Install 32bit AutoCAD Electrical 2008 on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10

NOTE: This blog post specifically solves issues related to these error messages on installation…

  • “This operating system is not supported by AutoCAD® Electrical® 2008”
  • “You cannot install this product on the current operating system”
  • “You are attempting to use a 32-bit installer on a 64-bit operating system”
  • “This is a 32-bit AutoCAD® Electrical® 2008. It cannot be installed on 64-bit Windows”

…Also, hung “Merging content…” message while installing…

Installing 32bit AutoCAD Electrical 2008 on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 64bit can be very easily defined in these short steps…

NOTE: These steps do not bypass normal Autodesk licensing/authorization, you should expect to use your own serial numbers in the normal way.

  1. First of all, you need V7.37 of the Longbow Converter (or newer) – obtain the latest version of the Longbow Converter here
  2. If you have CDs (if not skip to step 3 below):
    1. Using Windows Explorer, copy Disk 1 of your AutoCAD Electrical 2008 CD to your hard drive, to a folder path c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2008
    2. If you have more CD’s, copy them all directly over the top of Disk 1, overwrite all files in your previously copied c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2008 folder
  3. If you have a single self extracting exe downloaded from Autodesk
    1. Run the exe, it will ask to unzip to a folder inside of c:\Autodesk, make a note of the folder name created for later use (we’ll refer to it from here as c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2008), now click OK.
    2. Wait until all of the files have extracted, when they do, the AutoCAD Electrical 2008 setup will automatically launch – simply close it and move to the next step.
  4. Now, start the Longbow Converter tool (V7.37 or newer), select the 1st tab, pick the c:\Autodesk\AutoCADE2008 folder, and click the Convert button.
  5. Once the conversion process is complete, click Install/Run Setup to start setup. Simply install as normal.
  6. Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 users: Once the installation process is complete, go back to the Converter, select the 3rd tab, pick the newly installed C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\Acade 2008 folder, then click Fix Old Program
  7. Now you can happily run your AutoCAD 2008 32bit on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Troubleshooting:

– If you are unable to activate your product, or the activation process crashes:

– If you have crashing problems using the File->Open or File->Save dialogs inside of AutoCAD please read this blog entry on the File->Open or File->Save Crash in AutoCAD

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