Sunday Software's Windows VISTA Tech Support


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View our Windows 7 Compatibility Webpage at www.sundaysoftware.com/articles/windows7.htm

PREAMBLE

Buck Up there Intrepid Church Person, ...and No Whining!  YOU can run a Vacation Bible School!  You can take Middle Schoolers on retreat!  ...this Vista stuff is easy by comparison. And we're here to help. By now you should have figured out that Vista has some compatibility issues, AND some compatibility tweaks built into it. We also have some workarounds. Double check whether you have Vista 32 or 64 bit. This is listed in your system info details. (Click your start pearl and type system info in the box). <>< Neil

See a list of all our Software Recommendations    See our Vista Compatibility List

If you have one of the typical 32 bit versions of Vista, such as Vista Home Premium, then read on. But...if you have the advanced 64 bit version of Vista, some programs may not run in 64 bit. To see a list of those, go to our Window 7 support page (because W7 is 64 bit)

The FIRST TWO THINGS...

Thing 1. You need to make sure you have the VERY latest version of Vista installed... (as of Oct 2009 that means "Service Pack 1.")  Hopefully you have it,  ...or can upgrade to it. I recommend that you allow Vista to automatically update itself via the internet. It's built into the system, and there's a reason why!  Microsoft continues to improve Vista's compatibility. THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT STEP. DO NOT NEGLECT IT.

Of course, this assumes your computers at church are hooked up to the internet so Vista can upgrade itself. If they aren't, you need to whap some tightwad upside the head for not giving you net access to those computers. Vista was DESIGNED to expect an internet connection. So if you need the ammunition, tell them "everybody knows you need the internet to keep Vista updated."  If you need to, you can set up a temporary internet access by stringing some cable, or bringing the computers to  place where there is  connection.

How do you know if you have the SP1 UPDATE installed?  (i.e. Service Pack 1)

Here's how==> Click your Vista start icon, then click "Computer," and RIGHT click on an empty portion of the Computer dialog box (any blank space in the window) and then select PROPERTIES. It should say right on that screen "SP1."

If it doesn't say SP1, then you need to get updated. Hook up to the net, then Open your Windows Control panel and click Windows Update and let it do it's thing.

BTW....Updating to Vista SP1 solves the error: "unable to copy the driver file C:\Windows\dirdib.drv to your Windows directory."
 

Thing 2. ALSO...If you're having trouble, make SURE you're logged into Vista as the Main User with all the administrative rights.

Like XP, Vista allows you to set up separate user accounts with various levels of 'access' or privileges. These user account controls often interfere with software made prior to 2008. Solution: When you install or run the game, right-click the application's start up icon or executable file and click "Run as administrator". This should give the program the appropriate permissions to copy a driver to the Windows directory. ((Now, in the original version of Vista, they forgot to include the right file to copy into the proper directory! They fixed this in SP1, so that's why we say above to "get SP1".))

Additional Advice:
Don't set up a goofy and useless "user account" for the kids with limited privileges, --and don't argue about it please. The simple fact is that limited user accounts are annoying and UNPREDICTABLE, and often throw up barriers to good programs. (And quit worrying about the kids getting into the system through the main user account. They should never use the church computers without supervision ANYWAY).  Always install a program when logged into the main user's account (aka "administrator") and then if you want to, test to see if the program will run on a limited users account.

And note: EVEN IF you are logged on as the "administrator" --you still may need to Right click your program's startup icon and click "Run as Administrator." (It's a crazy Vista thing.)

At this point let me ALSO suggest that you turn off Vista's ANNOYING User Account Controls that keep popping up warning you of terrible things. Go into your Control Panel, select User Accounts, and then select to "turn them off and stop bothering me with them!" option.  UAC pop ups sometimes hide in the background asking you if you want to let something run, and you don't see their window and think something is wrong with the program!  So turn off the annoying pop ups. (Microsoft continues to tweak this feature, so stay updated).

MORE HELP:

Is your problem happening during installation?  See Item 1 below.

