C++ Builder 5 is not longer supported by Borland. At the envelope, Borland states "for Windows 98, 95, NT and Windows 2000".

I need to install the builder in my home computer to work during weekends, but I don't want to crash the HDD that happened during the installation of an old ver of PCAnywhere. If you have a success story about intallation and running C++ Builder 5 under XP, I'll be glad to hear it.

Thanking you in advance.

 

I just installed C++Builder on my laptop at home running WinXP SP2. I believe it was an even older version of C++Builder though, as I had purchased it in 1998. It did not crash my computer and for the couple of things that I compiled, it ran fine. Granted they were small programs, but I had no problems. If you are worried about crashing, I would suggest that you do a good backup of your system before you try to install. I did not, as this was a newly installed WinXP so there was nothing to backup.

 

Of course, C++ Builder X is a free download, so why bother with 5? (Assuming you're not using the "Enterprise Edition" or something.)

-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.

 

Problems with installation of Borland Builder 5.0 on Windows XP.

The Solution

It is my conjecture that Borland Builder uses SAPI 4.0 to provide the components missing from the toolbar. Windows XP ships with SAPI 5.0. Unfortunately, the upgraded SAPI5.0 does not provide backward compatibility. Happily, SAPI 4.0 and SAPI 5.0 can co-exist together on the same Windows XP computer.

To install Builder 5.0 completely in Windows XP, first install the SAPI 4.0 runtime binaries (available at http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/sapi/spchapi.exe), and then install Builder 5.0 from the CDROM.

Technical Notes

1. Builder 6.0 should not have this problem, as Windows XP is part of its specification.

2. Users of upgrade discs for Windows XP should upgrade their operating system before they install SAPI4.0. Then install Borland Builder 5.0. in the normal way.

Useful sites:

http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/sapi/spchapi.exe download SAPI4.0 from Microsoft
http://www.borland.com/bcppbuilder/ for Builder 6.0 information
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/ other downloads for XP users