Windows Xp was launched in year 2001 and then next major change came in year 2008 in the shape of Windows Vista. For 6 years Windows XP was used widely and almost all the hardware and Software was made keeping its compatibility with Windows XP in mind. After the launch of Windows Vista people started using Windows Vista but some hardware or software which was compatible with Windows XP would not necessarily work the same way in Windows Vista. This could be because some devices which you were using before might have been discontinued by the manufacturers and so they did not create the new Windows Vista compatible drivers. It doesn’t seem to be realistic and feasible to purchase new devices when you upgrade to Windows Vista and keeping this in mind Window Vista has a feature which allows any application or device to run in compatibility mode. This feature was also present in Windows XP and it helped in running devices and programs which were designed to work on Windows 98 or 95 but not on Windows XP. When we run a program or device in compatibility mode of any other version of Windows the drivers and files which it would need to work gets loaded in the memory and make it workable. Making an application work in compatibility mode is quite simple because applications interact only with the computer but when it comes to the working of any device in compatibility mode it becomes a real tricky. Few more steps need to be taken for making a device run in compatibility mode and use the drivers of Windows XP to operate on Windows Vista.
In order to make a Windows XP driver load in Windows Vista first stop loading of any unwanted application or startup item because this might load the new Vista driver which then will not let the XP driver work. To do this, open the Start Menu and then the Run box. In Run box type MSCONFIG. Once the configuration window appears click on the Startup tab and from here you can uncheck any or all the items which you do not want to load when the system starts. Once you are done click on OK and then restart the computer when prompted. When you are back on the Desktop after restarting your computer open the Computer window and browse to the installation location of the device which you want to run in compatibility mode. These devices are generally located in the Program Files folder. Once you are in the folder highlight the mail file which is used for functioning of the device. This file would be an executable file. Right click on it and select properties. In its property window click on the Compatibility tab. In this tab you will find a drop down which will give you all the compatible options in which that application can be executed. Since we have to run the device in Windows XP compatibility, so we will select Windows XP, and will close the Box after applying the changes and by clicking on OK. That would be all. Now any time your device will invoke the program in concern it will start and will load the Windows XP drivers for that device to make it function.
