Windows 7 compatibility with autocad 2006

[JMadson]

Is there a way to make Windows 7 compatible with AutoCAD 2006 or Architectural Desktop 2006?

 

[Divemaster]

This works for really old acad and it may help (or not).
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I have been copying my Autocad 14 program from old laptop to new laptop for many years now. The original installation disks (a dozen 3.5 inch floppies - no CD drives back then!) were lost long ago, but I learned what to do to get things to turn on with a new machine. Everything worked easily throught Win XP, but yesterday I got a new Win 7 (32-bit system) machine and things got harder. After several hours of online research and trial/error (I am *really* tired of the error beep now !), it now seems to work.

Here is the recipe I have used over the years:

For Windows versions through XP:
1. Copy the entire ACAD14 installation from your old machine to the new one.
2. Find the files GDIFONT.HDI and HEIDI3.DLL and copy them to your C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM file.
3. Find your ACAD.EXE file, right click, and send to desktop to create your desktop shortcut.
4. Clicking on the shortcut should give you the drawing screen. Use config to reset drawing preferences, which don't seem to copy over (don't know why).

For Win 7, the above installation would hang with a fatal "heap error" message, aborting the program.
Next steps: right click on the acad14 icon, go down to Properties, and then to Compatibility. Hit "Change settings for all users", then put the "Run program in compatibility mode for:" Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Next, check mark the setting "Disable desktop composition". Hit "Apply" and then "OK", back to the desktop.

The icon now works on my machine (HP E6500). But I am not sure if the recipe will work on all Win 7 machines. Perhaps you will need more trial/error to find exactly the right compatibility settings.

 

[saran008]

Try with Windows XP compatibility mode!
Or Try to install XP Mode & Use Virtual PC to run it!
XP mode & Virtual PC is available in only Win 7 Pro & ultimate editions!