Microsoft has incorporated several tools with each of its upgrades, in order to help its users run every application in the most compatible manner. If you have recently upgraded your system to Windows 8 platform, you will be familiar with the Compatibility tab. You can locate this tab on the shortcut menu. Using this pull-down menu, you can get rid of any of the compatibility issues or complexities in your Windows 8 machine, as it helps you mimic how the application appeared on an older Windows version.

You can find a Run compatibility troubleshooter in the Desktop Shortcut Properties Compatibility menu. This automated tool is featured with a wizard-like interface. Using this troubleshooting feature, users can fix a plethora of issues that pertain to compatibility.

In case the Run Compatibility troubleshooter fails to fix an issue, it gives a troubleshoot program wizard which contains additional troubleshooting steps that can resolve almost all Windows 8 problems, especially the compatibility issues.

According to Microsoft, the built in troubleshooting tools with the upgrade will help fixing most compatibility issues. However, you can end up with no expected results at some rare occasions. On such a scenario, you can make use of the alternative troubleshooting feature called virtualization.

Windows 7 Operating System features Windows XP Mode to help users fix some compatibility issues. Microsoft has designed this features based on its Virtual PC technology. Here, users can access to a virtual environment and run legacy applications in XP mode. This feature has been proved extremely useful for users who use older applications. Nevertheless, Microsoft hasn’t included this feature in its latest operating system Windows 8. As Microsoft does not signal a warning that users will not be able to avail Windows XP mode after upgrading to Windows 8 from Windows 7, it has accumulated much criticism on the company.

Critics consider the lack of XP mode as a major pitfall with Windows 8. However, using the help of a third party virtualization platform like Oracle’s Virtual Box, users can do away with this shortcoming. This helps Windows 8 users to access XP mode and do the workarounds. In addition to this, running Client Hyper-V-a virtualization client from Windows 8, IT experts can form a virtual machine in previous Windows versions and find a remedy for any compatibility issue with a legacy program in Windows 8 platform.

Obviously, if you are looking forward to upgrading to Windows 8, compatibility issues will not turn out to be the Windows 8 problems that distract you.