installing properly or even installing at all.

2 – User Account Control (UAC)

• UAC can give you a problem @ even compatibility issues such as :

– Any 3rd party installers, uninstallers, and updaters may not be detected and elevated to run as administrator.
– Standard user applications that require administrative privileges to perform their tasks may fail.
– Applications that attempt to perform tasks for which the current user does not have the necessary permissions may fail.
– Control Panel applications that perform administrative tasks and make global changes may not function properly and may fail.
– Dynamic link library (DLL) applications that run using RunDLL32.exe may not function properly.
– Standard user applications writing to global locations will be redirected to per-user locations through virtualization.

3 – Windows Resource Protection

WRP may produce a few compatibility issues such as:

• Software installers that attempt to replace, modify, or delete OS files and/or registry keys that WRP protects may fail, with an error message indicating that the resource cannot be updated. This is because access to these resources is denied.
  • Software that attempt to write new registry keys or values to protected registry keys may fail with an error message that indicates that the change failed because access was denied.
  • Applications that attempt to write to protected resources may fail if they rely on registry keys or values.

4 – 64-Bit Architecture

• any software that use 16-bit executables, 16-bit installers, or 32-bit kernel drivers will fail to start @ function properly on a 64-bit edition of Windows 8.
  • 32-bit kernel drivers will fail on the 64-bit system. in case you try to install the driver manually @ perhaps by editing the registry, the system will not load the driver and will cause a system failure.
  • 64-bit unsigned drivers installation will fail on the 64-bit system. Even you try manually adds a driver by editing the registry, the system will not load the driver during load time.

5 – Operating System Version Changes

The OS version number changes with each OS release. For Windows 7, the internal version number is 6.1, whereas for Windows 8, the internal version number is 6.2. The “Get” command in CMD returns this value when it is queried by an application (see picture). This change affects any software installer that specifically checks for the OS version, and might prevent the installation from occurring or the application from running.

** To minimize the Application Compatibility Issue, Microsoft do have Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.6 that you can download from here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7352