Windows 7 support

[hfiref0x]

BTW: Working great on Windows 7. Thanks for this amazing tool.

Originally posted by @i486 in #9

Hello,

can you tell what is the requirements to run this on Windows 7? I assume you need msvc redistributable but what about .NET 8? AFAIK it is does not support Win7.

If you provide this information I can update readme then with instructions.

[i486]

Hi,

Even though .NET 7+ officially dropped support for Windows 7, they still kept the old code paths, so it still works (and likely in .NET 8 and 9 too).

The main problem when running .NET 7+ apps on Windows 7 is W^X (Write XOR Execute). This security feature was opt-in for .NET 6.0 but became default in .NET 7+. On Windows 7, this causes excessive memory usage and CPU spikes when launching and closing applications (observable with WinDepends).

To fix this, just add this environment variable:

set DOTNET_EnableWriteXorExecute=0  

So if anyone want to run WinDepends on Windows 7, here’s the requirement:

1. Install .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime (it installs fine despite the lack of official support).
2. Set DOTNET_EnableWriteXorExecute=0 globally for better performance across all .NET 7+ apps.

So far, I haven’t noticed any negative effects from this setting. Hope this helps!

[hfiref0x]

Added this issue as reference in the readme file, thanks.

[i486]

Notes on WinDepends and Windows 7 Symbol Compatibility

If you're using WinDepends on Windows 7, the stock dbghelp.dll in system32 won’t work.

You'll need dbghelp.dll and symsrv.dll version 10.0.18362.1, which you can obtain from WinDbg in the Windows 10 1903 SDK or download from the attachment below.

Download: (These files are digitally signed by Microsoft)
dbghelp.zip

[sergeevabc]

Re: @i486

Thank you a lot for mentioning DOTNET_EnableWriteXorExecute=0. I almost shed a tear when I saw the beneficial effect of this parameter on C# apps that had previously caused the computer to freeze, which was then treated with a power outage.

Could you be so kind as to tell us if it would be wiser to install Net 9 on Windows 7 today? And do I need to remove NET Desktop Runtime 8 before that?