VB6 Running on Windows 8?

Question

Assuming that vb6 does not run on Windows 8 because the VB6 run time libraries are not shipped with Windows 8, would it not be possible to install the VB6 run time library o

Answer 1

Microsoft updated their support statement as of January 2012. It appears VB6 will be supported in Windows 8.

VB6 runtime will ship and will be supported in Windows 8 for the lifetime of the OS. Visual Basic 6.0 runtime files continue to be 32-bit only and all components must be hosted in 32-bit application processes. Developers can think of the support story for Windows 8 being the same as it is for Windows 7.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ms788708

Answer 2

I have been able to install the VB6 IDE on the 32-bit Windows 8 Preview build and compile some existing apps. I haven't yet had success in installing on the 64-bit version.

Answer 3

From what I've seen, the VB6 runtime does seem to work...but my attempts at installing the IDE on Windows 8 RTM 64-bit was a colossal failure. I ran into lots of very major errors (seems like a number had to do with OLE registration) and the installer didn't even finish properly. I'll stick with my XP VM for VB6 development.

I'd also approach cautiously with regard to what does work in Windows 8. Just being able to load and show a plain vanilla form is far different from running an ADO connection to a SQL Server, loading and playing media, or doing any type of serious socket communication. As always, test thoroughly! :)

Edit: Looks like Microsoft's support statement (linked to in another comment) validates that Windows 8 as it stands will not support the IDE.

Answer 4

It does work on windows 8 and 8.1 and even on windows 10

Answer 5

I think all ActiveX libraries will still working the same way they actually do under Windows 7. Remember Microsoft says Windows 8 will have a ''classic Windows mode'' (with desktop, menu bar, etc like Windows 7).

Other question is about ARM systems, I think there will be two scenarios: x86 programs will not work at all, or Microsoft will include an emulation layer for use Intel programs (at performance cost).

So Windows 8 will probably not be the deadline for VB6 and all the related software, but problems will increase for sure until the day we can't use in any way. So be prepared for virtualize and run VB6 with software like XP Mode (Virtual PC), VirtualBox, VMWare, etc.

Answer 6

Microsoft last month announced that it was extending “It Just Works” compatibility for Visual Basic 6 applications for the full lifetime of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and (most importantly) Windows 8. As described on the Visual Basic 6.0 Resource Center, “the core Visual Basic 6.0 runtime will be supported for the full lifetime” of these operating systems. The commitment comprises five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support.

Karl Peterson is a VB6 programmer and formerly a longtime columnist at Visual Studio Magazine and Visual Basic Programming Journal (where he wrote the popular VB Corner column, among others, until 2010). Peterson notes that this announcement officially puts the lifetime of the VB6 runtime past his projected retirement. And that fact may have implications for enterprises sitting on large amounts of working VB6 code, which Peterson calls “the COBOL of the 2020s.”

“Many in the Classic VB community started out back in the pre-Windows days, and are now at the point of seeing retirement on the horizon,” he says. “And the loss of that institutional knowledge at many enterprises will only further entrench the functional code base.”

Peterson says Microsoft’s decision reflects the fact that VB6 adoption went beyond the “hobbyist or shareware type author who was the guerilla in the enterprise.” He says Microsoft was likely moved to extend support because businesses still maintain VB6 code of real value, and are in no position to immediately migrate off it.

Source: MSDN Magazine

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy