What causes Vista incompatibility?

[rush24t3]

I am a subscriber to the Rhapsody music service, and have been using the old version 2.1 of the software for a while now, since the newer versions are very bloated. However, the 2.1 version no longer works under Vista. Doesn't matter how I try and run it (as admin, using XP SP2 compatibility mode, etc.), it just tells me it's incompatible with Vista and will not run. I haven't found anything on Real's site about the reason why.

The thing I'm curious about is what causes a program to be incompatible. Is it a per-program thing, or are there certain conditions that will render any program that way?

 

[MixManSC]

Both - sort of... it's per program but is really based on certain conditions related to how the program installs, where it tries to place certain files, how it tries to access core services of the operating system, etc... Compatibility mode works with a lot of programs but some do not. Compatibility mode has certain limits. I'm pretty sure the current version works with Vista fine. If compatibility, run as admin etc do not work you are probably out of luck until you download and install the new version.

 

[rush24t3]

Both - sort of... it's per program but is really based on certain conditions related to how the program installs, where it tries to place certain files, how it tries to access core services of the operating system, etc... Compatibility mode works with a lot of programs but some do not. Compatibility mode has certain limits. I'm pretty sure the current version works with Vista fine. If compatibility, run as admin etc do not work you are probably out of luck until you download and install the new version.

Ah, I see. Makes sense.

Yeah, the current version does, but it's so bloated and DRM-ridden compared to 2.1. Too bad, really.