Windows 8 is fantastic, different and new, but as a consequence, there are several high-profile applications that aren’t working right in Windows 8 yet. The following applications are not compatible with Windows 8. Unfortunately, until the application programmers release an update, or Windows releases an update, you won’t be able to use these apps in Windows 8.

All is not lost, however: Try running the app in Compatibility Mode and see if that does the trick.

To run an application in Compatibility Mode:

1. Right click on the program and click Properties
2. In the Compatibility tab, select Run This Program in Compatibility Mode For:
3. Choose Windows 7 in the dropdown menu
4. Click OK

Note: Don’t let this post dissuade you from trying out Windows 8. Windows 8 works with the vast majority of software available, and the list of apps that still don’t work is shrinking all the time.

Apps That are Not Compatible With Windows 8

Security

Avira AntiVir

This popular antivirus application is not yet certified for Windows 8 and will often cause the BAD_POOL_HEADER Blue Screen of Death error. Your best bet is to uninstall it for now, and use Windows Security Essentials, which comes with Windows 8. Here’s a news article on the subject.

Running Avira AntiVir will often lead to this error.

Avast! Antivirus

This is another antivirus application that will lead to the same Blue Screen of Death as above. Here’s a thread on Avast’s forums on the subject. There’s a temporary fix in the first post, but you’re still better off with another antivirus application for now.

Games

MapleStory

MapleStory is a popular side-scrolling massively-multiplayer online game (MMO). It doesn’t work at all in Windows 8. Here’s a recent tweet from Nexon’s Twitter account that says that the developers are working on it, but that there’s no timeline yet. If Compatibility Mode doesn’t work either, you’re stuck for now.

You’ll see this error message when trying to launch MapleStory in Windows 8.

The Sims 3

The Sims 3 seems to work on some Windows 8 PCs and not others. Here’s a thread on the Sims 3 forum about the subject. There hasn’t been any word from EA yet on a fix.

Business & Misc

Splashtop Streamer

There are several known issues when using this remote PC connection software with Windows 8. Here’s a support topic on Splashtop’s website that discusses this problem.

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2010

If you’re using this older version of this application development environment and don’t feel like Updating to Visual Studio 2012, you’re going to run into issues. Fortunately, Microsoft just released a patch for Visual Studio 2010 that should fix any compatibility issues.

Autodesk 2010

Autodesk is a popular computer-aided drawing suite of applications. The 2010 version doesn’t work with Windows 8. In fact, none of AutoCAD’s products prior to the very latest 2013 versions work with Windows 8. Here’s a list. AutoCAD is working on fixes for its older versions, but your choices are to upgrade to the 2013 versions or use Windows 7, for now.

QuickBooks 2013

The latest version of this accounting software doesn’t work with Windows 8. While Intuit works on a fix, here’s a blog post on Sleeter Group that contains a quick fix. This ought to get you up and running in Windows 8 until the fix is released.

Serato

This DJing software doesn’t work in Windows 8. There are a couple of fixes in this thread on Serato’s forums while you wait for Serato to issue a fix.

More Applications

Here’s a forum thread on MyDigitalLife that lists even more apps that don’t quite work with Windows 8. That thread is constantly being updated, so it’s a good idea to bookmark it.

Steve Horton