Most businesses running legacy VB6 applications don't wake up one day and decide to deal with the risk. They wait until something goes wrong. By then, the damage — lost data, halted operations, missed orders — has already happened.
Here are three warning signs that your VB6 application is heading for trouble, and what you can do before it becomes a crisis.
Warning sign 1: It only runs on one specific PC
This is one of the most common — and most dangerous — situations I come across. The application works fine, but only on one particular machine. Maybe it's a PC that hasn't been touched in years. Maybe it's the one on Dave's desk, and only Dave knows how to restart it when it plays up.
This is a single point of failure. If that PC dies, gets stolen, or is replaced as part of a hardware refresh, the application goes with it. And if the original setup was never properly documented — which it usually wasn't — getting it running again on a new machine can take days, or longer.
Warning sign 2: It crashes on Windows 10 or 11
VB6 applications were written for a different era of Windows. They run on modern operating systems — but not always cleanly. Crashes, missing components, and display problems become more common as Windows updates roll out and older compatibility layers are quietly removed or changed.
If your application is already showing instability on Windows 10 or 11, that's a sign the underlying issues are catching up with it. It won't get better on its own.
Common symptoms include:
- Random crashes with no clear error message
- ActiveX or component registration errors on new PCs
- Database connection failures after a Windows update
- Blurry or incorrectly sized interface elements on modern displays
Warning sign 3: Nobody in your business knows how it works
The developer who built it left years ago. There's no documentation. The person who used to manage it has retired. Sound familiar?
This is the most insidious risk of all, because everything seems fine right up until it isn't. The application keeps running. Nobody thinks about it. Then one day something breaks — and nobody knows where to start.
Without someone who understands the application's internals, even a small problem can become a major one. You can't fix what you don't understand.
What happens when things go wrong
In most cases, VB6 application failures don't announce themselves with plenty of notice. They tend to happen at the worst possible moment — during a busy period, after a routine Windows update, or when the one person who knew how to fix things is unavailable.
The good news is that most of these problems are fixable — often quickly and at reasonable cost — provided you act before a full failure rather than after one.
Getting ahead of the problem
If any of the warning signs above apply to your business, it's worth having a conversation now. A free 30-minute assessment can give you a clear picture of where your risks are and what — if anything — needs to be done.
There's no obligation, and no jargon. Just an honest conversation about your system and your options.