Question

I have been having problems installing VB6 on Windows 7. I realize it is a legacy IDE and my research on the net hasn’t been that much of help. Every time I attempt to install VB6 on Windows 7, besides the alert notifying me of compatibility issues, the setup runs and fails near the end, to which the installation process fails ultimately. And when another attempt is made, certain dll files are supposedly unreachable.

These are but some of the few links I have visited in the hopes of attaining a solution or even just seeing a few bread crumbs:

• How to install VB6 on Windows 7
• VB6 on Windows 7 64-bit

Before anyone says, "Why on earth would you want to install VB6 on Windows 7 when there are newer versions of Microsoft Visual Studio out!", VB6 is still required to maintain and update a legacy system already in place.

So the question(s) is, is there a way to install VB6 on Windows 7 without compatibility issues? Is it better to install a virtual box and to run the VB6 IDE in XP? Or is there some other means to which I have not encountered that may be applicable to this dilemma?

Answer 1

VB6 Installs just fine on Windows 7 (and Windows 8 / Windows 10) with a few caveats.

Here is how to install it:

• Before proceeding with the installation process below, create a zero-byte file in C:\Windows called MSJAVA.DLL. The setup process will look for this file, and if it doesn’t find it, will force an installation of old, old Java, and require a reboot. By creating the zero-byte file, the installation of moldy Java is bypassed, and no reboot will be required.
• Turn off UAC.
• Insert Visual Studio 6 CD.
• Exit from the Autorun setup.
• Browse to the root folder of the VS6 CD.
• Right-click SETUP.EXE, select Run As Administrator.
• On this and other Program Compatibility Assistant warnings, click Run Program.
• Click Next.
• Click “I accept agreement”, then Next.
• Enter name and company information, click Next.
• Select Custom Setup, click Next.
• Click Continue, then Ok.
• Setup will “think to itself” for about 2 minutes. Processing can be verified by starting Task Manager, and checking the CPU usage of ACMSETUP.EXE.
• On the options list, select the following:
  • Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
  • ActiveX
  • Data Access
  • Graphics
  • All other options should be unchecked.
• Click Continue, setup will continue.
• Finally, a successful completion dialog will appear, at which click Ok. At this point, Visual Basic 6 is installed.
• If you do not have the MSDN CD, clear the checkbox on the next dialog, and click next. You’ll be warned of the lack of MSDN, but just click Yes to accept.
• Click Next to skip the installation of Installshield. This is a really old version you don’t want anyway.
• Click Next again to skip the installation of BackOffice, VSS, and SNA Server. Not needed!
• On the next dialog, clear the checkbox for “Register Now”, and click Finish.
• The wizard will exit, and you’re done. You can find VB6 under Start, All Programs, Microsoft Visual Studio 6. Enjoy!
• Turn On UAC again

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• You might notice after successfully installing VB6 on Windows 7 that working in the IDE is a bit, well, sluggish. For example, resizing objects on a form is a real pain.
• After installing VB6, you’ll want to change the compatibility settings for the IDE executable.
• Using Windows Explorer, browse the location where you installed VB6. By default, the path is
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\
• Right click the VB6.exe program file, and select properties from the context menu.
• Click on the Compatibility tab.
• Place a check in each of these checkboxes:
• Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
  • Disable Visual Themes
  • Disable Desktop Composition
  • Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
  • If you have UAC turned on, it is probably advisable to check the ‘Run this program as an Administrator’ box

After changing these settings, fire up the IDE, and things should be back to normal, and the IDE is no longer sluggish.

Edit: Updated dead link to point to a different page with the same instructions

Edit: Updated the answer with the actual instructions in the post as the link kept dying