How to Work With Software Incompatibility

What is software incompatibility? For those of us who use personal computers, we know about software. We use various applications and some of us install software either by using downloaded programs or CDs or DVDs for program sources. The word 'compatible' is derived from Medieval Latin 'compatibilis' or Late Latin 'compati' associated with a literal meaning 'sympathetic' (Merriam-Webster, 2009, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compatible). The word implies the capability to work in harmony. When applied to computers, the word signifies the capacity to work with devices, to not conflict with devices, or to not conflict with applications. By adding 'in' in front of compatible (in addition to into, on to, towards, until, 'in' means 'against'; University of Notre Dame, n.d., http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=in&ending=) the word 'compatible', the meaning changes to 'not compatible'.

Incompatible software does not work with devices, other software, or operating systems. What are signs of software incompatibility? Error messages, programs that not perform correctly, terminating applications, operating system problems, and system failures are signs of software incompatibilities. What are error messages one would likely see when using incompatible software? Obvious messages could include warnings that a particular application is not compatible to the current operating system, messages that indicate that other software is required in order to execute a particular application, specific programming errors pertaining to memory locations or lines of code. Error messages can also indicate that certain devices do not work with a particular application or that device drivers are missing. If devices that previously worked before a particular application installation no longer work, that is a significant sign of software incompatibility. Operating system errors can also indicate software incompatibility. Perhaps a particular operating service can no longer execute because of recent software that was installed.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

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   Once you have determined that you are using incompatible software, immediately uninstall incompatible software. If you have reason to believe that particular software should work with your system, review available documentation to find out if instructions existence regarding any setting changes that may be required in order to ensure that your software will install correctly.

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   A most dreadful form of software incompatibility that can adversely affect an operating system is the installation of malware. Malware is software that is designed to disrupt, take over, replace, or otherwise adversely affect an operating system. If you believe that malware is installed on your system, , use security programs such as anti-virus and anti-spyware programs to attempt to remove malware. If unsuccessful, research documentation to find out if there are tools or instructions available that will help you remove the malware. Make sure you always backup your data incase your system becomes infected by malware. Be prepared to reformat your hard drive and reinstall your operating system or installing customized software from your computer vendor system restore disk.

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   Run system utilities to check for incompatible software. Additionally, your system registry may contain references to incompatible software you previously uninstalled. System utilities should be able to remove these references. Consult experts of referrals to effective system utilities. CNET (reviews.cnet.com/4566-3680_7-0.html) is a good website to use to begin your research

[cherold598]

on 8/31/2009 Excellent and well-written!