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The easiest way to check the compatibility of any program is to go to the Microsoft Windows Vista Compatibility Center website, which contains a comprehensive list of programs that have earned the "Certified for Windows Vista" or "Works with Windows Vista" logo. These logos guarantee that the program will work with Windows Vista.

You can search for programs on the Compatibility Center website by product name, or browse different categories of software. For each program, you can see its compatibility status, version number, and other information.

When buying new programs, look for the "Certified for Windows Vista" or "Works with Windows Vista" logo

What exactly does it mean for a program to have earned the Windows Vista logo? “Certified” programs have the greatest assurance of working flawlessly with Windows Vista. Most also take advantage of new Windows Vista features.

According to Microsoft, programs with the “Certified” logo have passed a rigorous testing program on computers running Windows Vista. The requirements target four core areas: reliability, security, compatibility with Windows Vista and future operating systems, and installation and removal.

“Works with” programs should also run fine, but they don’t undergo such extensive compatibility testing or go through the logo program testing lab, as all "Certified" programs do. To get the "Works with" logo (the most common of the two logos), software companies test their own programs to make sure they meet the logo guidelines, and then apply to Microsoft for the logo.

By the way, don’t be confused if you see a Windows Vista logo on hardware products, too. Everything from computers to digital cameras and wireless routers also come with the “Certified” and "Works with" logos. (Hardware products are also listed on the Windows Vista Compatibility Center website.)

What about the thousands of Windows-compatible programs developed over the years that are not mentioned on the Windows Vista Compatibility Center website? After all, people have been creating Windows-compatible programs since long before Windows Vista was even a glimmer in a Microsoft programmer’s eye. How can you find out if an older program will work with Windows Vista?

Start by asking the manufacturer. Check the company's website or contact the company. If you’ve already upgraded to Windows Vista and own an older program, try installing it. Many programs work with Windows Vista even if you can’t find any information saying they will. Some have not yet gone through the Windows Vista logo program or are still going through it. Often companies don’t submit their programs for logo testing or don’t bother to report them as “Ready” even when they work fine with Windows Vista.

For example, I used Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0 frequently with Windows Vista and never had any problems with it, even before Adobe released a minor upgrade (version 8.1) that added full compatibility with Windows Vista. It would have been nice if this had been available earlier, but I didn’t need to wait for it. I haven’t had any problems reading PDF files in Windows Vista with Acrobat Reader 8.0.

Occasionally you might have a program that won't even install on Windows Vista. Before you panic or contact the manufacturer, try installing it with the permissions of an administrator. To do this, right-click the installation file, and then click Run as administrator.

If you’re running Windows XP or Windows Vista, there’s an easy way to check the programs you already have installed on your PC to see if they are compatible with Windows Vista. Rather than search for each one on the Application Readiness website, you can download and install the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from the Microsoft website.

This program will scan your computer and identify any installed programs that might not work with Windows Vista, as well as tell you which programs have a Windows Vista logo.

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will scan your PC and tell you which programs have received a Windows Vista logo

The Upgrade Advisor will also identify any hardware problems you might encounter if you are running Windows XP and haven’t yet upgraded to Windows Vista, including which hardware you should upgrade or replace.

Most programs designed for Windows XP should run fine in Windows Vista, but one notable exception is so-called “utility” programs, such as antivirus software, firewall programs, and other programs that are deeply tied to the operating system. Such programs tend to be so tightly integrated with a specific version of Windows that when the operating system changes, they must be revised as well.

Antivirus and firewall programs, in particular, must work with the new advanced security features in Windows Vista, such as User Account Control (UAC). Security features such as UAC work at the core level of Windows and have undergone big changes since Windows XP, creating compatibility issues with some programs.

Since Windows Vista was released, many software companies have released new versions and minor updates of their programs to make them work better with Windows Vista. If you're having trouble getting a program to run, check to make sure you have the latest version.

Many program updates are free, but you might learn you have to buy a whole new version of some programs. Newer software is almost always better than older software, so you usually gain more than just Windows Vista compatibility by upgrading.

For example, Adobe decided to design its new flagship Photoshop CS3 program for Windows Vista, since that major release was due soon after the release of Windows Vista. But Adobe decided not to go back and create any updates for the two previous versions—Photoshop CS and CS2—to make them work better with Windows Vista.

Digital photography is one of my main interests, and I love Photoshop. I never upgraded to Photoshop CS2, but I upgraded from the older Photoshop CS to Photoshop CS3 as soon as I heard that the new version would be designed for Windows Vista.

Last but not least, Windows Vista provides a way for you to run programs written for earlier versions of Windows. If you have an older program (other than the system programs mentioned above) that doesn't run correctly in Windows Vista, you can use the Program Compatibility Wizard to change its compatibility settings. Open the Program Compatibility Wizard by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Use an older program with this version of Windows.

If an older program doesn't run correctly in Windows Vista, try using the Program Compatibility Wizard to simulate running it in an earlier version of Windows

With the wizard, you can run your program using settings that are compatible with any older version of Windows all the way back to Windows 95. You can specify detailed compatibility settings, such as running a program in 256 colors or at a specific resolution.

You can also manually change the compatibility settings for a program by using the Compatibility tab. To do so, right-click the icon for the program, click Properties, and then click the Compatibility tab.

The Compatibility tab is the quickest way to change these settings, but it's aimed at more advanced users than the Program Compatibility Wizard is. For more information, see Make older programs run in this version of Windows.

You can manually change the compatibility settings for a program that won’t run properly in Windows Vista