Getting older programs to run on Windows XP

Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. To run your program on Windows XP, you can try the following, Run the Program Compatibility Wizard. As an alternative, you can set the compatibility properties manually. Update your program, drivers, or hardware. These options are covered in detail below.

The Program Compatibility Wizard
This wizard prompts you to test your program in different modes (environments) and with various settings. For example, if the program was originally designed to run on Windows 95, set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 and try running your program again. If successful, the program will start in that mode each time. The wizard also allows you to try different settings, such as switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels. If compatibility problems prevent you from installing a program on Windows XP, run the Program Compatibility Wizard on the setup file for the program. The file may be called Setup.exe or something similar, and is probably located on the Installation disc for the program. To run the Program Compatibility Wizard click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP, and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click "Program Compatibility Wizard."

Set the compatibility properties manually
As an alternative to running the Program Compatibility Wizard, you can set the compatibility properties for a program manually. The settings are the same as the options in the Program Compatibility Wizard. To set the compatibility properties for a program manually Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program.

The Compatibility tab is only available for programs installed on your hard drive. Although you can run the Program Compatibility Wizard on programs or setup files on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, your changes will not remain in effect after you close the program. For more information about an option on the Compatibility tab, right-click the option and then click "What's This."

Update your program or drivers
If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web for updates or other fixes, as follows:

Check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available.
Check Windows Update to see if a fix is available for the program.
Click Home on the menu bar of Help and Support Center, then click Windows Update in the right pane.

If the program is a game that uses DirectX, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX. In addition, check the Web site of the manufacturer of your video card or sound card to see if newer drivers are available for either of them.

File and Folder Permissions

Windows XP Professional boxes running the NTFS file system have the capability to set indi vidual file permissions on both files and folders. File and folder permissions allow you to specify exactly who will be able to read, write, execute, and even list or access a folder. So, file and folder permissions can be a very powerful tool to protect your data from others' eyes. If your file system is FAT32, then you will not be able to set permissions. Fortunately, an easy way exists for you to convert your FAT32 file system to NTFS. Do a search in the Windows Help and Support Center for Convert to NTFS and you will be shown directions on how you can go about converting your drive's file system. Setting the permissions on with a lot of control requires you to disable simple file sharing and security. To do so, follow these steps: 1 . Open up any folder on your computer and expand the Tools menu and select Folder Options. 2 . Click the View tab and scroll to the bottom of the Adv...

Install Windows xp Very Fast

Now, this tip will be very helpful for those who frequently install windows xp operating system. Normally OS installation takes around 40 minutes to complete, but through this trick you can now save 10-15 minutes. This simple tricks goes this way. 1. Boot through Windows XP CD . 2. After all the files are completely loaded, you get the option to select the partition. Select “c”. 3. Now Format the partition, whether it is normal or quick with NTFS or FAT 4. Once the formatting is completed, All the setup files required for installation are copied. Restart your system by pressing Enter. Now, here begins the Simple trick to save 10-15 minutes. 5. After rebooting, you get a screen where it takes 40 minutes to complete or finalize the OS installation. 6. Now, Press SHIFT + F10 Key -> This opens command prompt . 7. Enter “Taskmgr” at the command prompt window. This will open Task Manager. 8. Click the Process Tab, here we find a process called Setup.exe -...

10 Ways To Access Blocked WebSites

Websites like facebook, twitter and other social networking sites are generally blocked in schools, colleges and offices. There exist some tricks by which you can bypass the restrictions and access blocked sites, the most obvious is the use of proxies or Anonymizer websites. But using proxies doesn’t always works as they gets blocked by firewall as well . Here I am listing some other methods to access blocked contents. 1. Use IP instead of URL Each website has its equivalent ip address . This method works best when blocked sites are stored as a list of URLs .You can use ip address to access blocked contents . For example to access facebook you can use ip address 69.63.189.11 in your address bar . You can use ip-address.com to find the ip address of other websites . 2. Use Google Cache All major search engines like Google yahoo and Bing stores cached pages of websites themselves . You can access blocked websites by viewing their cached copy on search...

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