vb6 upgrades

[jizzer]

We (my place of employment) haven't upgraded our MS VB in years ..
we are running version 6.0.8169, and it seems like it has a few issues with Windows 7, which we have just migrated to.
What version should we have, or is there at least a patch or three we should get ? Without going into the dot Net level of course ...

thanks all ...

 

[xwb]

If you run XP compatibility mode (which is basically a virtual PC running XP), then you can stay with whichever version you're comfortable with. SP6 is version 9782. I haven't had any issues running VB6SP6 with XP even though when you install SP6, it warns you that there are issues.

 

[Andrzejek]

Are you talking about 'classic' VB 6.0? (Visual Basic 6.0)
Or Visual Basic for Application (VBA in Excel, Word, Powerpoint, etc.)

Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[jizzer]

Classic VB6 - was the Learning Edition package ... I don't believe any service packs have ever been applied.

 

[strongm]

Technically the Learning Edition wasn't expected to find itself in a production environment ...

 

[jizzer]

High school classroom - very little produced for sure.

 

[strongm]

Ah - now there may be a problem: VB6 IDE is not supported on W7. In which case I'd definitely go the Virtual XP route.

 

[jizzer]

Is that the XP Mode software or the Virtual PC without the XP Mode ??

 

[strongm]

XP Mode

 

[xwb]

It is a Virtual PC with a copy of XP (no licencing required).

 

[tedsmith]

I have vb6 with Service pack 6 running perfectly in Windows 7 64 bit with an i7 8 core processor.
Everything runs lightning fast and I didn't have to make any changes to mode settings.

The only problem I had so far was an old Sheridan 16bit OCX that wouldn't run.

What is this XP compatibility mode you speak of?
A search of Windows7 help yields no results on this item. Might it be known by another description?

 

[strongm]

>What is this XP compatibility mode you speak of?


Not a compatibility mode. A virtual instance of XP.

 

[tedsmith]

Could you enlighten me as to what this is and how does one install and use such a thing and why it would be necessary?

 

[dilettante]

Scary if anyone hasn't heard of XP Mode. It came out with Win7's release way back in 2009.

In any case, see

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

If you are going to keep developing with VB6 you really do need to make more effort to keep up folks. It will save you tones of time and frustration asking the same questions over and over again.


Next somebody will say they aren't aware of the Win7 SP1 compatibility break in ADO, and how it also breaks things like the VB6 DataEnvironment.

 

[tedsmith]

On reading this thread I was concerned that I may assumed incorrectly what I describe below and that some hidden (to me) agenda might render my programs that run in Windows 7 defective sometime in the future.
EG >Ah - now there may be a problem: VB6 IDE is not supported on W7. In which case I'd definitely go the Virtual XP route. >

I have previously read many Microsoft pages about this "virtual PC" thing before but my question was under what circumstances would I really need it as observed by some learned person who had had the experience of really needing it - not just a theoretical statement because Microsoft says it is not 'supported'?

I find every program I have written works without a hitch on Windows 7 (except those old ones with 16 bit ActiveX's that I have converted)

I therefore previously dismissed the need for concerning myself with it on the grounds that it only may apply to other programmers that use unusual or third party controls.

I use a variety of API calls, database routines and a fair range of the standard controls that come with VB6. I use only Microsoft certified controls.

Can you find a Microsoft page that really tell me what a virtual PC it is other than repeating the equivalent of "it's a Virtual PC stupid" in typical Microsoft fashion?

Are my assumptions correct and if not under what circumstances am I likely to become unstuck by NOT using a Virtual PC?

 

[xwb]

For more information on XP mode, look at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

On that page is a link to Virtual PC. The part of your question I cannot answer is whether some programs written on XP will run on W7. You'll just have to try it and see.

 

[dilettante]

A virtual machine is simply a machine that is simulated on a host machine. They can be specialized like the p-code VM housed inside the VB6 runtime or generalized to simulate an entire x86 computer configured to run Windows.

Virtual PC is Microsoft's desktop version of the latter: it can run one or more instances of simulated PCs on your PC. Each one can have a version of Windows installed on it or any other OS that can run on PC hardware.

Often VM software can be designed to take advantage of virtualization hardware on the host system to run VMs faster. Most can also run in a software-only mode for systems that use CPUs without the extended opcodes to support virtualization.


The biggest advantage to developers is that you can have VMs set up with different versions of Windows to let you test your programs on them. Your VMs can be built and configured to a known state, and from there you can "roll them back" to a known state after each round of testing.

Rollback is important, because it helps you do subsequent tests on a clean system each time. This is very helpful when you're testing your install process.