Can I run AutoCAD LT 97 on Windows 7?

[Anonymous]

...as crazy as it sounds.

I've seen some discussion in the archives about upgrading from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional and then installing Virtual PC.  This enabled 'jdoverman' to run an older version of AutoCAD on Windows Visa.

Would this be an option for me?  I'm trying to get AutoCAD LT 97 running on Windows 7.

Thanks for any feedback.

- Vin

[Anonymous]

If your OS is 32 bit, I don't see a problem...does it run on XP now?

[Anonymous]

It ran fine on XP - installed it years ago.

When I inserted the original installation disks, Win 7 came back with

'The program or feature \??\D:\SETUP.EXE' cannot start or run due to incompatibitly with 64 bit versions of Windows...'

I'm thinking that if I upgrade to Windows 7 Professional I could run Virtual PC to mimic the older operating system.

[Bob.Felton]

You might consider testing the free VirtualBox from Oracle (formerly Sun) that will install on your existing Win 7 machine. Then install Win XP to host LT 97. Just be aware that this version and this environment is not supported by Autodesk.

http://www.virtualbox.org/

[Anonymous]

Thanks Bob for the followup.

So it looks like the Oracle solution would be the way to go because there's no cost involved?

I also wouldn't mind upgrading to Windows 7 Professional (last I heard, the ugrade cost around $100?) if I knew for certain that Autocad LT 97 would run on it. 

Would Autodesk support something like that?

- Vin

[Bob.Felton]

I had expected Win 7 Professional to use the integrated Virtual PC virtual machine (that they acquired from Connectix) to host Win XP, just like VirtualBox would. But I just installed the oldest version of AutoCAD at hand (AutoCAD 2002, 4 versions after your LT 97), and it completed and started up on a Win 7 Enterprise machine. It didn't need to run a guest OS like VMWare or VirtualBox does.

That should also allow LT 97 to run OK as well as it did on an XP machine, but its age is too old for official support from Autodesk. But if you mean support in the sense of LT 97 starting up like AutoCAD 2002, then yes, I would expect that may work as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Bob,

Yes, at this point I wouldn't expect Autodesk to support a version of AutoCAD LT that goes that far back.  I just want to get it working again.

- Vin

[Anonymous]

OP have you thought of Tiger Direct? They sell AutoCAD and LT AND subscriptions, which are a great value. Or you could find a reseller. Someitmes autodesk runs good specials, such as the Inventor LT Suite (which comes with LT). I notice they have financing options, but not sure if they'd cover this -- but a credit card and Tiger Direct might, just sayin'...

You're missing out on tons of leaps ahead in the program 😉

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the heads up. 🙂  I'll have to look into what Tiger Direct has.

The AutoCAD LT 97 version we're using now is for 2 dimensional drawings of custom furniture designs - cabinets, tables, etc. That's all we've ever used it for.

I'm wondering if another Autodesk product would fullfill those needs rather than having to use AutoCAD LT?  I've haven't been keeping up with all of the other offerings from Autodesk.

- Vin

[Charles_Shade]

You need Dynamic Blocks.

It's worth the cost.

(I know you will not be able to do anything with the DynBlk attached in the '97. Dowload the trial of LT 2011 and have a look.)

Hey Modman - See how much time I've had on my hands? Drawing furniture now.

[chris_itk]

Hello,

we are running Autocad LT 97 (recorded Setup with Thinapp) on Windows 7 64bit systems!

we have installed it with Thinapp on Windows 7 32bit and 64bit!

Our users can work with both (floorplans)!

But in both versions the following error occurs, but not every time! Does someone know such a problem!

SYSTEMERROR: Unhandled Access Violation at ....... (e.g. when I we move something in the plan or use some tools on the border of a plan)

I'm a sysadmin, so I don't work with Autocad LT 97, only install it 😉

Thanks in advance

[Charles_Shade]

Welcome to the Autodesk Forums!

Maybe a more appropriate Forum for your query. Installation and Licensing Forum:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Installation-Licensing/bd-p/24

The unhandled exception may be meaningless and therefore no direct solution can be found.

Have you also queried the Thinapp folks? If there program is allowing yours to run it may be there issue.

The LT KB is linked in my signature and would be a place to lookup the error # to see if there is a KB article realted to it. Never know.