Illustrator 9.0 on a Windows 7 system

[daleoll]

My old computer (an XP system with Illustrato 9.0 installed) crashed last week.  I reinstalled Illustrator on my new Windows 7 system, and the installation seemed to go OK.  Tonight when I tried to open one (any) of my .AI files, or just start up Illustrator, I get an error stating

"The filter cannot complete becuase of an unknown error.

Error:    !MEM"

Don't know if this is just a case of a file moved/missing, or a more serious problem.  I really can't afford to upgrade right now (unemployed) but I do need to be able to work on the files.  Help/suggestions?

[pwillener]

Not sure if it will work, but try to run it in Windows XP Compatibility Mode.

[Mylenium · Accepted solution]

No, it won't work. Those old programs cannot deal with the memory management in more current operating systems. the first tested and certified version for Win 7 is CS4.

Mylenium