I had the pleasure to install Cisco Desktop Agent (CAD) on some Windows 8.1 workstations.   The version of CADS we have and what is out at this time is not compatible with Windows 8.1.  Cisco lists compatibility up to Windows 7.  Sure enough a regular install failed with a warning box stating this software was not compatible.

I did some quick online research and found an article on how to install CADS on Windows 7, which was then not natively compatible.  I took the leap and tried the same thing for Windows 8.1 and voila…success!!  Here are the details that I found below: (all Kudos to this site  Linked Below!)

Installing Cisco Agent Desktop and Supervisor on Windows 7
http://www.lphelps.com/archives/2010/04/installing-cisco-agent-desktop-and-supervisor-on-windows-7/

  1. The install of both the CAD and CSD are from .MSI files.  Copy the two .MSI installers to the Windows 7 machine.
  2. Right-click the MSI file and choose ‘Troubleshoot Compatibility’
  3. Wait for the wizard to give you a suggestion.  It should say Windows compatibility mode: Skip Version Check.
  4. Then click ‘Start the Program’ button
  5. The installer will then start successfully on Windows 7
  6. If it works correctly, click Next on the Troubleshoot Compatibility Wizard and it will ask you to save the new setting, click Save.

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