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AutoCAD 2009 For Sale: I recently bought a drafting program, SOLIDWORKS, something like AutoCAD, at a garage sale. I want to use it for woodworking hobby projects (designing my birdhouses, furniture, etc.), but not for business, which is illegal, of course.
I tried to install it on my new (2009) laptop, which runs on Windows Vista Home Basic. During the start of the installation process, a pop-up appears saying that I need to install it on a system which uses Windows 2000, NT4.0, or Windows 98/95, and the aborts the installation. The software disc is from the year 2000, by the way.
How can I make my computer allow the installation? Can I download something? What, from where? I don’t want to have to buy a new computer just to install this program.
HELP! That bears repeating: HELP!
Answer by MathMan
You should try running in it compatibility mode for one of these older versions of Windows.
To do this:
Insert the install CD into your computer
Explore (not run) the CD. You should be able to see the files on it. (My Computer, Right click on the CD icon, Explore)
Find the installer file. It will probably be called setup.exe or something similar.
Right click on it.
Select Properties
(at the top tabs), select Compatibility
Check the box that says “Run this program in compatibility mode for:”
Select a version of Windows from the drop-down box (I recommend XP or 2000, but try both)
Click Apply.
Click OK.
Try installing by opening the setup file directly.
This should work.
If you cannot change the compatibility settings, then this is because the file is on a CD. In this case you should simply copy over the entire CD to a folder on your computer, change the compatibility settings on that, and use it to install.
Additional (hopefully) helpful links:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproappcompat/thread/cdd894f8-1ee2-43e5-952b-d04c25779a7f
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-compatibility-mode/
Good luck!
Buy and download AutoCAD from $ 44!
