Has anyone had success with Visual Studio 6 on Windows 7?

Question

VS6 popped off a series of errors before bombing out completely during install on Windows 7. I specifically need to get VB6 functioning on Windows 7. Anyone having any luck?

Answer 1

The word "supported" is used loosely in this thread, potentially leading the unwary reader to the conclusion that Microsoft supports the VB6 IDE (that is, the integrated development environment) on operating systems beyond Windows XP. This fact clearly is stated in the table that appears on the page at this link: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/nikosan/2012/04/20/support-statement-for-visual-basic-6-0-on-windows-8-updated/

Note that executables developed using VB6 are in fact compatible with Windows OS's from Windows XP through Windows 10--32/64-bit versions: https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2015/06/22/getting-ready-for-windows-10-sdks-compatibility-bridges/

Anyone using non-standard methods to coax the IDE into working on OS's that Microsoft does not support is exposing themselves/their organizations/their employers to risk and is not suitable for risk-averse organizations.

Having said that, I think the purest solution is to install Windows XP onto a virtual machine and run that VM in a modern host OS, such as Windows 10. That works just fine, and you can install directly from the VB6 Setup disc without making any pre-install/post-install customizations.