Aw compatibility issue on windows 10

If you encounter a problem when an outdated application refuses to work in the new operating system from Microsoft, use compatibility mode in Windows 10 to launch it. This article will teach you how to run programs and old games in the top ten that refuse to work in the latest OS environment, crash or function with errors.

Windows 10 prompts you to activate Compatibility Mode when launching applications whose previous working session crashed or was interrupted due to an error or by terminating the process. But this is not done in all cases.

Activating compatibility mode manually through the properties of a shortcut or executable is not always available, and sometimes requires running a troubleshooting tool. Let's look at both methods, and also figure out how to disable compatibility mode in Windows 10.

Turn on the mode in the properties of the shortcut of the executable file

The first way to activate compatibility mode in Windows 10 is by using the properties of the exe file or application shortcut.

1. To do this, we call the "Properties" of the target object through the context menu or the key combination "Alt + Enter".
2. Go to the "Compatibility" tab.
3. In the "Compatibility Mode" section, check the box next to its name.
4. Open the drop-down menu and select the version of the operating system for which the application is intended or in which it works without failures.

Compatibility is disabled by removing the checkmark next to the only option in the "Compatibility Mode" section.

When using XP applications released about 10 years ago, you can try to run the program at a lower resolution, using 256 colors or without visual design. You can also tell the operating system that this application should be run as an administrator each time in order to save the time required to call the context menu of the file to select the appropriate launch mode.

Enable mode through troubleshooting

In order to start the compatibility mode, you need to call the troubleshooting tool, which in the "top ten" is called "Running programs designed for other versions of Windows." You can call the tool through the Troubleshooting applet, located one of the last in the Control Panel when visualizing its elements as icons, or through the search bar.

The application must be run with administrator privileges. This will allow you to detect additional factors that cause problems in the functioning of the program.

After waiting a bit, we will see a list of software products installed on the PC, in which you should select the problematic program.

If the target utility is not in the list, select the first item "Not in the list", click "Next", and then specify the path to the executable file.

After selecting an application or specifying the path to its launch file, you will be prompted to select a diagnostic mode. To select a specific version of Windows, specify the second mode "Program Diagnostics", and to automatically determine a compatible version of the operating system, stop at the first item.

After selecting the edition of the operating system, a window will appear with options for problems that were noticed while the application was running in the top ten.

If you know in which version of the operating system the application worked properly, indicate it or select "I don't know".

In the next dialog, click "Test the program" in order to test whether it functions during startup with the specified parameters. If the test was successful, click "Next".

For the subsequent call of the software with the specified parameters, select the first item in the last window, save the specified settings and close the window.

After looking for more problems, close the tool or view more information about the problem.

If the application refuses to work in compatibility mode with the selected Windows, try a different edition of the OS or use the recommended settings. As a last resort, you can always ask for help in resolving your issues by sending a problem report to Microsoft representatives or searching the forums for an answer.

Every time you start an application, the operating system starts the Compatibility Assistant by default. This service monitors the running program and attempts to determine if there are previously known compatibility issues with the installed operating system. Compatibility mode is also intended for installing and running programs that were written for earlier versions of operating systems. For developers' reasons, this can help avoid a lot of problems. The compatibility mode is designed mainly for beginners. If for some reason you are tired of pop-up windows with a suggestion to run this application with special parameters, the article tells you how to disable compatibility mode in windows 10. Please note that all actions are designed for advanced users or administrators.

Description of why this service is needed from Microsoft: “Provides support for the Program Compatibility Assistant. It monitors programs installed and run by the user and detects known compatibility issues. If you stop this service, the Program Compatibility Assistant will not work correctly."

Disable Compatibility Assistant

Step 1: Press the key combination "Win + R" and in the field Open: enter services.msc and click OK.

Step 2: team services.msc you start the service control window. Scroll down the list and find "Program Compatibility Assistant Service" in the list. Right-click on this service and select "Stop" from the context list. This operation allows you to stop the service until the next Windows restart.

Click "Stop" to temporarily disable Compatibility Mode

Step 3: A window will appear for a short while notifying you of an attempt to stop this service. If everything went well, the inscription “Running” will disappear opposite the service name. This means that it is stopped.

Step 4: In order not to wait for a reboot, you can manually start the Program Compatibility Assistant. In the same window, right-click on the service and select "Start" from the list. In the same way as in the previous case, a launch window should appear for a while, and if everything is fine, the words “Running” will appear opposite the name.

To start the compatibility service, click on "Start"

Step 5: If you want to completely disable windows 10 program compatibility mode, you need to run properties. To do this, either double-click with the left mouse button, or by pressing the right mouse button, select the "Properties" item in the list. In the "General" tab, select the startup type "Disabled" and click "OK". This will completely disable the compatibility service and even after a reboot it will not start. To re-enable it, follow the same steps and select "Automatic" in the startup type.

Compatibility Service Properties - Disable Compatibility Completely

Run the program in compatibility mode manually

Step 1: If the program you are running does not work as it should, you can try to specify in the compatibility settings the mode with which you think the program or application should work. To do this, right-click on the program or on the shortcut and select "Properties".

