Installation of VB6 on Windows 7 8 10

Question

I have been having problems installing VB6 on Windows 7  I realize it is a legacy IDE and my research on the net hasn t been that much of help  Every time I attempt to install VB6 on Windows 7  besides the alert notifying me of compatibility issues  the setup runs and fails near the end  to which the installation process fails ultimately  And when another attempt is made  certain dll files are supposedly unreachable  These are but some of the few links I have visited in the hopes of attaining a solution or even just seeing a few bread crumbs   How to install VB6 on Windows 7 VB6 on Windows 7 64-bit  Before anyone says   quot Why on earth would you want to install VB6 on Windows 7 when there are newer versions of Microsoft Visual Studio out  quot   VB6 is still required to maintain and update a legacy system already in place  So the question s  is  is there a way to install VB6 on Windows 7 without compatibility issues  Is it better to install a virtual box and to run the VB6 IDE in XP  Or is there some other means to which I have not encountered that may be applicable to this dilemma

User · Answer

I ve installed and use VB6 for legacy projects many times on Windows 7   What I have done and never came across any issues  is to install VB6  ignore the errors and then proceed to install the latest service pack  currently SP6   Download here  http   www microsoft com en-us download details aspx id 5721  Bonus  Also once you install it and realize that scrolling doesn t work  use the below  http   www joebott com vb6scrollwheel htm

User · Answer

VB6 Installs just fine on Windows 7  and Windows 8   Windows 10  with a few caveats    Here is how to install it    Before proceeding with the installation process below  create a zero-byte file in C  Windows called MSJAVA DLL  The setup process will look for this file  and if it doesn t find it  will force an installation of old  old Java  and require a reboot  By creating the zero-byte file  the installation of moldy Java is bypassed  and no reboot will be required  Turn off UAC  Insert Visual Studio 6 CD  Exit from the Autorun setup  Browse to the root folder of the VS6 CD  Right-click SETUP EXE  select Run As Administrator  On this and other Program Compatibility Assistant warnings  click Run Program  Click Next  Click  I accept agreement   then Next  Enter name and company information  click Next  Select Custom Setup  click Next  Click Continue  then Ok  Setup will  think to itself  for about 2 minutes  Processing can be verified by starting Task Manager  and checking the CPU usage of ACMSETUP EXE  On the options list  select the following        Microsoft Visual Basic 6 0 ActiveX Data Access Graphics All other options should be unchecked    Click Continue  setup will continue  Finally  a successful completion dialog will appear  at which click Ok  At this point  Visual Basic 6 is installed  If you do not have the MSDN CD  clear the checkbox on the next dialog  and click next  You ll be warned of the lack of MSDN  but just click Yes to accept  Click Next to skip the installation of Installshield  This is a really old version you don t want anyway  Click Next again to skip the installation of BackOffice  VSS  and SNA Server  Not needed  On the next dialog  clear the checkbox for  Register Now   and click Finish  The wizard will exit  and you re done  You can find VB6 under Start  All Programs  Microsoft Visual Studio 6  Enjoy  Turn On UAC again      You might notice after successfully installing VB6 on Windows 7 that working in the IDE is a bit  well  sluggish  For example  resizing objects on a form is a real pain  After installing VB6  you ll want to change the compatibility settings for the IDE executable  Using Windows Explorer  browse the location where you installed VB6  By default  the path is C  Program Files Microsoft Visual Studio VB98  Right click the VB6 exe program file  and select properties from the context menu  Click on the Compatibility tab  Place a check in each of these checkboxes  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 If you have UAC turned on  it is probably advisable to check the  Run this program as an Administrator  box    After changing these settings  fire up the IDE  and things should be back to normal  and the IDE is no longer sluggish   Edit  Updated dead link to point to a different page with the same instructions  Edit  Updated the answer with the actual instructions in the post as the link kept dying

[windows-7] Installation of VB6 on Windows 7 / 8 / 10

Examples related to windows-7

Examples related to vb6

Examples related to installation

Examples related to legacy

Examples related to legacy-code