Difference between revisions of "Windows Compatibility Mode"

Revision as of 10:03, 10 December 2012

Windows Vista Compatibility Settings

Newer versions of Windows sometimes have trouble running older games. Compatibility settings can fix some problems. To change compatibility settings right-click the .EXE or shortcut for the game and choose the Compatibility tab.

Compatibility settings will not fix problems such as Missing DLL errors or Rainbow Colors. Refer to those pages for details about those problems.

Compatibility mode

Try enabling this setting and choosing a Windows version that the game was originally designed for. The versions listed will vary somewhat depending on the version of Windows you are currently using.

Settings

Run in 256 Colours (XP/Vista/7)

Try this when running 256-color games. This is also useful for 256-color games that run correctly without this setting but warn about too many colors; enabling this setting will skip the warning.

Reduced color mode (Windows 8)

Try choosing the appropriate mode when running 256-color and 16-bit games. This is also useful for games that run correctly without this setting but warn about too many colors; enabling this setting will skip the warning.

Run in 640x480 Screen Resolution

This sets the Windows resolution to 640x480 before launching the game.

Disable Visual Themes

Stops visual themes built in to the operating system from affecting the game. This setting is not available on Windows 8.

Disable Desktop Composition

Disables Aero, the default theme and and graphical user interface. This setting is not available on Windows 8.

Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Settings

This stops large monitors increasing the DPI (dots per inch) to a size too large.

Privilege Level

This setting makes the game run as an administrator, which is required for some games. This setting is automatically set when the compatibility mode is set to Windows XP or earlier, so if you are using one of those modes you do not need to set this option as well.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:VistaCompatibilityMode.png|thumb|right|Windows Vista Compatibility Settings]]
-Windows Vista, 7 and XP sometimes have trouble running older games. Luckily, there is an option within the properties panel which can help rectify this called "Compatibility Mode".
+Newer versions of [[Windows]] sometimes have trouble running older games. Compatibility settings can fix some problems. To change compatibility settings right-click the .EXE or shortcut for the game and choose the Compatibility tab.
-To change the compatibility settings simply right-click your .EXE file that runs your game and choose "Compatibility" from the menu.
+Compatibility settings will not fix problems such as [[Windows#Older Games Missing .dll File in Windows Vista/7|Missing DLL errors]] or [[Rainbow Color Problems In Older Games|Rainbow Colors]]. Refer to those pages for details about those problems.
-The [[Color Fixes For Older Games]] article may also be relevant when running older games.
+== Compatibility mode ==
+Try enabling this setting and choosing a Windows version that the game was originally designed for. The versions listed will vary somewhat depending on the version of Windows you are currently using.
-Some old games may not run due to missing .DLL files. The [[DirectX#Old Games on Windows Vista.2FWindows 7 Fix|Old Games on Windows Vista/Windows 7 Fix]] may help with that.
+== Settings ==
+=== Run in 256 Colours (XP/Vista/7)===
+Try this when running 256-color games. This is also useful for 256-color games that run correctly without this setting but warn about too many colors; enabling this setting will skip the warning.
+=== Reduced color mode (Windows 8)===
+Try choosing the appropriate mode when running 256-color and 16-bit games. This is also useful for games that run correctly without this setting but warn about too many colors; enabling this setting will skip the warning.
-== Compatibility Mode ==
-There are a maximum ten different modes you can choose to run your game under. It is recommended to choose the mode for which your game was originally released for.
-These are:
-# Windows 95
-# Windows 98/Windows ME
-# Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5)
-# Windows 2000
-# Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
-# Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 1)
-# Windows Vista
-# Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
-# Windows Vista (Service Pack 3)
-== Settings ==
-=== Run in 256 Colours ===
-Choose this for running 8-bit games.
 === Run in 640x480 Screen Resolution ===
-This reduces the number of pixels on screen to 640x480.
+This sets the Windows resolution to 640x480 before launching the game.
 === Disable Visual Themes ===
-Stops visual themes built in to the operating system from affecting the game.
+Stops visual themes built in to the operating system from affecting the game. This setting is not available on Windows 8.
 === Disable Desktop Composition ===
-Disables Aero, the default theme and and graphical user interface.
+Disables Aero, the default theme and and graphical user interface. This setting is not available on Windows 8.
 === Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Settings ===
-This stops large monitors from increasing the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dots_per_inch DPI (dots per inch)] to a size too large.
+This stops large monitors increasing the [[Wikipedia:Dots per inch|DPI (dots per inch)]] to a size too large.
 == Privilege Level ==
-This setting makes the game run as if the user account was an administrator, which is required for some games.
+This setting makes the game run as an administrator, which is required for some games. This setting is automatically set when the [[#compatibility mode|compatibility mode]] is set to Windows XP or earlier, so if you are using one of those modes you do not need to set this option as well.
 == See Also ==
-* [[DirectX#Old Games on Windows Vista.2FWindows 7 Fix|Old Games on Windows Vista/Windows 7 Fix]]
+* [[Windows#Older Games Missing .dll File in Windows Vista/7|Missing DLL errors]]
-* [[Color Fixes For Older Games]]
+* [[Rainbow Color Problems In Older Games]]
 [[Category:Guide]]