Howto Fix Compatibility Mode grayed out on Vista / Windows 2008 Server
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Launch regedit and navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MicrosoftWindows\NTCurrentVersion\AppCompatFlagsLayers
Create a new string (REG_SZ) value. Rename the value (not the data) to the full path/filename of the application that needs to be modified.
Suppose you want to modify settings for notepad, then rename the string to “C:Windowsnotepad.exe”
There are multiple settings that can be defined :
Compatibility values (cannot be combined – pick only one) :
* WIN95
* WIN98
* NT4SP5
* WIN2000
* WINXPSP2
* WINSRV03SP1
Settings that can be combined with each other and with the compatibility mode :
* 256COLOR
* 640X480
* DISABLETHEMES
* DISABLEWDM
* HIGHDPIAWARE
* ELEVATECREATEPROCESS
* RUNASADMIN
It is important to specify the options in the correct order ( = the sequence in which the options are displayed in the compatibility tab)
So first, specify the compatibility mode, then the settings, and finally “RUNASADMIN” if required
Suppose you want to run notepad in 256 Color mode, as admin, and in Windows XP SP2 Compatibility mode, set the value of the newly created string to “WINXPSP2 256COLOR RUNASADMIN ”
Now run notepad.exe and verify that the color scheme is changed
If you want to undo the changes, simply remove the registry value.
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Also if you want to change the setting for ALL USERS then just select ‘Local Machine’ instead of ‘CURRENT USER’
Pure genius! I just used this to install a network-based application on a Windows 2008 Terminal Server using Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode. Thanks!