Abbyy Finereader 6.0 Will Not Start

[woolyhead 15]

My Finereader 6.0 is on a disc that came with the pc 15 years ago. Finereader has always opened when I clicked on the icon, even when I installed it on my new computer about two years ago and has been no problem until recently, when it would not open. So I reloaded the disc and re installed Finereader but now I'm lost in the excessive complication of choosing a TWAIN source. What I eventually did choose did work up to a point and it allowed me to see all the parts of Finereader as a list of programs but Finereader still doesn't open like it used to. I still cannot do an OCR scan. Could this have something to do with any recent Windows 10 updates? If so I could delete these updates maybe?

Edited February 27, 2020 by woolyhead

[Ghozer 112]

It's likely it won't work with Windows 10..

There's a new(er) version on their website...

https://support.abbyy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004048200

Remove your finereader totally, and use a new(er) version - or use something different (most office suites and word processing supports TWAIN / OCR import)

[woolyhead 15]

Hi Ghozer. Well I've been using it successfully with Windows 10 for over a year. But thanks for your other input. 

[Ghozer 112]

well ORC and TWAIN are for using capture via a Scanner or similar...

Windows 10 is likely 64bit, using 64bit drivers...

The software being 15 years+ old, it will be 32bit (or maybe even 16bit) and may not know how to use 64bit drivers, crash and freeze as a result etc...

I wouldn't uninstall any Windows 10 updates, I would look into alternative (modern) equivalent software instead.

[swarfendor437 14]

Have you tried running it in Compatibility mode? I remember version 6 didn't work with Windows 7 after migrating from XP at work. The oldest version that is compatible with Windows 10 is version 7 (Abbyy FineReader Pro).

Have you tried using Office Lens? It's free and in the Windows store.

[woolyhead 15]

Thanks swarfend437 and Ghozer. Actually my computer is 32 bit and the Finereader 6.0 was working fine up to a month or so ago. I  agree not to remove Windows 10 updates though.  I'm still looking into the other things you say. 

[Ghozer 112]

I'd be surprised if you had Windows 10 32bit (it's a VERY rare occurrence, as 95% of computers in the past 15 or so years are 64bit)

If your computer is that old, then maybe you should consider an upgrade, it can't be a pleasant experience...

[woolyhead 15]

My computer has a 32 bit operating system, Windows 10 but also a 64 bit processor. Sounds weird? I wouldn't know, just going by the information on screen under "this computer, properties." I'm no expert but I have a feeling there is something wrong with the registry under "printers." The reason I say this is that my grandson borrowed the computer a few weeks ago and he has a habit of messing things up in computers. When I asked him what he'd done he couldn't remember but thought he might have had a look in the registry. So my question to you gents now is this:- Which way should I try to put things right in the register, one of the automatic ways available for free download, or the Windows way built into the computer, or a manual way? The Windows may be a manual way for all I know at the moment. Any advice please? And please don't tell me that only an expert should mess about with the register. I'm gonna have a go, whatever. I learn best by making mistakes. But if your help could help me avoid making mistakes I would be grateful to receive it, please. 

Edited March 1, 2020 by woolyhead

[swarfendor437 14]

On 28/02/2020 at 18:27, Ghozer said:

I'd be surprised if you had Windows 10 32bit (it's a VERY rare occurrence, as 95% of computers in the past 15 or so years are 64bit)

If your computer is that old, then maybe you should consider an upgrade, it can't be a pleasant experience...

Not weird at all, some of the old rigs at work have Windows 10 x86 (32-bit) installed.