running incompatable programs on Win 10

I am currently running Win7x64 pro on my desktop computers. I am toying with the idea of migrating to Win10.

Problem is that I have several 'legacy' programs that I cannot & do not want to, abandon--WordPerfect X4 CorelDraw X4 and Ventura 10. they all work fine on Win7 ( a 64 bit OS) but I am near-as-nevermind certain they will not work on Ten. From what I have read elsewhere, I don't think they work in compatibility mode either...even if they can be installed (no guarantee on that). That's the thing I hate about upgrading.

So, is a VM my only alternative? Is that even a viable solution? Or has anyone gotten around this problem with the above mentioned apps?

Thanks for the reply.

Any recs? I want easy (I'm not an expert by any means), lightweight, and fast.

DWFII said:

Any recs? I want easy (I'm not an expert by any means), lightweight, and fast.

Your specs say you have 'Win10pro', that means Hyper-V is available to you. Kari is an expert and has written tutorials on using Hyper-V VMs. See this one, and the list of related tutorials at the bottom.

Hyper-V Quick Create - Create or Copy a Virtual Machine | Tutorials


If you make a Macrium Reflect image of your existing machine, then you can run that as a VM under Hyper-V, even with the free version of Macrium.


Macrium viBoot - Create Virtual Machine using Macrium Image | Tutorials

I thank you all for the advice. Ultimately I just want something super easy...I want to run my legacy (Win7) programs like I can now on my Win7pro desktop, access my wifi network and my printers like I can now and have usb work without a fuss. And I'd like that VM to take a few resources as possible so that if I want to install it on my wife's laptop, it will work without any hassle (I don't expect touch screen in the VM).

Either VirtualBox or Hyper-V seem, at first glance to meet the criteria although VirtualBox is touted as very beginner friendly--that would be ideal for my wife...and even me considering that I really don't want to hassle.

You could try installing Windows 10 as a VM on your existing Windows 7 PC. W10 wont activate but you should be able to experiment with installing your old programs in W10 using the VM.

Try installing those programs in an admin account. Run the installer as an administrator in compatibility mode intended for the original program.

Some years ago I did not want to take any risk switching from W7 to W10. I bought and implemented an extra SSD in my desktop, cloned W7 and setup a dual boot. After upgrading to W10 I was surprised to learn that most of my (old) programs still functioned under W10. But I could setup W10 to my wishes over some period, and still having W7 available on the other SSD. I never regretted to have chosen this approach.

I am still running PSP X3 on w10 x64, so I guess those Corel X4 versions can run properly too.

eLPuSHeR said:

I am still running PSP X3 on w10 x64, so I guess those Corel X4 versions can run properly too.

Well, not according to the majority of folks on the Corel Forums...leastwise that's what I'm hearing. For the most part they won't even install properly if at all.

And when you think about it, that's about par for the course. Microsoft has never liked having competitors such as WordPerfect--they want to dominate the entire desktop universe--so they have no incentive to make it easy to migrate or run legacy apps. It was understandable in the transition from 32 bit to 64 bit but the programs I'm worried about are 64 bit and running perfectly in a 64 bit environment (Win7pro).

There's a lot I don't care for in Win10...esp. with regard to the interface (what I've seen of it). But I can accept that Ten is a step forward and more secure etc., yada yada yada. I'm even willing to pay for the recurring upgrades of the OS on a reasonable time frame. But it's short-sighted to force users/customers to upgrade program after program to be compatible with the OS. To do its job the way I want it to, the OS should be in the background and as inconspicuous as possible. Not forcing upgrades of itself, much less other programs that I paid for, like, and am familiar with.

Personally, I suspect that there is a lot of smoldering resentment of Microsoft brewing up in the general public for just such reasons...and rightfully so.