Is your problem happening after installation when you're trying to RUN the program? See Item 2 below.

 

1. If your error in Vista is happening DURING installation, then do this...

1)  Cancel the installation and use Windows Explorer (My Computer, aka "Computer" in Vista) to find the FILES on the CD in the drive.

2) Right click the CD drive icon in "Computer" and select EXPLORE. This will show you the files on the CD.

3)  Now... RIGHT click the setup.exe (or installation file) or the application's startup file and select "Run as Administrator."  Then double click the installer executable and see if it runs. 

((Vista doesn't like anything to install itself without multiple permissions. It's like your mom. Love you mom!))

If it still doesn't install, then do this:

We're going to copy the CD's contents to a folder on your desktop and install/run it from there. Vista seems to be less picky about stuff executing on the desktop because it thinks files not already installed might be harboring terrorists.

1) Make a folder on your desktop by right clicking on a blank space on your desktop and selecting "New Folder." Name it whatever.

2) Now copy the entire contents of the CD into that folder and attempt to run the installation file (setup.exe probably) from within that folder. Why? Who knows.... it's a Vista mystery, but it works for some programs, if you've been good. 

You may STILL need to RIGHT click the setup.exe (or installation file) and select "Run as Administrator" to tell Vista to 'back off.'  Then double click the installer/executable and see if it runs. 

Alternately: you can create a folder elsewhere on your harddrive and drop the CD into there. But be advised: Vista seems to treat different folder/locations with different security protocols. Folders on the Desktop seem to have fewer. Folders in the Program_Files folder seem to have more.

2.  If the problem is happening AFTER a successful installation -i.e. when you try to run the program -... then follow these next couple of steps/options...

So now you have a successful installation, you have made sure your version of Vista is SP1, and you're logged in as the main user, and now you're trying to get the program to run.

Here's what you now need to TRY NEXT:

#1. Right click the program's start-up icon (probably sitting right there on your desktop, or click the Vista Start button and look for your program's start icon in the Programs listing). ...RIGHT click that start-up icon and select "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR." Select OK, then double click the startup icon and see if she runs.

If she DOES run, send us a nice note hailing our genius and we'll add your name to our "Wall of Vista Heroes."

If she doesn't run, go to this next step, #2...
 

#2. You've tried to "Run as Admin" option, so next you need to try another "compatibility" option. So do this:  RIGHT click the EXE file (the application's startup file) and select Properties/Compatibility and then select "Run as Windows 98" or "Run as XP" program. This alerts Vista to step back, and apparently also restores/grants permission to a file a system folder that some older (and not so older) programs need to find there.

The "Compatibility" option built in to XP and VISTA often corrects problems. Microsoft does care about backwards compatibility. It's just up to you to TEACH the system what to do.

#3.  Sometimes after setting the Compatibility option to "Run as XP/98," you ALSO still need to select 'Run as Admin' each time you go to start the program. This seems random, but then again, it seems to work. Just remember to WRITE DOWN what worked for you.  In Vista, the compatibility setting stays set. But the "run as administrator" option (seen when you Right click any program's startup icon) sometimes needs to be clicked each time you try to run the program. Who knows why. Vista updates continue to tweak the issue here.

These two steps work for most Vista users, especially those who took our advice and made sure they had Vista Service Pack 1 installed.

But let's say they don't work... don't worry...you still have one more option, and this almost always works...

#4. It's possible that the Desktop Icon from which you're trying to start the program isn't working properly in Vista.

The Vista Desktop uses "virtual folders" arrangement, which can trick the 'path' that your installed icon is trying to create or use to find its files. But Vista is a bit crazy. So here's the FIRST WORKAROUND: Do not use the program's installed Desktop Icon starter link, instead, go into your Programs Listing (click the Start pearl, then Programs), and find your program on the list and try to start it from there. For example, the desktop icon doesn't work in some versions of Joe 2.0 on Vista, because the desktop icon needs you to designate the "start in" folder as "c:\joseph" ...but it is blank. So you can either edit the properties of the Joe desktop icon, or just use the Programs Listing link to start the game. IF you don't see your program in the Programs listing, go exploring your harddriver for the folder where you installed your program, and look for the startup file (the "exe" file) in that folder.

