Win7 functions a lot like XP did (I still use it). You can also consider some of the better Linux distros. Some have amazingly good Windows program compatibility, plus Linux is so much more user-friendly these days. If anything you could always run them off of DVD/USB and try them before installing. Just some options to consider. :)

you can also run a virtual win XP on your win 7/10. I believe it is here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dow.....s.aspx?id=3702

will just be an icon on your desktop and when you open it it will load a full version win XP instalation and you can load all the programs you like that still run on Win XP. Very easy to set up.

Wow, that is super freaky! Did not know that existed. Thank you.

yeah. it is kinda freaky, but it is a good solution for running legacy programs. I have used it a lot over the years for just that reason, have programs that wont run o n anything else to just fire up a virtual machine. You can even have multiple versions of it running different OS's. Pretty decent solution.

Sometimes just upgrading the video card to something new and decent can do wonders for speed.

Welcome to the world of Microsoft not giving a damn sadly.

Windows 7 can be made to look and feel just like Windows XP. It does take some getting used to though. It is much more strict with permissions, for example. There is one thing you should know though, as a user of '90s software. Much of it will not work without an emulator. This is particularly true for DOS and console programs. You can use software such as DOSBox to run some older software and games, but there are no guarantees.

What I said is true if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows 7, home or premium, etc. If you get a 32-bit version of Windows 7, it will still run most of the older programs natively. On the bad side, 32-bit versions of Windows can only see up to about 3.5 gigs of RAM, even if you have lots more. The 64-bit version can see all the RAM you can ever imagine adding.

I use Windows 7 myself, and will never go to Windows 10 for any reason. I'll move to Linux long before I'll put Win 10 on a system. Sadly, I cannot use my favorite '90s DOS-based editor with my 64-bit version of Windows. I've never found a modern editor that comes close to the features and speed, and that old editor was only 130K in size! If I use an emulator to force the editor to run, it is far too slow to tolerate. You will surely run into a few frustrations like that. Sure, I can switch to the 32-bit version of Windows 7 and get my favorite editor back, but then I can only use 3.5 of the 16 gigs of RAM I have.

Oh, when you go to Windows 7, you can easily use any size hard drive you are likely to find. Windows XP natively had a hard time working with multi-terabyte drives. Drive makers no longer make drivers for devices that would otherwise work with Window XP. Most browsers have dropped support for XP, and even Vista. Most programs written in the past five years no longer support XP. So, it was only a matter of time before you would have been forced to upgrade.

If you look at my Windows 7, you can't tell it from Windows XP by the appearance. I set it to use all classic everything, turned off all the CPU-hogging Aero glass transparency stuff, and figured out how to get my Quick Launch area in the task bar back. Of all the versions of Windows I've used, Windows 7 has been the most stable. I've only had one BSOD in the in all of the past six years. XP was the second most stable version I used. I'd get the evil blue screen about once or twice a year at the most.

I wrote all of my fanfics using EDIT.COM. Believe me, I'll find a way to get it to work under Windows 7.

I would've loved to have been able to stay with 7. 10 feels like a downgrade, but between being bullied for not liking it, and the fact that if you want to get powerful hardware anymore, it's impossible to find one that's not ten, I had to upgrade.
...I still hate it.

Going from Windows XP to Windows 7 was pretty easy, but I also took the opportunity to get rid of any legacy hardware back then. (it was time, anyway)

Windows 7 was the high point for desktop computing. Windows 8 and 10 are definite downgrades. You have no control anymore. Eg. forced reboots (can't run anything overnight), file associations constantly reset, I wouldn't rely on it for anything.

I use Linux Mint for my main PC and run Windows XP and others in VirtualBox for some Windows applications.

I do have a Windows 7 PC as well but it's not used much.

For true backward compatibility with older Windows software the only reliable option I find is to run on ancient hardware with the appropriate operating system installed.

I recently resurrected my old Windows 98 PC last used in 2002 so that I could play some old games again, the games just wouldn't work correctly in compatibility mode on newer Windows.

i got windows 10 on the highest computer out there, Alienware. its fast. of course it costs 1850$ but its worth it. to be honest XP is not worth it, nor is 7. if your trying to do more on it go with 10 and a fast computer, such as what i have. you will not be disappointed.

I've heard that M$ is banking on Win 10 to last...literally forever.

Andy, join the dark side.

Security gets more complicated and computationally expensive.

Definition of video goes up.

And the number of gifs on the open Internet increases.... exponentially.

You gotta keep up!

Let's talk dual Xeons an sixteen SSD's in a RAID 0.