Vista Tutorial - Compatibility Mode List of Programs

**Brink** · **Compatibility Mode** **Data Value**

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

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

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

To check and see if your hardware or software is compatible with Vista, see: Windows Vista Compatibility Center

RELATED LINKS:

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)
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

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

**Brink** · 11-24-2007

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

**HerrS** · 08-12-2008

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.

**Brink** · 08-12-2008

Thank you HerrS for letting me know about the spacing typo. It has been corrected.

You might also take a look at this tutorial to.

Compatibility Mode

Thank you again,
Shawn

11-24-2007
Brink Administrator Join Date: Apr 2007 Vista x64 Ultimate SP2, Windows 7 (7600) x64 25,806 posts	Re: Compatibility Mode List of Programs 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
My System Specs

08-12-2008
HerrS Newbie Join Date: Aug 2008 Vista Home Premium x32 1 posts	Re: Compatibility Mode List of Programs 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 System Specs

08-12-2008
Brink Administrator Join Date: Apr 2007 Vista x64 Ultimate SP2, Windows 7 (7600) x64 25,806 posts	Re: Compatibility Mode List of Programs Thank you HerrS for letting me know about the spacing typo. It has been corrected. You might also take a look at this tutorial to. Compatibility Mode Thank you again, Shawn
My System Specs

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