Got SW2006 working in Vista

[EngJW]

In case anyone is interested, it looks like it can be done. As other posts have pointed out, it will install but you can't start it. However, you can check it as "run by administrator" and "XP compatible" mode. I can't tell you how I did this because it took a number of attempts to find the right menus to make the changes. Basically, it is by right clicking one of the icons and selecting properties. So far I've had it running all weekend without a problem. You just have to acknowledge the Vista silly warning when starting it.

SW 2006 was installed on the same machine with SW2008 but I haven't seen any interference yet (although 2008 is not useable now because the license was transferred to another computer).

 

[Updraft]

My son figured this out and wrote this explanation. He installed my home license of 2007 on our Vista machine before we upgraded to 2008/SP3.1, which is Vista compatible.

1. Make sure the SolidWorks folder (in C:\Program Files normally) is not marked as Read Only.
2. Find SLDWORKS.exe application. Right-click on it and hit Properties.
3. Under the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator" and "Run this program in compatibility mode for:". In the drop-down list under the latter, make sure "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)" is selected.
4. Hit OK and try running SolidWorks; you will need to approve administrator access and there may be a delay before the program starts.

If you still have problems, go back into the Compatibility tab and check the options under the Settings heading; these options deal with graphics settings, which Vista modified quite a bit.

I hope this helps.

- - -Updraft