DeMignon: Looks like we're in a bit of a deadlock here. Lets try something else, involving 3rd party software from Microsoft.
Microsoft offers a tool, that enables you to provide a Windows XP environment for your applications. That's what I would do now. If the prophet won't go to the mountain, the mountain must go to the prophet ;-)
Check this for details:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7 Downside: It requires Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate, but there are tricks to use it with Home Premium edition too. The kid in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snm_NNUpidk shows how to (haven't watched it all). There are several similar videos there in case you don't like this one.
I have tested the game in Windows XP Mode (just last night!) and can confirm that it works. There are a few drawbacks - first, the game will run a little slower, and the machine has to start up first. I don't know if anything can be done about that. Second, if you want to run it full screen, you'll have to set your monitor resolution manually to 640x480, then run the virtual machine in fullscreen (not tested). Otherwise, the game will run windowed and/or boxed at 640x480.
However, as long as that's a playable size on your monitor (only you will know), it's actually better for switching back and forth from the manual or an online guide than the default game.