Is there a way to make software made for XP compatible with Vista?

[EkhristosAnesti]

I recently bought a new laptop which came with a Vista operating system. I tried to install my Maxtor Onetouch III external harddrive on there, and although the installation process went smoothly, my laptop won't recognise the drive when I attach it. Is there anything I can do to resolve this without having to change my operating system entirely?

[JoeS]

I recently bought a new laptop which came with a Vista operating system. I tried to install my Maxtor Onetouch III external harddrive on there, and although the installation process went smoothly, my laptop won't recognise the drive when I attach it. Is there anything I can do to resolve this without having to change my operating system entirely?

Im no tecky but I personally think they came out too soon with "Vista".
My so-called Free printer, which came with the new computer, didnt work with Vista and a Geek had to personally come out to my house and correct the situation.  He admitted that Vista still has a lot of bugs.

[Anastasios]

Best thing to do would be to google your exact brand along with Vista compatability and read up if other users had the same problem. Sometimes a patch can fix it or a tweak. I had an issue with my thumb drive and Vista but when I turned off certain features it worked.

[EofK]

^ Very good advice.  My iPod quit working when we acquired Vista and it turns out that iTunes needed a new driver so Vista would recognize the iPod was even plugged in.     I agree, they released it a bit too soon.  Can't test for everything, but at least try to make it aware of hardware!  Sheesh.

[JoeS]

^ Very good advice.  My iPod quit working when we acquired Vista and it turns out that iTunes needed a new driver so Vista would recognize the iPod was even plugged in.     I agree, they released it a bit too soon.  Can't test for everything, but at least try to make it aware of hardware!  Sheesh.

There are all kinds of 'Online Computer Repair Works' sites but they will cost you.  I googled "vista user help" and I came up with a lot of choices.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Oh, the million-dollar question. Theoretically, Vista has an option to run software as though it were XP. If you right-click on the shortcut (whether on the desktop, in the Taskbar, or in the Start Menu) and select "Properties," you will see a window that has an option to "Run in compatibility mode." This has allowed me to run some programs that previously would not run in Vista. However, it has been my experience that these programs are highly unstable and tend to crash about 2-3 times an hour.

This issue is a primary concern of Vista's Service Pack 1, so we should see a fix pretty soon. If you want, you can try the release candidate (beta version) here. It merits warning, however, that the patch may cause damage to your computer, as is strongly implied by this warning taken from Microsoft's website:

Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission critical systems.

I myself have chosen not to download it as my primary computer is the only one with Vista. My backup uses XP Pro. SP1 is scheduled for release "first quarter 2008," so I hope we see it in the next couple of months.

[EofK]

Ooh, a light at the end of the tunnel!  Though it's usually not until service pack 2 when they start getting it right.  I expect SP1 will fix a few bugs and create a few more.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

It always does, but at least they tend to fix the biggest ones in SP1. Any big bugs SP1 creates are fixed with small patches, and any small bugs are just the price we pay to use Windows.

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