Compatibility Mode List of Programs

How to See and Change the List of Programs in Compatibility Mode in Vista

information   Information
This will show you how to see a list of all the installed programs you have in Compatibility Mode and what they are set on without having to go to each individual program. You can then manually change, add, or remove a installed program from running in Compatibility Mode if the normal method in the NOTE below does not allow you.
warning   Warning
You should first try to add or remove a program from Compatibilty Mode normally. There is no guarantee that putting a program in compatibility mode will allow it to work properly.
Tip   Tip
To check and see if your hardware or software is compatible with Vista, see: Windows Vista Compatibility Center




Here's How:
1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​
3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.​
4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below step 5)
Code:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers
5. To Have a Program Run in Compatibility Mode
A) In the right pane, right click on a empty area and click on New, then on String Value. (See screenshot below table)​
C) Type in the full path of the program's exe file and press Enter.​
D) In the right pane, right click on the full path and click Modify.​
E) Type in a Compatibility Mode Data value (see table below) you want below, and click on OK.​

Compatibility Mode

Data Value

Run as Administrator

RUNASADMIN

Windows 95 Mode

WIN95

Windows 98 / Windows Me Mode

WIN98

Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5) Mode

NT4SP5

Windows 2000

WIN2000

Windows XP (Service Pack 2) Mode

WINXPSP2

Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 1)

WINSRV03SP1

Cmode.jpg


6. To Remove a Program from Running in Compatibility Mode
A) In the right pane, right click on the full path Name and click on Delete. (See screenshot above)​
B) Click on Yes to confirm the deletion.​

7. Close regedit when done.​
NOTE: Some programs may require you to restart the computer for this to be applied.​
That's it,
Shawn




 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Updated 11-24-07 to include how to manually add a program to the Compatibility Mode program list. Also, updated the available Compatibility Modes.

Shawn
 

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I'm thinking there's a typo in the instructions. You're showing the registry path as HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\
AppCompatFlags\Layers.

I think this should be shown as
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
AppCompatFlags\Layers (note the space between Windows and NT)

It looks correct in the screen capture.

By the way, I had searched for hours for a way to set compatibility mode during installation of a program. After finding this explanation, it was a piece of cake. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
 

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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