If you like using old applications and don’t know how to open them in Windows 10, we are going to help you out. If you like to keep your computer up to date, you may have had a surprise when trying to run an old application.
Do not panic. These are applications and games that have become obsolete and are not executable in the traditional way in Windows 10. And that is why we have the “Compatibility Assistant”.
How to open old applications in Windows 10 using the Compatibility Assistant?
Thanks to the “Compatibility Assistant” we can run those mythical games that came in the era of Windows 95 or Windows XP. We only need to follow some steps.
Using the “Compatibility Assistant” is very simple. It is a matter of changing some parameters when opening a specific application to make it work without problems.
To use the “Compatibility Assistant” you must right-click on the shortcut of the application and click on “Properties.”
Among the options that appear, look for the one called “Compatibility”. Now you must decide what type of compatibility you want to activate. This will make Windows pretend to be running on an older version. YOu also find the possibility of “Run this program in compatibility mode for” with the version of Windows you want to simulate, ranging from Windows Vista to Windows 8.
In addition, the “Compatibility Assistant” offers other settings to make older applications and games work, although the availability of these changes depend on the application you are going to use:
- Reduced color mode: to maximize compatibility with older applications, this mode uses fewer colors.
- Run at 640 x 480 screen resolution: changes the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels, a resolution common in computers from years ago.
- Disable full-screen optimizations: fixes bugs and problems with applications and games running in full screen.
- Run program as administrator: grants more permissions to the application, which can fix problems with older apps.
- Register this program for restart: the application will be automatically reopened after restarting
- Change high DPI settings: useful to fix visual problems as it allows to change the DPI settings for this application.
