How to Install VB6 on Windows vista , 7 and 8

Create a 0-byte file in the C:\Windows directory called msjava.dll.

Don’t just install via the Autorun executable; instead browse the Visual Studio 6 CD (or folder), right-click Setup.exe and select Run As Administrator.

On any Program Compatibility Assistant warnings, click Run Program.

Step through the setup screens until you’re able to choose Custom Setup, then click next.

On the setup options, install the following items and nothing else:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
  • ActiveX
  • Data Access
  • Graphics

Click continue and the process will start.

Skip the installations of the MSDN CD, BackOffice, VSS and SNA Server, and clear the checkbox for “Register Now”. Setup should be complete.

Download the VB6 Service Pack 6 from here and install. Extract the installer in  C:\Users\ravi\AppData\Local\Temp

Change the compatibility settings for Visual Basic (to get it to run a little more smoothly under Windows 7) by browsing to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98, right-clicking the VB6.exe file, and selecting properties.

On the Compatibility tab, check the following:

Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

Disable Visual Themes

Disable Desktop Composition

Disable display scaling on high DPI settings

When you start up the IDE, you may get a notification saying that the color scheme has been changed to Windows 7 Basic, but it will be changed back to Aero once you exit. Everything should be working fine at this point!

Insert thr CD again to install ActiveX Control Test Container.

  • Select  Other Tools in Custom Installation.
  • OK.

10 Comments

  1. at the end you say “insert cd again to install activex container…select Other Tools in custom installation” but there is no “other tools” the selections are either “tools” or “Enterprise Features and Tools” Should I select one of these? which one?

  2. On windows server 2012 R2, vb6 setup.exe will get stuck trying to write HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\RDSServer.DataFactory. Open regedit, and take ownership of this key, then configure permissions for the key to allow full access to “administrators” and hit apply. The setup should be able to get past and finish the install.

  3. i installed visual basic 6 on windows vista but it has made my entire vista display to shrink. i didn’t install VB6 Service Pack 6 before installing vb6. now what should i do to restore it back to normal please help….Does uninstalling vb6 make a differencce?

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