Is it safe to install VC++ 6.0 after Visual Studio 2008?

Question

When I built this new PC I didn't install VC++ 6.0 as I didn't think I'd ever need it again.

However, I've just discovered I need to rebuild a really old application. It doesn't compile under VS 2008 (which isn't surprising since it hasn't been touched in 7 years) and as my C++ skills are a little rusty I don't have the time to try and work out whether I can change the code or not.

The easiest solution would seems to be just to install VC++ 6.0, but I can't find any information as to whether it's a sensible thing to do or not.

Basically, will it break my VS 2008 install?

Answer 1

I have had Visual Studio 6.0, 2003, 2005, and 2008 installed on the same machine and could compile code on each one without any trouble. Granted, I did install 2008 after 6.0 was already installed, but I would expect the installation would not cause problems.

That said, a safer approach would be to just create a VM using Virtual PC or VMWare, if that is a viable option for you. That way you do not run the risk of messing up your system.