Thinking of upgrading from W10 to W11

BACKGROUND: I'm still running some old programs. Some will probably fail under Windows 11, but my primarily concern is LOTUS 123, Vs. 9.8. I have developed hundreds of engineering spreadsheets since the 1990's and still use 123 daily. (I also use Excel on a dally basis). Under W10, I've activated all features including the HELP files and HELP topics. (Runs exactly like it did under Windows Xp).

I'm considering upgrading to Windows 11. My concerns revolve around losing functionally of the HELP files.

Q. Has anyone successfully upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, which had LOTUS 123 on their system and retained all functions or will I have to specifically reactivate the HELP function after the upgrade?

Create an image backup of w10 installation using tool like Macrium Reflect or Aomei Backupper, then upgrade and test it.

If any issues restore backup and revert to W10.

Engima_2 said:

I'm considering upgrading to Windows 11. My concerns revolve around losing functionally of the HELP files.

Q. Has anyone successfully upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, which had LOTUS 123 on their system and retained all functions or will I have to specifically reactivate the HELP function after the upgrade?

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Replaced winhelp32.exe in C:\Windows with an older one (from XP, perhaps) did you? Yes, you will almost certainly have to repeat that after upgrading to Windows 11, so make sure you keep a copy of your working winhelp32.exe before you upgrade. The upgrade will replace yours with the stub version that opens your browser at the page telling why .HLP files cannot be opened.

But once replaced with your old one you'll be able to read your *.HLP files as before. I found a Lotus 9.8 CD and tested that for you....

Can't comment on Lotus 123, but I'm running Office 2000 Premium without any issues. I installed it from the original CD on this new W11 system after I did a system image with MR. I haven't done the SP1 & SP3 updates yet, but Excel runs just fine. I think making a system image prior to installing Lotus is a great idea.

I keep one Excel spreadsheet, for all my car expenses. It was originally set up on MS Excel many years ago, but for the past ten, I've been using either Open Office or Libre Office, and both handle those older spreadsheets just fine.
Why not try one of those, just to see if they would work for you? Both are FREE, so it won't cost you anything to try them.
Then you won't have to worry about what OS you're running. Neither is OS dependent.

I've used both of the above mentioned Office Replacement programs on Windows 8.1, 10, & 11, with no problems whatsoever.

Cheer Mate!
TM

Windows 11 is a service pack to Windows 10 with some new security installation requirements.

I also run OpenOffice in lieu of more current MS office products. Color me cheap, but happy.

NormanF said:

Windows 11 is a service pack to Windows 10 with some new security installation requirements.

Click to expand...

You can bypass those

At times I install W11 on my system to see how the changes/improvements have gone....

...eventually I end up going back to W10.

At least for now, while there are some improvements, the overall system seems to run better for me on W10 than it does for W11 and I don't get as lost in the Settings app (among other things).

Personally, I would try out W11 via Hyper-V, OracleBox, or another VMM and see if you can use it. If not or you don't like the setup, it's as simple as deleting the VM and you're not forced to reinstall.

If you do like it, you can always then format your main system over.