MLS 2.9 Vista Compatibility

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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Mikerowaved
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#21

Post by Mikerowaved »

Alan_Brown wrote:A happy little update :): I persisted in my attempts to make MLS 2.9 run under Vista, and my persistence was rewarded.

I initially tried Compatibility Mode for Windows XP (SP2), which didn't work as I described above. But then on a whim I decided to try Compatibility Mode for Windows 2000. Eureka! For some reason, MLS 2.9 works just fine with the test data on my home machine as long as I am in Windows 2000 Compatibility Mode.

So although I still think it would be wise for the MLS developers to eventually make sure that MLS runs under Vista without requiring a special Compatibility Mode, this gives us a way to operate a test installation under Vista until MLS is fully compatible.
Alan, I wrestled with it for the first time under Vista tonight, and it seems no matter what compatibility mode I selected, I always get MLS's "rejection notice". Was there something else you might have done along the way besides that?

I agree with you, there should be a version of 2.9 available to testers with the OS check removed to allow us to experiment with it under Vista.
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russellhltn
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#22

Post by russellhltn »

Mikerowaved wrote:I agree with you, there should be a version of 2.9 available to testers with the OS check removed to allow us to experiment with it under Vista.
I think a separate MLS version would be too messy for development to deal with. Perhaps skipping the version testing for test units?
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aebrown
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#23

Post by aebrown »

Mikerowaved wrote:Alan, I wrestled with it for the first time under Vista tonight, and it seems no matter what compatibility mode I selected, I always get MLS's "rejection notice". Was there something else you might have done along the way besides that?

I agree with you, there should be a version of 2.9 available to testers with the OS check removed to allow us to experiment with it under Vista.

I didn't do anything else special with the MLS installation. I do have UAC turned off, but I would think that would have different effects if it were a factor.
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aebrown
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#24

Post by aebrown »

RussellHltn wrote:I think a separate MLS version would be too messy for development to deal with. Perhaps skipping the version testing for test units?

The problem with this idea is that the OS check occurs at startup, before the database is opened. For installations with multiple units, you select the unit, then login. The OS check happens before the login screen.

However, it should be simple enough to add an optional entry in the mls.properties file that would cause the OS check to be skipped.
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russellhltn
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#25

Post by russellhltn »

Alan_Brown wrote:However, it should be simple enough to add an optional entry in the mls.properties file that would cause the OS check to be skipped.
The problem with that idea is it would allow units to run MLS with live data under Vista. Yes, to do my idea would take some changes, but it would address the concern that I think prompted the check in the first place.

But if you're able to get it to run it under Vista with compatibility mode then the importance level of any change takes a big drop.
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aebrown
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#26

Post by aebrown »

RussellHltn wrote:The problem with that idea is it would allow units to run MLS with live data under Vista. Yes, to do my idea would take some changes, but it would address the concern that I think prompted the check in the first place.

But if you're able to get it to run it under Vista with compatibility mode then the importance level of any change takes a big drop.
That's a pretty good point, although anyone who manually modifies the MLS properties file in an unauthorized way can cause other problems and deserves what he gets.

In any case, maybe you meant this when you made the suggestion, but a slight modification (or clarification) would be to check to see if ONLY test units are installed, and then skip the OS check. That should be easy and seems like it would address any concerns raised so far on this thread.
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russellhltn
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#27

Post by russellhltn »

Alan_Brown wrote:maybe you meant this when you made the suggestion, but a slight modification (or clarification) would be to check to see if ONLY test units are installed, and then skip the OS check.
No, but I like that better!
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#28

Post by mkmurray »

Alan_Brown wrote:I just create a shortcut for MLS that runs MLS in Compatibility Mode for Windows XP (SP2). Nice try, but no such luck. It runs, sort of, but it won't do any backup, restore, or import procedures. Trying to do any of those gives a wonderfully helpful error message that says (in its entirety): "An error has occurred." If you ever touch any financial info in the test data you are required to make a backup, so this makes MLS useless.
I have been getting this same vague error message as well running under Windows XP (SP2) compatibility on Vista Ultimate SP2. To elaborate on your explanation, I can't get MLS to close unless I "End Task" it when this error comes up. The error apparently short circuits out of the Shut Down and Log Off logic sequences and can never get fully processed.
Alan_Brown wrote:But then on a whim I decided to try Compatibility Mode for Windows 2000.
I saw this post and then tried this compatibility mode instead. Instead of it working as you mentioned, MLS just fails and shuts down immediately with an error that a Java library (specifically the Java Platform SE binary) stopped working.

Alan, have you tried this recently? (I'm guessing you have)

When you install MLS with each upgrade, do you just run the new installer to patch your existing install? Or do you do a full uninstall before doing a new install for each upgrade?

Also I do need to have the "Run as Administrator" flag checked in that same dialog that talks about compatibility modes, correct?

Thanks.
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aebrown
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#29

Post by aebrown »

mkmurray wrote:Alan, have you tried this recently? (I'm guessing you have)

When you install MLS with each upgrade, do you just run the new installer to patch your existing install? Or do you do a full uninstall before doing a new install for each upgrade?

Also I do need to have the "Run as Administrator" flag checked in that same dialog that talks about compatibility modes, correct?
I continue to run under Vista just fine. When I upgrade, I just run the new installer on top of the existing install -- I don't uninstall. So the compatibility settings remain unchanged.

I'm still running in Windows 2000 mode, and it works fine. I am running already as an administrator, so I think that's why the "Run as Administrator" checkbox is disabled for me.
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#30

Post by mkmurray »

Alan_Brown wrote:I continue to run under Vista just fine. When I upgrade, I just run the new installer on top of the existing install -- I don't uninstall. So the compatibility settings remain unchanged.

I'm still running in Windows 2000 mode, and it works fine. I am running already as an administrator, so I think that's why the "Run as Administrator" checkbox is disabled for me.
I'm wondering if it would still work for you if you were to do a clean install of MLS 3.0...
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