Is Windows Vista™ for You?

This month’s Customer Focus e-News will address Microsoft’s Windows Vista™ operating system. We have received many questions from our customers regarding whether they should upgrade to it, if they should purchase a new PC or laptop loaded with the Vista OS and if ClickFORMS® is compatible with Vista.

We have been using and testing Windows Vista versions in our test labs since before its official release. During 2007, we have come to some conclusions of our own as well as analyzed conclusions from review labs such as ZDNet, PCWorld, CNet and also PCMag articles.

To help you in making a good decision, we offer the following comments based on our experience and observances, both internally and from users.

Facts you should consider before going to Vista:

• If you are considering upgrading from XP or 2000 to Vista on your existing PC, you may need to purchase additional RAM, hard drive, video card, etc. before you will be able to install Vista. To determine if Vista will run on your PC beforehand, you can run a system analyzer, which Microsoft provides on their website: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx.
• If you own software, devices and peripherals such as cameras, printers, scanners, etc. that are more than one year old, they may not be supported. This means you will either need to upgrade (if available) or purchase replacements for these items.
• This new operating system includes many security features through the User Account Control (UAC) that limit and constrain actions you could perform in Win XP or 2000 such as installing software. You will encounter several prompts when performing rudimentary tasks such as copy/paste, web surfing and running active x controls. These prompts will likely become very annoying in a short amount of time.
• Vista is a resource hog that requires more RAM, hard drive space and a beefed up video card if you want to experience the new visual effects that are included.

Purchasing a new PC or Laptop?

If you are planning to purchase a new PC or laptop, you may choose the operating system. Several large and small companies have demanded, from Microsoft® and vendors, the option of having XP rather than Vista loaded as the operating system on new PC’s.

Microsoft has given PC vendors such as Dell, HP, Gateway and many others the capability of offering users the operating system of their choice (XP or Vista) until June 2008.

Important Note: In most cases, ClickFORMS® will not install on Sony Vaio® laptops (running Vista) without the assistance of Sony Technical Support help.

If you decide on Vista

Users installing ClickFORMS, or any other program on Windows Vista, may experience difficulties if the user account they have created does not have administrator privileges. This new operating system by Microsoft has several built-in security features that are not obvious to previous Windows users of XP, 2000 or below. If you have an issue installing ClickFORMS or any other program on Vista, it is most likely caused by the privileges of your user account. Please follow the instructions below to resolve this issue if you have seen the following error message while attempting to Install ClickFORMS (or other programs) on Windows Vista:

To resolve the issue, you will need to create a new user (administrator) account.

To create a new user (administrator) account, do the following:

Note: This exercise was performed on Windows Vista Home Premium version;
there are slight variations on other Vista versions.

1. Go to Windows Start button and click on Control Panel.

In User Accounts and Family Safety, click on Add or remove user accounts.

2. Click on Create a new account.

3. Type in the Name of the new user, select Administrator as the type of account and click on Create Account.

4. The new Administrator account is created. Close out of the User Accounts screen.

5. To Log out, click on the Windows Start button, click on the User Options button, and select Log Off.

6. Login as the new User you have given Administrator rights to, as shown in our example of Evie below.

7. Log in as the new user and re-download ClickFORMS by going to bradfordsoftware.com/support/downloads.asp, enter your email address, and click on Enter.

8. You will have an option to download ClickFORMS with or without the Help files. After making your selection, select Save and Save it to your Desktop.

9. Once the download is completed, you need to install ClickFORMS. Right Click on the ClickFORMS Installation icon on your desktop and select Run As Administrator. The ClickFORMS Installer will now run.

Perform step 9 to install other programs such as Quicken, Adobe, etc. They will all need to be run as an Administrator.

I hope you have found this e-Focus informative and helpful when you need to make informed decisions on purchasing a new PC or laptop and operating system.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Dan McQuilliams
Director of Customer Services
Bradford Technologies, Inc.
dan@bradfordsoftware.com