Windows 8 Backwards compatibility

Question

Will all applications developed on Windows 8 be runnable on Windows XP/Vista/7 and vice versa?

Or are there any exceptions?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, I just want to make sure before I download it :)

Answer 1

There is complete backwards compatability between Windows8 and Windows7.
For XP / Vista it will be the same compatability as 7 compared to those.

Regards,

Dylan Meeus

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0x2B |~ 0x2B Blog : www.it-ca.net/blogdylan

Answer 2

Yes, legacy applications will run fine on windows 8 however, I cannot say that it is true the other way around.  I would assume that, no, windows 8 apps will NOT run on any other windows version because they are coded in HTML 5 and Javascript which runs natively in windows 8.

Answer 3

Will all applications developed on Windows 8 be runnable on Windows XP/Vista/7 and vice versa?

Or are there any exceptions?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, I just want to make sure before I download it :)

Not a stupid question at all, and something that is important to most Windows users.  The answer is that nearly all applications that run on Windows 7 will continue to work on Windows 8.  There are always a few exceptions.  Some categories of applications, such as Security, Anti-Virus, and low-level system utilities generally need to be updated for every new Windows release.  They tend to have hooks into OS internal data structures that are not "exported" for applications to rely upon, and have to change as Windows evolves.  Microsoft works closely with these partner companies to ensure that products can be ready to meet their business goals and customer expectations.

If you do find any problems with applications that you depend on, please share that information here and our Compatibility team will take note.

Thanks for your question!

Answer 4

On Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:58:29 +0000, Dave Hicks [Microsoft] wrote:

Will all applications developed on Windows 8 be runnable on Windows XP/Vista/7 and vice versa?

Or are there any exceptions?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, I just want to make sure before I download it :)

Not a stupid question at all, and something that is important to most Windows users.? The answer is that nearly all applications that run on Windows 7 will continue to work on Windows 8.

Umm, Dave, you've actually answered the exact opposite of the question that
was asked.

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Paul Adare
MVP - Identity Lifecycle Manager
http://www.identit.ca
In computer science, we stand on each other's feet.  -- Brian Reid

Answer 5

Well, the OP did toss in a "vice versa" so I'll stand by my earlier post.  :) 

To answer the other half of the question:  New Metro-style apps will NOT run on earlier versions of Windows. 

Answer 6

I think this question has more depth than some realize.

It seems clear that Metro apps developed for Windows 8 will NOT run on earlier versions of Windows.

But no doubt developers will still be able to write apps using traditional languages and APIs to run on the desktop.  With so many remaining XP users it would be silly to ignore them just yet.

The real question is whether people will continue to buy NEW apps built for the LEGACY desktop.  Will Photoshop CS6 or CS7 be a Metro app?  Even from Microsoft, will new apps ALL be Metro?  Will the next Office be Metro?  Is it expected that all future apps are supposed to be Metro?

The paradigm shift is what's important here.

-Noel

Answer 7

On Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:51:17 +0000, Dave Hicks [Microsoft] wrote:

Well, the OP did toss in a "vice versa" so I'll stand by my earlier post.? :)?

To answer the other half of the question:? New Metro-style apps will NOT run on earlier versions of Windows.

Sorry, I completely missed the vice versa bit. I'll be back when I've
managed to remove my foot from my mouth. :-)

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Paul Adare
MVP - Identity Lifecycle Manager
http://www.identit.ca
Computer problems? Have you checked the loose nut in front of the keyboard?

Answer 8

Hello,

With some soft, I've this answer : no compatibilty win 6.2 or more problem, this is not work with Vista.

What's the problem? Kernel between  win xp and vista?!!!

Lot of problem under some softs like winamp, firefox, opera : links with java don't work.

I think a lot of software can't support a mix (xp and vista).

(Excuse my bad english)

Answer 9

Hi anael28,

Please make sure to report these issues to Microsoft. Microsoft invests a lot of resources on Application and Driver Compatibility testing and partner outreach. The community feedback is an important channel to expand this effort.

Cheers
Peres

Answer 10

I completely agree with the fact that there are too many XP users out there.  I personally always keep a dual-boot system on every computer I own and at least one of the operating systems on it is XP.  I have watched Microsoft fade out previous versions of windows by making it impossible to get support for them.  Here it seems that I am watching yet another OS from Microsoft that seems to be geared to eliminate previous systems.  My biggest worry comes with the ability to work with Office regardless of which OS I use.  Maybe I am speaking out of line being as I have not quite come to the conclusion of what "Metro" is and how it determines the difference between the OS's of XP/Vista/7.  Is it as large as a jump from FAT32/NTFS or is it something smaller like a version upgrade from Java?  Don't mean to sound on the technogically illiterate side of life, I tend to do quite a bit for software troubleshooting and virus/spyware removal for a lot of people I know and it has become increasingly difficult to manually delete some virus files with the amount of extra "security" that Microsoft has added to the newer OS as they come out.  Any news on how many "windows only" needed files that will be able to hide temp files with viruses in them? 

On another note, my father uses a program called PaperPort on a regular basis.  I tried to install it on 8 dev preview and it managed to lock up about 2/3 of the way through the install.  I am not sure as to how to pull up any errors when an install just stops and doesn't give an excuse behind it.  Any knowledge on that would be awesome.

As a final note, I hope that XP never gets completely fased out because I already have a hard enough time finding drivers to work in XP on newer model systems such as laptops that can't just have different hardware put in them that is supported by XP.  Sometimes even manual installation with .dll's becomes an issue so hopefully enough people can stand to have XP continued as a supported OS simply because it is the first stable system I know of that Microsoft can claim credit for.

Answer 11

The new Metro style apps will only run on Windows 8.  For desktop apps, technically, it depends on the app, but I would bet that most, if not almost all, will be able to run on either Win7 or Win8.

Answer 12

Give it a few months and someone will have an open source WinRT compatibility layer for Win 7. 

Probably the Mono people.