UNSUPPORTED: AutoCAD 2014 on Windows Vista

We have been getting a lot of cases coming in on this HOT topic:  AutoCAD 2014 on Windows Vista. Basically, if you run the setup.exe, you will get this error:

Operating System Unsupported.  
You cannot install this product on the current operating system.  Please read the System Requirements for details.

End of Story.  It's not Supported.   Sort of....

For larger organizations that have Microsoft Vista installed, it maybe harder to upgrade to a newer operating system even though Windows 7 and 8 is much better! Please note that even Microsoft has admitted that Vista was less then perfect:

http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/6/microsoft-we-know-vista-sucks-so-keep-xp-msft-

Here is the "Sort of" part of the post....if you absolutely must use AutoCAD 2014 on Windows Vista, please check out my notes on installing it.   Our Quality Assurance teams have not tested this configuration so I do not know how stable it will be or if it will be even functional. 

 1.  Download AutoCAD 2014 as a browser download on the Windows Vista computer.  This can be done via the Subscription Center (#1) or Virtual Agent (#3) via this post:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2013/01/quick-start-downloads.html

2.  When you extract the software, it will automatically start the installation process and you will get the error:  Operating System Unsupported.  You will then cancel the installation.

3.  I had a pretty base Vista test computer so I needed to install .NET 3.5 SP1 [Install3.5Net.exe]. The file can be found here:

C:\Autodesk\AutoCAD_2014_English_Win_64bit_dlm\3rdParty\NET\35SP1\wcu\dotNetFramework

4.  Right mouse click on the Setup.exe > Properties > Compatibilty Tab > Show settings for all users > Run this program in compatibiliy mode for:  Windows XP (Service Pack 2).

5.  You will now be able to install AutoCAD 2014 on Vista. In this instance, I would highly suggest that you install the software in Trial mode so that you can test it out  for 30 days before activating the software. You do not want to waste an activation count on your Autodesk software on an unsupported operating system.

TIP:  You can also go to the Certified Hardware list to see what video cards we been tested in AutoCAD 2012 on Vista to extrapolate potential issues in AutoCAD 2014.

6.  I cannot stress enough that AutoCAD 2014 is not supported on Windows Vista.  You can also run AutoCAD in compatiblity mode (#4) as well.  Hopefully, you can now test it in your environment and make a decision on when you can upgrade your computers to a newer operating system or if you want to deploy this version in your organization.

Reference:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2012/01/general-systems-windows-vista-rip.html

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2013/05/microsoft-windows-and-the-price-of-progress.htm

Epilogue

If you require the Network License Manager [NLM] using the media and you are trying to install it on a 2003 server, you may need to run it in compatiblity mode. You can download the NLM noted in Step 1 here:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/quick-start-setting-up-a-license-server.html

Comments

[Luiz]

Eu estou com problema para instalar o CAD no Windows 8 pois quando tento instalar aparece que ja existe um programa instlado como posso resolver esse problema.

I'm having trouble installing the CAD on Windows 8 appears because when I try to install a program that already exists instlado how can I solve this problem