How To Enable Application Compatibility-Mode Technology in Windows 2000 SP2 and SP3

Article ID: 279792 - View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q279792
Notice
This article applies to Windows 2000. Support for Windows 2000 ends on July 13, 2010. The Windows 2000 End-of-Support Solution Center
(http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=http%3a%2f%2fsupport.microsoft.com%2fwin2000)
is a starting point for planning your migration strategy from Windows 2000. For more information see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy
(http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/)
.
Notice
This article applies to Windows 2000. Support for Windows 2000 ends on July 13, 2010. The Windows 2000 End-of-Support Solution Center
(http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=http%3a%2f%2fsupport.microsoft.com%2fwin2000)
is a starting point for planning your migration strategy from Windows 2000. For more information see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy
(http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/)
.
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SUMMARY

Compatibility mode provides an environment for running programs that more closely reflects the behavior of either Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. These modes resolve several of the most common issues that prevent older programs from working correctly with Windows 2000. Programs that experience issues after migration may benefit from being started in one of these compatibility environments.

The Compatibility-mode technology is currently used by Windows 2000 to ensure built-in compatibility for many popular programs. With Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Service Pack 3 (SP3), administrators can manually enable and use this technology to provide solutions for their own programs. Only administrators can enable this technology for users.

Enable Compatibility Mode Properties

The Compatibility-mode technology is not exposed by default. To enable an interface so that you can use this technology for your programs after you apply Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3:
  1. Log on as Administrator.
  2. Click Start, and then click Run.
  3. In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK, where %SystemRoot% is the drive and folder in which Windows is installed:
    regsvr32 %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll

Use Compatibility Mode Properties

Administrators can use a program shortcut to set the compatibility mode for a target program. This requires that the Compatibility-mode properties be correctly installed and registered on the computer by using the previous steps. To enable Compatibility mode by using a program shortcut:
  1. Log on as Administrator.
  2. Right-click the shortcut, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Compatibility. This tab appears only if the Compatibility-mode interface has been properly enabled on the computer.
  4. Click to select the Run in Compatibility Mode check box to enable Compatibility-mode support for the program.
  5. Click either Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 compatibility mode in the drop-down box.
  6. Click OK to save the changes.
  7. Double-click the shortcut to run the program.

    NOTE: Be careful if you use Compatibility mode to bypass version warnings in Setup or installation programs. Some programs are designed for a specific operating system and intentionally prohibit use on future versions. These are frequently system-level programs that run at a very low level and have the potential to cause serious problems if installed.

Disable Compatibility Mode

Because you enable Compatibility mode independent of the Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3 installation process, removing Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3 does not remove Compatibility mode. To remove Compatibility mode:
  1. Log on as Administrator.
  2. Click Start, and then click Run.
  3. In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK, where %SystemRoot% is the drive and folder in which Windows 2000 is installed:
    regsvr32 /u %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll
Administrators can enable and disable the mechanism that improves compatibility with older platforms (also known as Shim Technology) by using the Compatibility Layer Tab. After a shortcut has a Compatibility Layer enabled, the user also runs the program under the compatibility layer, however, the user cannot see the settings in the Compatibility Layer Tab.

How to Enable Application Compatibility-Mode Technology in Windows 2000 Server SP3

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility
  3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add a registry value named Explorer.exe.
  4. Under the Explorer.exe key that you just created, create a new string value (REG_SZ) named DllPatch-x. Do not assign a value to this new string value.
  5. Under the Explorer.exe key that you just created, create a new binary value (REG_BINARY) named x.
  6. Edit the x binary value to enter the following value:
    0c 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
  7. Quit Registry Editor.
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REFERENCES

For additional information about the latest service pack for Windows 2000, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
260910
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260910/EN-US/ )
How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack
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Article ID: 279792 - Last Review: October 26, 2007 - Revision: 1.6
APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
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