#5. ANOTHER workaround:  If all else above fails, then Copy the entire contents of the CD into a folder on the DESKTOP, and then run/start the program from that folder. This seems to help with at least 3 other programs in our catalog that don't want to run in Vista. Something about Vista's security overkill. (Vista probably thinks an older executable on a CD drive might be a nefarious thing.) Then do steps 1 and 2 as listed above. Step 5 here will let Play and Learn Children's Bible CD run on Vista.

Why you might have to change the default installation folder for a program:

We have noticed that MANY programs authored originally for earlier versions of Windows and who want to install themselves in the directory c:\ Program_Files -will not run from that folder.  Vista seems to be applying some EXTRA security annoyances to that folder. The solution is to install the program to a folder on your DESKTOP and run it from there, -and in most cases, Vista stands back.  (You may also need to tweak the Windowscompatibility options as well see notes above.)
Update: Windows 7 cures this a bit, but even in Windows 7, sometimes you have to change the default installation folder to the root directory to bypass some annoying/arcane security issue (ie... change c:\programs\mynewprogram to c:\mynewprogram)

Do you have a partitioned harddrive?
If so, read this recent discovery...

We have noticed that IF your hard drive is partitioned into a 'C' and 'D' drive, a program which doesn't run in Vista if installed in a folder on the C drive (which includes the Desktop) MAY run if installed on the D drive 'side' of the hard drive. Again, Vista seems to be applying security protocols that are location dependent. I have TWO Vista laptops: a Dell and a Gateway. On my Dell Vista laptop, I had to run our Zombies CD from a folder on the desktop. But on my newer Gateway laptop, it came with a "partitioned hard drive."  "C" for the operating system and folder, and a blank "D" side labeled Data." Zombies wouldn't run in Vista from the C partition, but it ran fine from the D partition. ...another example of Vista's odd security protocols.

TECHIES:  Please....make sure you are logged in as the main user, and have your teachers log in as the main user, and not some goofy sub-user account. Sub user accounts throw up barriers, which some programs don't like.  In the Sunday School, you will have different leaders coming in using different programs you have installed, and they won't necessarily know what tweaks to perform if something bad happens, so try to remove all possible barriers in anticipation of a future need.

Some programs require a newer version of Quicktime in order to run in Vista. Some older programs cannot use this newer version, but instead, require their OLDER version of Quicktime (almost always included on the CD somewhere) to run their videos and animations. You CAN have several versions of Quicktime on your computer. See each program's tech notes to be sure which version of Quicktime you need. Quicktime is freely available at www.quicktime.com

Some programs play a Quicktime video/animation at start up. So you can think "hey, the program isn't working" when really it's just the Quicktime that's not working.

Some programs play a Windows Media Video at start up. Joseph 2.0 does this. If your computer does not have Windows Media Player 10 or higher installed, then the opening video may look weird or not play at all.

BONUS FEATURE !!

Are you getting annoying VISTA MESSAGES similar to this one?

User Account Siren!

Windows needs your permission...

Do you want to block this program?
Is the sky falling?

Vista's User Account Controls can be such a nag!

Turn off the nagging! That's right, we said "turn them off."  Unless you're 15 years old and downloading software off the internet, you don't need those nags. You're probably married anyway, right? ;-)

Here's how you turn them off: Go into your Control Panel and click User Accounts and turn off the User Account Control pop-ups which  occasionally interfere with a legitimate program's attempt to install or run."

Comment:

Will some of these programs ever be updated to fully run in Vista without these tweaks?

Some will, some will not. Christian software is a very small market, and opening up code to make things fully Vista compatibility won't happen. This is especially true since Microsoft is now already working on a replacement for Vista.