In part one of this (hopefully) two part series, we’ll examine the Troubleshooting control panel in Windows 7, specifically its program compatibility wizard. Don’t want to use Windows XP mode? Maybe this tool will help.

Troubleshooting in Windows has always been a mixed bag. The operating system’s error messages typically range from unhelpfully ambiguous (Windows cannot eject this drive, one or more applications may be using it) to downright cryptic (my personal favorite is the Windows 9x-era “Your computer has performed an illegal operation”). In the vast majority of cases, users are stuck with puzzling out the problem on their own.

Microsoft has taken a step toward changing that with the new Troubleshooting applet in the Control Panel. Let’s see how useful this addition to Windows really is.

You’ll find the Troubleshooting panel in the Control Panel, or by typing “troubleshooting” into the Search bar in the Start menu. The first time you launch it, the applet may ask you if you’d like to keep it up to date using the Internet – I see no reason not to, and so this guide assumes that you’re keeping the Troubleshooting panel updated.

Troubleshooting panel

Programs

Windows 7 has been praised for its excellent compatibility with programs (as compared to Windows Vista upon its release), but there are still bound to be older applications and games that refuse to get with the times. The option to run these programs in “compatibility mode” for various Windows operating systems has always been buried in menus – Windows 7 makes it more accessible. Click Run programs made for previous versions of Windows.

The tool will scan your computer for programs located not just in the Program Files folder, but everywhere on your hard drive – for example, I have install files for several versions of Windows on my hard drive, and the tool picked up all of them. Hence, the duplicate entries seen above – hovering over them with the mouse will display their path, making it easy to see exactly where these programs are located. More casual users than myself should not have this problem.

Select the program you’re having problems with and click Next. The rest of the wizard is a series of prompts – you can allow Windows to automatically detect your problem, or troubleshoot it yourself.

What problem are you having?

There are quite a lot of options in the wizard – you can tell a program to always run with administrative privileges, or to run with specific display settings. I’m unable to perform extensive testing because all of my software is Vista/7 compatible, but I can see this being especially useful for enterprises or in education, where some truly ancient apps are depended on heavily by the organization. My recommendation is to try this wizard before you install the full-blown Windows XP mode.

Now, let’s be fair – this wizard isn’t so much a “new feature” as it is a front-end for the Compatibility tab that has been buried in the menus since Windows Vista’s debut:

Some familiar looking options

Still, as with other components of Windows 7, Microsoft has taken some buried functionality and made it easier for the average user to understand and use.

Stay tuned, as next time we’ll be looking at the rest of the Troubleshooting menu. How much easier will this new control panel make your life? You’ll just have to wait and find out!

© 2009, Technoramblings of the digitally insane. All rights reserved.