Articles published on my business blog

Installing ACT! 6 in Windows 7

May 4, 2019

If you have Windows 8 you need to read "Installing ACT! 6 in Windows 8"

First, let me say that ACT! 6 was an excellent product and, like Windows XP, lasted long beyond its expected retirement date. There are still people using it, despite pleas, recommendations, and even financial inducements to upgrade to later versions.

A lot has changed since 2002 when ACT! 6 was launched, and the change continued beyond 2007 when official vendor support for the product ceased. The major change has been the replacement of Windows XP (released in 2001) by later operating systems – Vista (2005), Windows 7 (2007), and Windows 8 (2012). Microsoft ceased all support, including security updates, for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Any computer you buy today will have Windows 8 on it.

The problem for people who want to continue to use ACT! 6 is that the installation program will not work with Windows 7 or 8, so even if you have the CD and the registration codes the program can't be installed. (If you upgrade Windows on a machine running ACT! 6 from XP to Windows 7 ACT! 6 might continue to work properly, but this cannot be guaranteed.) Installation in a later operating system requires the use of what is known as Windows XP Mode. This requires Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions (not Home). Windows XP Mode isn't supported on Windows 8 at all, and while it might still be possible to get ACT! 6 installed it is not a simple matter to create the necessary XP environment. Microsoft, probably quite reasonably, don't want to make it easy for people to continue using obsolete operating systems.

I could repeat all the information here, but it is probably better to go to Microsoft's own instructions: "Install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7". You will need an ACT! 6 installation CD and a serial number. If you can't find your CD you can download a copy here. One thing I must emphasise – follow the instructions to see if your computer can run XP Mode before you do anything else. If it can't do that there is no point continuing and your only option is to upgrade to the latest version of ACT!.

If you want help with this or training in any aspect of ACT!, please feel free to contact me through the links on our main web site.