MLS 2.9 Vista Compatibility

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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aebrown
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MLS 2.9 Vista Compatibility

#1

Post by aebrown »

Another new undocumented feature of MLS 2.9: It refuses to run under Vista. If you try to run it under Vista, it displays a dialog box saying that it requires Windows XP.

Okay, that's easily fixed, I think. 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 am well aware that administrative computers don't run Vista at this point, but I run MLS on my home computer, which runs Vista. The Church may not have any immediate plans to move to Vista, but it seems like MLS, being written in Java, should already be quite platform independent (note that I said "should" -- I'm well aware of the ways MLS is not at this point), and it should shy away from becoming more platform-specific.

MLS 2.8.3 worked just fine under Vista. This seems like the wrong direction to be headed -- even if Vista is not anywhere in the Church's plans, platform independence seems like a useful goal.
rmrichesjr
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#2

Post by rmrichesjr »

Platform independence is a worthy goal for multiple reasons. Based on earlier discussions in other threads about the possibility of (someday) running MLS under Linux, it has been stated that some parts of MLS are not in generally platform independent Java but require certain Windows features. I seem to recall it is reportedly mostly the third-party communications software that implements send-receive that is Windows-specific. Also, MLS reportedly must be run with administrative privileges on XP. I suspect those issues are likely connected with the things that prevent MLS from running on Vista.
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aebrown
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#3

Post by aebrown »

rmrichesjr wrote:MLS reportedly must be run with administrative privileges on XP. I suspect those issues are likely connected with the things that prevent MLS from running on Vista.

Interesting theory, but as I said, I ran MLS 2.8.3 just fine under Vista, and the issues you refer to existed in MLS 2.8.3. For some reason, there is something different about MLS 2.9, and it seems safe to assume that the developers knew there was something different in regards to Vista, and that's why they put the new OS check into MLS 2.9.

With the test data, the Afaria client is not involved, since no actual data transmission occurs, so that's not relevant, either.
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mkmurray
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#4

Post by mkmurray »

rmrichesjr wrote:Platform independence is a worthy goal for multiple reasons. Based on earlier discussions in other threads about the possibility of (someday) running MLS under Linux, it has been stated that some parts of MLS are not in generally platform independent Java but require certain Windows features. I seem to recall it is reportedly mostly the third-party communications software that implements send-receive that is Windows-specific. Also, MLS reportedly must be run with administrative privileges on XP. I suspect those issues are likely connected with the things that prevent MLS from running on Vista.
Depending on how where MLS writes temporary data and maybe even where you output your backups, the Vista Virtual Store could be an issue (see my blog post about running into this issue http://murrayon.net/2008/02/windows-vis ... store.html).

It may also be something to do with Administrative privileges. When I code an application for Vista using .NET, often I must include a App.config that tells the OS what privileges this application is going to need.
jdlessley
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#5

Post by jdlessley »

Alan, in your initial post you wrote that you tried to run MLS in compatibility mode. I don't have access to a Vista platform so what I say may not be totally correct. On the compatibility tab at the bottom is a check box to select to run as administrator. Was this checked?

I read somewhere quite some time ago that on Vista, to ensure all the User Account Control (UAC) technologies function correctly, Microsoft recommends a critical line-of-business (LOB) application requiring administrative privileges, such as MLS, be installed 'fresh'. This involves an uninstall of MLS 2.8.3 before installing MLS 2.9 to get all the technologies; Application Information Service (AIS), the credential/consent prompt, installer detection, and data virtualization; working correctly. Inplace updates to critical LOB applications can incure UAC errors for programs not programmed to run under Vista.

- Just a thought that may help get MLS 2.9 working on Vista.
JD Lessley
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russellhltn
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#6

Post by russellhltn »

Alan_Brown wrote:I am well aware that administrative computers don't run Vista at this point
FYI, the new Dell 740s come with a Vista license and disks. It's still XP when you start it. Generic XP, not a church image as far as I can tell.
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Mikerowaved
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#7

Post by Mikerowaved »

RussellHltn wrote:FYI, the new Dell 740s come with a Vista license and disks. It's still XP when you start it. Generic XP, not a church image as far as I can tell.
The Church is simply asking Dell to exercise the Microsoft Vista Business --> XP Professional downgrade option for these new PCs as described by Dell HERE.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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aebrown
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#8

Post by aebrown »

jdlessley wrote:Alan, in your initial post you wrote that you tried to run MLS in compatibility mode. I don't have access to a Vista platform so what I say may not be totally correct. On the compatibility tab at the bottom is a check box to select to run as administrator. Was this checked?

I read somewhere quite some time ago that on Vista, to ensure all the User Account Control (UAC) technologies function correctly, Microsoft recommends a critical line-of-business (LOB) application requiring administrative privileges, such as MLS, be installed 'fresh'. This involves an uninstall of MLS 2.8.3 before installing MLS 2.9 to get all the technologies; Application Information Service (AIS), the credential/consent prompt, installer detection, and data virtualization; working correctly. Inplace updates to critical LOB applications can incure UAC errors for programs not programmed to run under Vista.

- Just a thought that may help get MLS 2.9 working on Vista.

Thanks for the suggestions.

On the compatibility tab, the check box to run as administrator is not checked, but the checkbox is disabled. I assume this is because I am running as an administrator. I have UAC turned off.

A full uninstall, followed by a full install, made no difference -- same problems.
jenkinsja-p40
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#9

Post by jenkinsja-p40 »

Having installed MLS on a Vista machine before, I have noticed that MLS's directory structure and databases are not installed very effectively for Vista. Essentially, if MLS is installed on Vista, each user account on the machine would have their own copy of the database, which could cause major problems if any syncing of the database were done with Church Headquarters. Also, it is unknown how well the Afaria client (used for that communication) would actually work with Windows Vista. I suspect that Vista operation has been disabled temporarily while these logistical issues are dealt with, but, given the speed with which Microsoft is phasing out Windows XP, I would expect to see them dealt with in a near future version of MLS.
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#10

Post by clerker-p40 »

Please note that MLS should be used at a home computer for training purposes only. Ward and Stake computers are not on Vista yet, so most clerks would not need to make MLS Vista compatible.
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