Step 2: Go to the "Compatibility" tab and in the "Compatibility mode" field in the drop-down list of parameters, specify the type of operating system. To make the list available, check the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" checkbox.

Step 3: Additionally, in this tab, you can specify the parameters for launching. The main thing is the ability to once tell the program to run as administrator. It is convenient if some functions do not work during normal startup.

Step 1: If the manual method of specifying compatibility does not work or you do not know what type to specify, Windows has a built-in utility for determining the mode in automatic mode. In order for the utility to determine the mode, it is necessary to launch the program for execution with this utility. To do this, right-click on the application or shortcut and select "Fix Compatibility Issues" from the list.

Step 2: The utility will launch the application and try to identify launch problems.

Step 3: Select the diagnostic mode "Use recommended settings".

Step 4: In the window you will see automatically set parameters for launch. Before continuing, run the program and check the functionality by clicking on the "Test program ..." button. The application will start. After verifying that it works, click the "Next" button.

Step 5: If the application is working fine and the problem does not reoccur, click on the "Yes, save these settings for the program" button. The utility will use them to run in this mode for subsequent launches.

You can write any questions about the problem or wishes at the bottom of the article.

If you have only recently switched to Windows 10, and your entire software archive has migrated from Windows Vista or XP to the new "top ten", it is quite possible that old applications will simply refuse to run on the new version of the operating system. Games require older versions of DirectX or drivers, system applications require older versions of DLLs that have been updated or replaced, and console applications now only run through new utilities that were not available on previous versions of Windows.

The most rational solution here is to update the distribution bank by downloading new versions from the official website of the developer. But what if Windows 10 support for these programs is still not available? The most likely reason is that the developer may abandon his brainchild, ceasing to release new versions due to the transition to a new project or finding official employment.

In this situation, the compatibility mode will come to the rescue, allowing you to run the old program, which functioned perfectly on XP, Vista or Win 7, on the "top ten", while avoiding shamanic dances with tambourines and smoking pipes with potions of unknown origin.

What is compatibility mode?

What kind of regime is this, and why is it needed? In fact, this is a universal mechanism for running old software on Windows 10, ensuring the stable operation of such applications without friezes, crashes and lags. Compatibility Mode existed in previous versions of Windows. The only difference is that support for new systems, including Win 7 and 8 / 8.1, also migrated to the top ten from previous builds, and all ancient systems, starting from version 95, remained in stock and have not gone away.

In fact, if the program worked successfully and ran on version 7 or 8.1, most likely, in the top ten you will also not experience any problems with it, since there were no major changes in the architecture and logic of the systems, and you can easily run such a program in the latest version. Microsoft OS.

But the most relevant compatibility mode becomes in relation to programs from the times of XP and earlier builds, since this software stops working already starting with Vista, and you can’t do without compatibility mode at all.

How to enable compatibility mode and run programs?

To run an application in this mode, right-click on the program you want to run. You can try to launch not only the program itself, but also a shortcut to it, so you can choose any object that refers to the executable file you need. In the context menu that appears, select "Properties". The application settings form will open.

On the settings form, select the "Compatibility" tab, if it is present at all among other tabs.

Turn on the compatibility mode by checking the appropriate checkbox in the first box from the top. Next, select the operating system for which you would like to activate the compatibility mode.

The entire range of systems from Microsoft is available, with the exception of version 3.11. However, if you have such an old program, you can run it using the Dosbox application (http://www.dosbox.com/). But back to our topic. Thanks to a wide range of operating systems, there is great hope that you will still run your program. You just need to have a little hand in the launch settings and setting additional options, which will be discussed below.

What auxiliary options (view options) are also available here?

• First of all, this reduced color mode. If your program was run in CGA, EGA, or VGA mode, you will need a reduced color mode. It downscales the available color gamut to 8 or 16 bits, and limits the color gamut, making it possible to run an application with a limited color gamut even on modern devices with a maximum color gamut.
• The next option is using a reduced screen resolution of 640x480. It's hard to believe, but there were times when programs (first of all, games) were launched and felt great in this particular resolution. If the resolution was increased to at least 800x600, then there were strong lags, after which we again had to return to the “native” 640x480. This significantly reduced the quality of the picture, but this is all the power that modern PCs could handle in those days. In particular, this situation was relevant in the days of Windows 95.
• The next parameter is for disable scaling at high resolution display. This option will avoid problems related to the failure of the response when touching the display or clicking on the image on modern tablets or PCs while running legacy applications. If you experience such problems, feel free to check the box in the "On" position.
• The last option allows run the program in administrator mode. This will activate the system helper libraries and allow the application to run even when the standard launch mechanism fails.

So we looked at all the options that can be set in parallel with the launch of software products in compatibility mode in Windows 10. Their number is not too large, but playing around with them while working with outdated software, it is likely that you can achieve the desired result in this way.

How to disable compatibility mode?

To disable compatibility mode, you just need to uncheck the corresponding item on the above settings form. The additional parameters set will not play any role, so their status will no longer matter.

Another handy tool that will help solve the problem of running old software on modern systems is Compatibility Troubleshooter.

