I have an old VB6 application that depends on MSINET.OCX. I'd like to know if I can distribute this application without registering MSINET OCX component. My target OSes are XP, Vista and Windows 7. Do all of them have this component preinstalled?
See if this information from technet helps you. The short of it seems to be that it does not come preinstalled, it is installed when you install an application that uses it. You will need to include it in your installation.
It's not shipping with the OS. It is however delivered with Visual Basic. You must include it within your application setup. For details on Vista and Win7 support see: Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7
Related
Microsoft no longer supports VB6 development and support from Microsoft has already stopped. But VB6 applications still run on Windows 8.1. See also this article titled "Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1".
When would a VB6 application stop running on Windows? Is there any official statement from Microsoft or any clue about the same?
EDIT:
In this link, the Visual Studio team has mentioned that, "It will be supported at least through 2024". But it's not clear whether they said it's supported in Windows 8 till 2024 or in future release of windows OS too.
The "2024" means as part of Windows 8. The link says the VB6 runtime is part of Windows and therefore will be supported in the same way as the rest of Windows. For example Windows 8 will be supported until 2024 because that's the support lifecycle for Windows 8.
EDIT: Microsoft have now said the VB6 runtime is officially part of Windows 10 too.
EDIT: the VB6 IDE (not runtime) is no longer officially supported on any version of Windows, but there are ways to get it to work on Windows 7 and 8.
Uservoice: The VB6 runtime it is still a component of the Windows operating
system and is a component shipped in Windows 8.1. It will be supported
at least through 2024
It seems clear they mean VB6 will be supported through 2024, not just VB6 on Windows 8 (whose mainstream support ends 6 years earlier anyway).
The VB6 programming language installs and runs on Windows 7, 8.x and 10.
There is a utility to install it here: VB6 IDE install utility
It is in Microsoft's interests for VB6 applications to run in Windows 10 and so they probably will. The same is probably true of most old application frameworks: Microsoft works hard to maintain compatibility. The IDE runs on Windows 7 (not sure about 8 or 10).
However, just because Microsoft says VB6 will run it doesn't mean your particular application will work, particularly if you use third party components. You should at least be thinking about migrating to another development environment.
From what I heard, VB6 applications still work on Windows 10 technical preview. I've seen no official statement yet, but it would seem that VB6 will stay supported for at least a few years.
Microsoft have just stated for VB6 programming on Windows 10:-
"Windows is committed to compatibility. The Windows compatibility team
has been looking at user telemetry and reacting to feedback from
Windows Insiders to ensure that existing apps work well with Windows
10. Windows 10 is designed to run Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 software programs. And yes, everyone’s favorite VB6 Runtime will
continue to work, too. In the near future, the compat team will go
more in-depth on this topic on Blogging Windows."
Everyone's favorite VB6 programming on Windows 10
So VB6 programming will work on Windows 10, as does VBA programming.
They also state that 'Project Centennial' Universal Windows Platform Bridge will work with VB6 code.
Instructions for installing the VB6 IDE are available here...
In my personal experience if you build a dll in VB6 and add it as a component to COM Plus in Server 2016 it just won't add. You will get an error such as the following, even for a 'Hello World' component.
A registry value was changed while installing the following component
into a COM+ Application. If you are experiencing activation problems
with this component then please check the registry value for the
following key.
Component: C:\temp\Project1.dll
Registry Key:
CLSID\{D5DE8D20-5BB8-11D1-A1E3-00A0C90F2731}\InProcServer32
Process Name: RunDll32.exe Comsvcs.dll file version: not loaded
There is a project to provide a new language "RADBasic" which is intended to be compatible with the VB6 programming language.
New language compatible with VB6 programming
Looks like Microsoft just extended VB6 runtime support out to Windows 11 and Server 2022. No such luck for the IDE though.
Read more from Microsoft here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/visualstudio/visual-basic-6/visual-basic-6-support-policy
I understand from reading Arik Poznanski's blog that the Windows Ribbon UI Framework is a COM object in Windows 7, and the WindowsRibbon wrapper is just a .NET veneer around that, to allow the Ribbon UI to be used in Windows Forms applications.
I've been successful in implementing a Hello World Windows Form app that employs this wrapper:
It is running on my development machine, which is Windows7.
Questions:
Will this "hello, world" application run on Vista? XP? Do I need to download something onto those machines in order to make that happen?
Is there a way to specify the Windows Ribbon UI components as a pre-requisite, in an MSI installer?
Thanks
Browsing around I found the documentation for UIRibbon.dll, which is the DLL on Windows7 that delivers the Ribbon UI. It lists these as minimum supported clients:
Windows 7, Windows Vista with SP2 and Platform Update for Windows Vista
how would I check for that in an MSI ?
Best I can tell, you are taking on a dependency that won't work on Windows XP. This doesn't seem to be a redistributable component ( although I will admit hacking on a VM trying to see if I could transplant it into an XP machine ).
