Tech Forum

I'm sorry I have to start a new thread, but I searched the forum on this subject and couldn't find it. Will MLS be able to run on Windows 7 OS soon? I also understand that there's development of putting MLS via a website, is this true, and if so where is it in release?

Perhaps an indirect answer can be found in this observation. We just had a brand new computer ordered this week. The computer OS was downgraded from Vista to XP Pro.

If the goal is to run the test database for support, I think that can be done though the compatibility modes. But at this time, I've not heard any word that Windows 7 is supported at a unit level.

aaho wrote: I also understand that there's development of putting MLS via a website, is this true, and if so where is it in release?

It is being released a bit at a time and if your calling allows you can see it at beta.lds.org. Sign in and look at the tools menu.

If you set the compatibility mode to Windows 2000, MLS 3.1.5 appears to run okay on Windows 7.

jbh001 wrote:If you set the compatibility mode to Windows 2000, MLS 3.1.5 appears to run okay on Windows 7.

You also need to check the box next to "Run this program as an administrator" for it to load properly.

IMO it actually installs & runs easier in Windows 7 (even Win 7 x64) than it did under Vista. Install doesn't need anything special done and the simple changes to the compatibility level and you're on your way.

Just for clarification... This is ONLY for running the MLS test data, as described in THIS wiki article. No "live" data is allowed on computers other than those authorized in ward and stake buildings (and as of this writing, they must ONLY be running Windows XP.)

Thank for the information regarding Windows 7. A couple things, first, we received new computers and got the XP Pro, as well. What's with that?

The second is I tried doing the compatability with MLS in Window 7, using the XP compatability. Although the program loaded, I could not restore the database.

HOWEVER, the link provided to the wiki in mikrowave's reply provided the following information: "Windows 2000 compatibility mode works well for Vista and Windows 7 (this may seem counterintuitive, but in most cases Windows 2000 mode works better than Windows XP mode)", and IT WORKED!!! After setting the properties compatability to Windows 2000, I was able to restore the database.

Thank you!

Alan

aaho wrote:Thank for the information regarding Windows 7. A couple things, first, we received new computers and got the XP Pro, as well. What's with that?

The Church only supports Windows XP for MLS deployment in production. That is why.... I agree that the Church should work to support Windows 7, but for the foreseeable future, they can't. And I understand that, as they have to support thousands of computers with MLS. Keeping to one official OS makes support a lot easier. Will they support Windows 7? Most likely. But it will be quite a while before any official announcement.

As for the other question, it sounds like you were able to restore the database. May I ask why you would be doing that in Windows 7? It is my understanding that policy prohibits running actual data on unsupported machines. You can run Test Data for training only.

aaho wrote:After setting the properties compatability to Windows 2000, I was able to restore the database.

Just to be clear, so there is no misunderstanding:

Church data is to be run only on church owned computers. From the Policies and Guidelines for Computers Used by Clerks for Church Record Keeping

"Ensure that priesthood leaders and clerks do
not install Church record-keeping software
on their home computers, except for training
purposes using test data,"


Second, at this time only WinXP is supported. If you do run Windows7 on a church computer, you get to be the unsupported guinea pig that gets to find all the problems. Any attempt at support will likely result in the reply "You shouldn't be running Windows 7. Reformat it as XP and call us back if you still have a problem."

Yes, it will be nice to move forward. I'm hopeful of better security under Windows 7. But we have to wait until the church is ready to take that step before we do that to our unit computers.

I do agree on the support and policy issues, but the reality is that Windows XP is soon to go the way of the dinosaur, although many say it is the most stable Windows to date. In using it I have not had the problems that I've seen in Win2k, although a few sites still give me trouble in XP on occasion, but that is the site programmer's fault in most cases.

Microsoft is to discontinue support for Win2k in July, so XP may be next, it's now two operating systems behind, like Win2k was when Vista first came out.

Also, the next version of MSIE will not work with WinXP, and there are other factors. So they should not wait too long to get a Windows 7 optimized version of MLS out there for the clerk office computers. I also understand that the new features of HTML 5 will be available to some extent in MSIE 9 as well, how much is anyone's guess although there has been some discussions on what those might be.