Have you tried running it in a "compatibility" mode?  There are options to run programs (if you can get it installed) in compatibility modes, such as Win98, Win 2K, etc.  It's worth a try, although personally I never got a program to run in the Windows XP compatibility mode - if it wouldn't run in the native XP mode it wouldn't run in a compatibility mode.  However, with Vista I've been able to get a program to run in compatibility mode. 

 

When Microsoft went to Windows XP (and now Vista) they dropped a lot of the backwards compatibility that they used to include in their Operating Systems.  Modern hardware is one thing that dictated the dropping of the backwards compatibility (call it planned obsolesence if you want) but with the complexity of modern Operating Systems they were complicated enough without trying to add a lot of backward compatibility.  e.g XP is not DOS based like the older Operating Systems and only includes a limited DOS emulator.   XP handles memory differently than the older operating systems and some of the older software cannot "cope" with the difference in memory management and thus will not run.  Older Hardware is another issue and there are many older printers, scanners, etc that work fine (old reliable) but they are not compatible with XP (and Vista).

 

I have a friend that has an engineering and consulting business.  He has a high end commercial scanner and laser printer that he needs for his business.  He keeps an old Win98 machine just so he still has use of those peripherals. 

TahoeBeckey,

 

Fireberd's advice is dead on.  I recently installed Autocad 2000 on a new Dell Dimension running Windows XP SP2. 

 

Insert your Autocad 2000 CD in your CD drive.  If it tries to Autorun, just exit the installation window.  Now, right-click on Start.  Left click on Explore.  Navigate to the Setup.exe file in the root directory of the Autocad 2000 CD.  Right click on the Setup.exe file.  Left click on Send To Desktop (Create Shortcut).  Close the File Explorer window.  Right click on the Autocad shortcut that you created on your Desktop.  Left click on Properties.  Click on the Compatibility tab.  Put a check mark in the Compatibility Mode box beside "Run this program in compatiblity mode for".  Use the dropdown menu to select Windows 98/Me.  Click Apply.  Now click on the Autocad shortcut.  It should install without problem.

 

Additionally, I used a backup copy of the Program Files\Autocad 2000 folder on a CD to transfer my client's customized settings from his old Windows 98 computer to the new Dell after I had installed Autocad 2000.

 

Tony