Installing ACT 6! on Windows 10

[oldfashioned]

I am a total IT neanderthal and devoted ACT 6.0 user. Up until yesterday, I was running ACT 6.0 on a Windows XP machine. I've finally upgraded to Windows 10, but I can't get ACT 6.0 to install. I've downloaded the ACT 6.0 installation software form the Sage website, but after I unpack it, I can't find any of the unpacked files (including the setup.exe file). Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Roy_Laudenslager · Accepted solution]

Even is you get it installed on Windows 10, you are likely have problems running ACT! 6 on Windows 10. The download likely went to the default download folder and the unpack would take place there and that may be the location of the install files.

[Roy_Laudenslager · Accepted solution]

Even is you get it installed on Windows 10, you are likely have problems running ACT! 6 on Windows 10. The download likely went to the default download folder and the unpack would take place there and that may be the location of the install files.

[twayne]

I installed Act 6.0 on Windows 8.1 When I upgraded to Win 10, ACT 6 ran just fine. Hard disk crash required I reload software. Now I can't load 6.0. Frustrating.

[Roy_Laudenslager]

I'm not surprised. Any program that runs on Windows uses to a greater or lesser degre, services supplied by the operating system. Many of the services that ACT! 6 uses dates back to Windows 95. Recent versions of Windows have eliminated many of these legacy services and replaced them with more up to date versions. No doubt Windows 8 retained some that were critical to ACT! 6 and the upgrade of Windows 8 to Windows 10, they were retained. However it appears that a fresh install for Windows 10 does not provide those legacy services. Time to upgrade.

[Carl Mag]

Act! 6 is not compatible with Windows 10.

http://kb.act.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29767/kw/versions%20of%20act

[ch1p]

Just for fun loaded on Windows 10 and it worked! Even linked to an old copy of Outlook 2007 which I did not think it would work with!

I went to the install files and right clicked on the setup file, selected properties, compatibility, and chose Windows XP Service Pack 2

I am sure there will be issues but was surprised it loaded. Was like looking at an old friend.

[BrianDH]

Yes indeed ch1p,

The compatibility matrix noted by one of the previous posters if fluff and fairy floss. It shows that even Win 7 is not compatible with ACT 6 and that is BS completely! I have run ACT 6 most successfully on Win7 SP2 for years. I therefore have find it no surprise that, given a trick in installation, it will work wonderfully on Win10 as well. Have you seen any negatives in your installation since your original post in Aug'17?

I will be upgrading to Win10 as I'm building a new machine with the latest everything but I'm staying with ACT 6. I installed ACT 6 on Win7 the same as you . . . going in and finding the correct  *.exe  file to click. Great, absolutely GREAT to hear I can look forward to using ACT 6 on Win10 - thank you and love to hear an update from you! 

Cheers, Brian.

P.S: I have put SO much customisation into ACT6 over the years I am not only loathe to change and hit a steep learning curve (severe time constraints these days) but from what I read (extensively) very few of those customisation will translate into the current version - as pretty as the new version is. S, it isn't that I'm an ol' fogy that doesn't want to embrace change . . . I have literally multi hundreds if not thousands (quite probably) of hours invested into ACT6 customisation.  - - - Why on God's green and blue earth they didn't make a smooth and PROPER upgrade path from version to version still to this day does my head in to contemplate. I mean an upgrade path that was FAITHFUL to the previous versions. An upgrade path that did not completely TRASH painstaking customisations in the previous versions . . . They'd surely have old nuisance 'hold-outs' like me on the latest and greatest versions by now if they had bothered. Laziness and contempt has it's price unfortunately.  - - - Please advise re your Win10 progress!!!

[BrianDH]

Carl, Please see my post on this page today in response to 'ch1p' re ACT 6 compatibility with Win 7 and Win10. . . nothing is ever as it seems in this life. . . 

[JonTaylor]

When we say that Act! is not compatible with a particular version/software - what we mean is that the software was not designed to be compatible, has never been tested by ourselves, and would not be supported by our technical support team.

It's entirely possible that the software may be functional on incompatible versions - but there is no guarantee that it will be stable, or that your data will be secure (from exploits/viruses/hackers/crashes etc). For this reason it would be irresponsible for us as a software provider to assist users in deploying software in this way.

We do provide a clear update path, and in fact, up to version 19.1 (just last year) you were still able to update your v6 database directly to the latest version. A lot of your customisation in terms of custom fields etc will be preserved through the upgrade too. You could always contact our sales team to organise a trial of a newer version of Act! and see how the upgrade will affect your data.

[ch1p]

I also think I need to add to Jon's comments regarding my previous blog. ACT 6 will run in most cases but users have reported a range of odd happenings one of which is some problems with re indexing.  I also found that the surprised linking to Outlook 2007 failed after a couple of days and I could not get it working again. 

So it is at your own risk and do not be surprised if you have unexpected results but I must say as someone who bolted access tables to ACT 6 I am now looking at the new ACT 20.1 Plus product release with interest.