In a nutshell, this is a kind of wizard that allows you to automatically specify all the same parameters and compatibility settings that you can set manually below on the same form. To avoid long attempts to set everything up manually, the wizard will allow you to do everything the same, but much faster, and using the “question and answer” procedure, rather than by manually manipulating the parameters and settings.

Compatibility mode is an important and necessary component of the Windows 10 operating system, but it does not give a 100% guarantee that the program will run on your device. All you can do is just try to run the program using it. In all other cases, a virtual machine will do.

Windows 10 Program Compatibility Mode allows you to run software on a computer that worked fine only in previous versions of Windows, and in the latest OS, the program does not start or works with errors. This guide is about how to enable Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP compatibility mode in Windows 10 to fix program launch errors.

By default, Windows 10 prompts you to automatically enable compatibility mode after crashes in programs, but only in some of them and not always. Manual inclusion of the compatibility mode, which was previously (in previous OS) performed through the properties of the program or its shortcut, is now not available for all shortcuts and sometimes you need to use a special tool for this. Let's consider both methods.

To run the Program Compatibility Mode setting, you will need to run the Windows 10 specific troubleshooter "Running programs designed for previous versions of Windows".

You can do this either through the “Troubleshooting” control panel item (the control panel can be opened by right-clicking on the Start button. To see the “Troubleshooting” item at the top right, the “View” field should be “Icons”, not “Categories”) , or, which is faster, through the search in the taskbar.

This will launch the Windows 10 Legacy Programs Compatibility Troubleshooter. It makes sense to use the "Run as administrator" option when using it (this will allow settings to be applied to programs located in restricted folders). Click next.

After some waiting, the next window will prompt you to select a program with compatibility problems. If you need to add your own program (for example, portable applications will not be displayed in the list), select "Not in the list" and click "Next", then set the path to the program's executable exe file.

After selecting a program or specifying its location, you will be prompted to select a diagnostic mode. To manually specify the compatibility mode for a particular version of Windows, click Program Diagnostics.

The next window will ask you to indicate the problems that were noticed when running your program in Windows 10. Select "The program worked in previous versions of Windows, but does not install or does not start now" (or other options, as appropriate).

In the next window, you will need to specify which OS version to enable compatibility with - Windows 7, 8, Vista and XP. Choose your option and click Next.

In the next window, to complete the installation of compatibility mode, you need to click "Check the program". After it starts, checks (which you do yourself, optional) and closes, click "Next".

And finally, either save the compatibility options for this program, or use the second item if the errors remain - "No, try using other options." Done, after saving the settings, the program will work in Windows 10 in the compatibility mode you selected.

Enable Compatibility Mode in Windows 10 - video

In conclusion, everything is the same as described above in the video instruction format.

If you still have any questions related to the operation of compatibility mode and programs in general in Windows 10, ask, I will try to help.

As soon as the user launches the program, the OS automatically turns on the Compatibility Assistant. It is designed to improve system performance, but on devices with minimal technical parameters, another running utility will cause a crash or slow operation (how to increase PC performance is described in the article ""). Therefore, if you want to speed up your computer, read how to turn off compatibility mode in Windows 10.

Shutdown

The Windows Compatibility Assistant is designed to track:

• programs installed on the computer (read how to remove a program from a PC in the article "");
• failures that occurred earlier during the operation of applications;
• how to resolve compatibility issues that arise.

It is also designed to run applications written for earlier versions of the OS. But if you don't want messages to constantly appear on your PC asking you to install an application with recommended settings, disable this feature.

Using the Services

In group policy

1. Press Win + R and enter the command: gpedit.msc.
2. Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components - Application Compatibility.
   
3. On the right side of the window, find "Disable Program Compatibility Assistant" → RMB → Change → Enabled → confirm changes → restart your PC.
   

In OS Configuration

Running applications in compatibility mode manually

RMB on the launch shortcut → properties → Compatibility tab.

Three options are available here:

• click the "Run the Compatibility Troubleshooter" button - the system will automatically try to solve the problems;
• in the "Compatibility mode" block, check the box "Run the program in compatibility mode for" and select from the drop-down list the OS in which the application worked stably;
• in the "Parameters" block, specify the values ​​with which the program will be launched in compatibility mode - save the changes.

Good to know! To make the changes made for each user on the computer, click the "Change settings for all users" button (Administrator rights will be required).

The video describes the manual start process more clearly.

Automatic parameter detection

1. You can also right-click on the shortcut to launch the program - Fix Compatibility Issues to start automatic configuration.
2. After the diagnosis, a window will appear with two options for troubleshooting:
   • use the recommended settings;
   • program diagnostics.
3. Select "Use recommended settings" to automatically configure the program → the utility will prompt you to check the performance of the application with the changes made.
   
4. Run the application and check if it works → Next.
5. The utility will ask if the problems with the application's performance have been resolved → select one of the options.
   

Conclusion

If a program stops working in Windows 10, use the Compatibility Assistant to start it. If necessary, it can be disabled. But doing this, if it does not interfere with the operation of the computer, is not recommended.