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

I've read that the you can place the msvbvm60.dll in the same folder as your Visual Basic 6 exe and it works. I have not personally verified this and not, of course, in Windows 8.

I have an utility I'm selling with 20K lines of VB6 code which only requires a drag and drop deployment with no install package. So I have an intense interest in this problem in Windows 8 as well.

Answer 2

Microsoft has everything to gain and nothing to lose by insuring backwards compatibility. Visual Studio advertised Interop as a way to integrate Vb6 technology with .net; seems like Microsoft would be shooting itself in the foot if it removed this compatibility as I presume vb6 runtimes are required for Interop to work.

Answer 3

From what I can tell they work just the same in Windows 8 as they do in Windows 7 - they've said that everything in Windows 7 will work in Windows 8 (assuming hardware is the same). There are still a huge number of VB6 apps out there so it makes no sense for them to drop support for no reason. You could get some guys from the Windows 8 forums to check it out, as they will have access to builds other than the Developer Preview and may be able to get some feedback for you.

There's also a post here which may help you: Google Groups Post

Answer 4

This is a very difficult question to truly answer, but I'll try and provide the best response that I can.

We really don't know for sure, seeing as how it has not been released yet and is probably only in the early stages of development. There is also no way to predict what kind of hacks might surface to allow VB6 applications to run on Windows 8. I have a fair bit of confidence that it will be only a matter of time before the community comes up with some sort of workaround, if you're really all that concerned. I will probably even look into it myself, if for no other reason than pure curiosity.

However, the official word is that this configuration will likely not be supported:

...there are no plans to include VB6 runtime in future versions of Windows beyond Windows 7.

It's also worth considering the talk about Windows 8 being released only in a 64-bit version (as is the case with Server 2008 R2). Since the VB6 runtime (and all applications created by the VB6 compiler) are 32-bit, they will have to run in an emulated 32-bit layer (WOW). Some apps have already experienced issues running in 64-bit versions of Windows 7, and this problem may only get worse. The IDE is currently not supported on 64-bit versions of Windows, making continued maintenance of legacy applications only that much more difficult (although for what it's worth, I just installed it on my dev box running Server 2008 R2 without any problems).

Answer 5

Visual Basic 6 works on Windows 8 , 8.1 and Windows 10.

Answer 6

EDIT: Microsoft is going to support the VB6 runtime in Windows 8.

VB6 apps still work in Windows 8 in the Developer Preview, as of September 13th, 2011).. They also run in the Consumer Preview and as stated above, Microsoft are committed to having VB6 just work in Windows 8.