Since it isn't redistributable, I'm not sure there's any point in doing a search in MSI as you can just rely on checking the OS Major version ( Win7 ).
You are free to use a Ribbon UI wherever you like (subject to the Ribbon license agreement; which basically asks that you don't make a half-assed version).
There are companies that created their own Ribbon controls. Some of those implementations (i.e. Microsoft's Windows Ribbon Framework) only work on Windows 7 or Windows Vista (with a download installed first).
If you want to check that the Windows Ribbon Framework is available on the client machine, try to create a UIRibbonFramework object:
IUIFramework* pFramework = NULL;
HRESULT hr = ::CoCreateInstance(
CLSID_UIRibbonFramework,
NULL,
CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER,
IID_PPV_ARGS(&pFramework));
if (FAILED(hr))
{
//Ribbon not available - fallback to something else
return;
}
I'm using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 (VC9) to compile a project that has a .dsw file. I already have the 2010 and would prefer to use it, but it seems this dsw was built for 2008.
I'd like to compile and produce a binary that's also compatible with Windows 7. My questions:
if I compile with 2008, will the resulting binary be compatible with Windows 7? I'm not sure at which version of VS did Windows 7 support start.
or does this have nothing to do with the VS version, and is instead related to the Windows SDK? If that's the case, can I use VS2008 with a newer Windows SDK?
Can someone please clarify.
Microsoft has a great backwards compatibility "story", so pretty much anything you compile with any version of Visual Studio/Visual C++ will be compatible with Windows 7. The same may not neccessarily apply in reverse, i.e. if you use an API that's introduced in Windows 7, your application will error when you try to run it on prior versions of Windows.
There are a couple of things to consider though:
If the project was originally written to target Windows XP or earlier, it may fall foul of UAC
There are changes to directory structures (such as %systemdrive%\Documents and Settings becoming %systemdrive%\Users) that are fairly well handled by the link that Windows 7 creates in the root of `%systemdrive%, but you may fall foul of these.
VS2010 includes version 7.0 of the Windows SDK and VS2008 does not. You need Windows SDK v7.0 if you want your app to take advantage of Windows 7 features like jump lists.
Since you already have VS2010 installed, you can just change your include file / lib file paths in VS2008 to point to the Windows SDK v7.0 instead of the default one provided with VS2008. This is assuming you need that version of the SDK.
You do not need the latest Windows SDK if you do not plan to use the latest Windows 7 features like ribbons and jump lists. If you are building your app for the lowest-common-denominator OS (i.e. Windows XP), then really you should be fine using VS 2008 with default settings.
The other concern is, if your code was originally written before Windows Vista came out, it is likely that it will not work properly on Windows 7 unless it is run in Administrator mode, which is something you want to avoid. The only way to fix that is to rewrite much of your code to avoid writing to certain protected directories and avoid using certain APIs that require Administrator privileges.
Windows SDK is well backward compatible. See binary compatibility report between Windows 6.0 and Windows 7.0 on x86_64 generated by the abi-compliance-checker tool for the detailed comparison.
Reports for other Windows versions are here: https://abi-laboratory.pro/index.php?view=windows
I am a .net and java deloper. I have an MSDN subscription with access to all editions of the Windows 7 operating system. I am going with a 64 bit installation. Which edition of Windows 7 should I install on my development PC: Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise, Enterprise N, etc.? Thanks in advance.
Put Ultimate on the box and run the others in virtual machines.
If you have access to all versions, I see no reason not to install Ultimate.
As long as your tools run on the OS it shouldn't matter
(btw: I'm running ultimate and it's working out fine)
I think you should use Vista, or even XP for developing your .Net Apps
the reason is your apps have to be backward compatible.
Remember most users still use XP.
And you cant sell your app to an XP user even if your app is very clever, because they cant install it.
And at last .Net is Platform independ , you can use it on which ever windows version you want. (even for Linux)
(excluded windows 3, 98)
VS6 popped off a series of errors before bombing out completely during install on Windows 7. I specifically need to get VB6 functioning on Windows 7. Anyone having any luck?
Folks on the VB6 newsgroup report they have managed to get it working on Windows 7.
There's this step-by-step guide on how to install the IDE on Windows 7 (including 64 bit).
If that doesn't work (scrapes barrel) try this old tip about persuading the install not to install the Java VM? Link is now broken so here is the tip:
Before trying to install VB6. Create a new file, name it msjava.dll and place it in your windows directory. The file can be zero length. You can then happily install without the prompt to install an old version of Microsoft's flavour of Java. Once you have installed VB6, delete the msjava.dll otherwise windows update will prompt you to update it.
Or (scrapes hole in barrel) these tips from an article about getting the IDE working on Vista?
Footnote: if developing with ADO, be aware of this.
The only way I've found that works is Windows XP mode (i.e. a virtual machine). Works fine there, but otherwise, not at all.
I found ALL the answers in a thread at vbmonster.com. As mentioned above, you CAN install Visual Studio 6 with Service Pack 6 under Windows 7 by following Derek's detailed instructions at fortypoundhead.com.
I had a problem because I needed to install Service Pack 5. I use a third party program that does not work with Service Pack 6. A really smart programmer (GuideX) came up with a great hack to get around the MDAC 2.5 error.
Win 7 64 bit service pack 5 & 6. Turn compatability off and it seems to work.
Recently I had to debug an ancient application written in Visual C++ 6.0 on Windows 8.1. Tried different solutions all of them failed, only this one worked.
This guys made a special installer that allows installing VC++6, VB6, and SP6 on Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 without any errors whatsoever.
Hope it would be helpful to someone.
I installed VB6 on Windows 7 Pro without having to use compatibility settings or run as administrator.
Doesn't really help you, but does show that it can work.
Several people in my office have installed Visual Studio 6 (without VC++) on Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit with no problems. The one thing we have in common: we've all turned UAC down to it's lowest setting. Nothing else special required.
I am using vb6 on windows 7 32 bit system for a long time.
you will need to install your vb6 with compatibility of xp2.
Create a 0-byte file in the C:\Windows directory called msjava.dll.
Don't just install via the Autorun executable; instead browse the Visual Studio 6 CD (or folder), right-click Setup.exe and select Run As Administrator.
On any Program Compatibility Assistant warnings, click Run Program.
Step through the setup screens until you're able to choose Custom Setup, then click next.
On the setup options, install the following items and nothing else:
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
ActiveX
Data Access
Graphics
Click continue and the process will start, and (hopefully) eventually complete.
Skip the installations of the MSDN CD, BackOffice, VSS and SNA Server, and clear the checkbox for "Register Now". Setup should be complete.
Download the VB6 Service Pack 6 from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?FamilyID=A8494EDB-2E89-4676-A16A-5C5477CB9713&displaylang=en and install.
Change the compatibility settings for Visual Basic (to get it to run a little more smoothly under Windows 7) by browsing to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98, right-clicking the VB6.exe file, and selecting properties.
On the Compatibility tab, check the following:
Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
Disable Visual Themes
Disable Desktop Composition
Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
When you start up the IDE, you may get a notification saying that the color scheme has been changed to Windows 7 Basic, but it will be changed back to Aero once you exit. Everything should be working fine at this point!
Note: when you first run your new install vb6 run it with admin rights and with xp2 compatibility so that your exe can run on any system.
The word "supported" is used loosely in this thread, potentially leading the unwary reader to the conclusion that Microsoft supports the VB6 IDE (that is, the integrated development environment) on operating systems beyond Windows XP. This fact clearly is stated in the table that appears on the page at this link:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/nikosan/2012/04/20/support-statement-for-visual-basic-6-0-on-windows-8-updated/
Note that executables developed using VB6 are in fact compatible with Windows OS's from Windows XP through Windows 10--32/64-bit versions:
https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2015/06/22/getting-ready-for-windows-10-sdks-compatibility-bridges/
Anyone using non-standard methods to coax the IDE into working on OS's that Microsoft does not support is exposing themselves/their organizations/their employers to risk and is not suitable for risk-averse organizations.
Having said that, I think the purest solution is to install Windows XP onto a virtual machine and run that VM in a modern host OS, such as Windows 10. That works just fine, and you can install directly from the VB6 Setup disc without making any pre-install/post-install customizations.
I had a Vista x64 box with a working copy of the VB6 IDE (which was supported). I upgraded the OS to Windows 7 x64 and the VB6 IDE still works fine. You could try that. I know, a huge PITA and kludgy but still, it worked for me.
I run Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, installed Windows Virtual PC - XP Mode, and that solved my problem isince I can run MSDEV 6.0 in the XP Window.
Not esay to install XP Mode though, the MS site is buggy.
The VB6 programming language is supported on the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Visual Vasic 6 applications run and the VB6 IDE installs and works too.
I have the VB6 IDE running OK on Win-XP-16, Win-7-32, Win-7-64, Win-8.1-32, Win-8.1-64, win-10-32 and win-10-64 by using the instructions above which basically say, turn off UAC, run the installer AS ADMIN, and then set the VB6.exe file to run in XP-SP3 Compatibility mode.
I have had some issues with it and have had to do a bit more googling to solve these but I don't remember any more what those issues or solutions were.
I've even got the VB3 IDE running on the 32-bit versions of XP, Win-7, Win 8.1 and Win-10 - without even installing them - just copied the C:\VB folder from another computer and copied the *.LIC license files and *.VBX etc files as well.
I have successfully installed vb6 on win 7 32 bit by installing xp first then installing new win 7, (not upgrade), and do not format. then it will install vb6 without a problem
It's depending on your build version of Windows 7.
If your Win7's version is lower or is not updated, it has MANY PROBLEMS with compatibility.
But mine is newer Win7 version and has NO COMPATIBILITY TROUBLE.
I am currently using VB6 , VS6 and they still work fine!
If Properties->Compatibility->Windows XP doesn't help, fix it with UPDATING your Win7.