OLD FLEXI, ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOSHOP. COREL

[PB33064]

I've been pushing my luck running windows xp but all my software is too old to run on windows 7.
Short answer would be to upgrade, but cost to upgrade all my software and computer all at once is going to be impossible. Where should I start?

Has anyone had any luck with Windows 10 and "Compatibility Mode"? Will that really run all my old software, or does it have flaws?

 

[Solventinkjet]

You should be able to run every piece of software you ran on XP on a windows 10 computer. I have never run into a program that wouldn't run. Sometimes you have to run it in compatibility mode to get it to work but it should work on most every piece of software.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I've been pushing my luck running windows xp but all my software is too old to run on windows 7.
Short answer would be to upgrade, but cost to upgrade all my software and computer all at once is going to be impossible. Where should I start?

Has anyone had any luck with Windows 10 and "Compatibility Mode"? Will that really run all my old software, or does it have flaws?

If you are able to run your software in Win 10 using compatibility mode, then it should work for Win 7. If it's too old to run on Win 7, that it is going to be even geriatric to old on Win 10, based on that. Part of Windows bloat is legacy support, so unless your legacy software has 16 bit code in it and you get a 64 bit version of Windows, it should work.

Do you have install discs for XP and your serial numbers? Worse comes to worse, you could VM your legacy software, but your experience would be better the more your computer is equipped to handle this.

Now, if you are upgrading your hardware, depending on the advances of the software, to better utilize your hardware, it would be best to also upgrade your software.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

You should be able to run every piece of software you ran on XP on a windows 10 computer. I have never run into a program that wouldn't run. Sometimes you have to run it in compatibility mode to get it to work but it should work on most every piece of software.

I have actually had digitizing software that worked on Win 7, but with Win 8, you actually had to move DLL files manually to get it to work.

It doesn't happen often, but XP to Win 10 is a pretty huge leap for some things.

It should work, but there are exceptions.

 

[PB33064]

If you are able to run your software in Win 10 using compatibility mode, then it should work for Win 7. If it's too old to run on Win 7, that it is going to be even geriatric to old on Win 10, based on that. .

I do not have Windows 10 (yet). I do however have a windows 7 computer that some of my software won't run on.
I just happen to run into an article about windows10 "compatibility" mode, and thought that may be the time to at least upgrade computer to start.

Everything i have now runs on xp.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I do not have Windows 10 (yet). I do however have a windows 7 computer that some of my software won't run on.
I just happen to run into an article about windows10 "compatibility" mode, and thought that may be the time to at least upgrade computer to start.

Everything i have now runs on xp.

Windows 7 also has compatibility mode. Just right click on the icon of the software you want to run and then click on properties. There will be a tab in the window that pops up for compatibility settings. I usually also check the run as administrator box as well.

Edit: Just adding that the Administrator privilege does open you up to security issues so if you are connected to the internet, do at your own risk. Although I usually don't worry too much about it because I have a strong security infrastructure, it is a concern to take into account.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I usually also check the run as administrator box as well.

If you have really legacy software, this is probably necessary, because older Win OSs (referred to as the 9x era, Win 95, Win 98, Win ME etc) did not have a concept of permissions and multi user accounts beyond the superficial visual of seeming to have multi user accounts.

I would not suggest this for a computer that sees the outside world (hooked up to the internet). This is no bueno for security. It will probably be necessary to get your older software to work, especially if it had 9x Windows support (if it was for XP, it probably does), but for current computer, it really isn't a good thing. If you have to do this, I would suggest either keeping your computer off the network (if it's used for production like this is, it should be anyway) or upgrade your software.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Edit: Just adding that the Administrator privilege does open you up to security issues so if you are connected to the internet, do at your own risk. Although I usually don't worry too much about it because I have a strong security infrastructure, it is a concern to take into account.

If the OP is using good security practices, this may not be a concern. All my legacy applications are within VMs and I still use Win 98 programs, but they are buried within a few layers of protection on the host computer (VMs themselves while are better for legacy software, still have their own unique issues).

I still see people that run the admin account (which has no password) as their main account that they run everything on. It tends to be with Windows users most of the time as Unix-like systems (Linux and Mac) tend to be setup not to "trust" the user as much. Windows does things out of convenience for the user, which is where things tend to go bad, but I digress.

To the OP: there are a few reasons to upgrade, functionality (hopefully) has improved. Being able to use current hardware efficiently and of course security concerns. Even if you don't upgrade the same software that you have now, in most instances the competing products have improved as well. It can be expensive, but having been able to use the legacy software for so long, should have generating savings to be able to handle that pill a little bit better. I don't know how long you'll been using that legacy software, so it may not have been as long as I'm thinking, but MS finally pulled the plug on support back in 2014 (it's true EOL I think should have been around 2012).

 

[PB33064]

Thank you for the feedback VanderJ and WWD.
As you probably have guessed, the technical side is not my forte.

What would you suggest for a computer, or place to buy a prebuilt?

 

[PB33064]

Have to run out on a couple errands. Will check back in a couple hours.
Thanks for everything so far. Perhaps things aren't as hopeless as I thought. : )

 

[WildWestDesigns]

What would you suggest for a computer, or place to buy a prebuilt?

If you are asking about specific computer specs, I would base it on the most powerful application that you are going to be running.

If you are only using legacy software that you manage to run on the bare metal OS, your needs aren't going to be as high as someone that is either VMing everything or running the latest and greatest versions of software that take advantage of multi cores and GPU rendering etc.

I tend to like workstations and custom builds compared to pre-built now, but if you are only planning on running these older program versions and nothing else, you should be able to get away with a lot less then what I or others may need.

Honestly, I would prefer to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it, but that can be quite expensive for sure.

 

[billsines]

I know nothing of Flexi. Photoshop and Illustrator, you can do that as creative cloud and just pay monthly, so I think the cost associated could be reasonable. I don't know how old your Corel is, but I know I had X5 and upgraded to X7 for $150 out the door. No monthly fees.

So if those are your only programs, figure out what you're doing with Flexi and go from there. I don't suspect it will be as bad as you think.

I run a Lenovo ThinkCentre. I think you could get in a decent unit for under $1000.

 

[zstekovic]

If it helps, I have solved all my problems with legacy software with MacBook Pro + Parallels Desktop 13. Everything Windows is on Windows 7 x64 VM - Adobe CS3, Corel X7, Flexi Print&Cut, Office 2010. Also when I had my Roland and Mimaki machines I had VersaWorks and RasterLink working in this way - not a single problem. Everything works rock solid and fast. Backups are done on external drive trough MacOS Time Machine, so it's protected from viruses, and my errors I receive mails in macOS, so no chance of Windows specific virus attack, and nice workflow trough Hot Folders to VM.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

If it helps, I have solved all my problems with legacy software with MacBook Pro + Parallels Desktop 13. Everything Windows is on Windows 7 x64 VM - Adobe CS3, Corel X7, Flexi Print&Cut, Office 2010.

Change Mac to Linux and Parallels to VirtualBox and this is my setup here for when I need to VM.

To the OP: Spec your computer accordingly if going this route and I would also suggest using XP as your VM OS if you are able to (have the install disc and the activation code etc).

I receive mails in macOS, so no chance of Windows specific virus attack, and nice workflow trough Hot Folders to VM.

This actually may not be the case.

It is quite possible that your Mac could act as a "typhoid mary" and allow Windows viruses/malware in using the hot folders (or shared folders). Same thing on my rig using Linux (if I had WINE installed, it's actually quite possible that my Linux rig could get infected with a Windows virus/malware).

It's a good policy, although I'm sure some on here would debate it, but to have some type of scanning software (yes, Mac and Linux do have viruses/malware out in the wild as well) to make sure that what is coming in is actually good to go for the Windows side.

While a VM does have a little bit more security through a little more isolation from the outside world, it's not impossible to have some issues. Not as likely as running a legacy OS connected directly to the outside world, but there is still a chance of getting something.

 

[zstekovic]

Like I learned on my skin, hardware acceleration and disk allocation/reclaim free space/corruption is sometimes a big problem with VirtualBox, that's the reason I switch to setup that I'm using right now. BTW VirtualBox is awesome.

This actually may not be the case.

It is quite possible that your Mac could act as a "typhoid mary" and allow Windows viruses/malware in using the hot folders (or shared folders). Same thing on my rig using Linux (if I had WINE installed, it's actually quite possible that my Linux rig could get infected with a Windows virus/malware).

True - if you do not configure stuff from start like firewall, and in Windows just Windows Firewall & Defender is enough. Hot folders are not on Windows machine but on Mac, so Windows software (RIP) pick up stuff from them (TIFF, PDF, JPEG... etc) - that I put there. Also that's why I don't have nothing like WINE in mu user space running.
This is portable production machine with daily hard backup (in 2 places) for one user, not experimental rig.
4th year running, no problems (same VM, not computer)

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Like I learned on my skin, hardware acceleration and disk allocation/reclaim free space/corruption is sometimes a big problem with VirtualBox, that's the reason I switch to setup that I'm using right now. BTW VirtualBox is awesome.

I'm not running a straight version of VB (the joys of open source, at least with their main application, their guest additions are not open source, to my knowledge)

True - if you do not configure stuff from start like firewall, and in Windows just Windows Firewall & Defender is enough. Hot folders are not on Windows machine but on Mac, so Windows software (RIP) pick up stuff from them (TIFF, PDF, JPEG... etc)

If it is a means to go from host to guest and vice versa, it is a means to get things in to the Windows machine. I can't remember how Parrallels does it, but in VB, the shared folders (this is what I'm thinking you are calling "hot folders", although for RIPS it's specifically called "hot folder") actually show up as networked drives within the Windows VM. Those files that you mentioned could be used to execute malicious code as well. Not much of a worry if it's your own stuff, but if it's from 3rd parties, that's where the chance is. There was actually a case were PDFs viewed in web browsers spreading malware to all the OSs (Linux, Windows and Mac) back in the summer of 2015 or 2016, something like that. Now that's using web browsers, but just to show it's possible to execute malicious code in those systems using those file types, something that all of the OSs can use.

I prefer hardware firewall to software and I don't necessarily trust Windows in this area as well, because they have a history of skimping on hard security features for the convenience of the user (9x series anyone).

 

[zstekovic]

At my instance everything is set up like network share folders. It's working, Not trying to go into deep discussions, just to help the guy.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

At my instance everything is set up like network share folders. It's working, Not trying to go into deep discussions, just to help the guy.

It's a valid one no doubt. It's one that I use (sans Mac involvement). Some things are different (which could lead to a false sense of security) and some things need to be treated the same. It can get confusing, I'm just more of the have everything be known, pros and cons and then go from there. It's easy for things to not work right when using VMs and it isn't necessarily an issue with a VM itself, but maybe the hardware isn't up to snuff etc.