MapInfo Pro

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Older versions on Windows 10

  • 1.  Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-28-2019 08:25
    Hello

    We have been using MapInfo Pro for over ten years. However, we have never upgraded to the latest and greatest version simply because the product works and works well. We are using versions 7.8, 9 and 10.

    My question concerns compatibility with Windows 10. I understand the product is only supported on Windows 10 from V15 onwards.

    I would like to know if anyone using any of these earlier versions has successfully upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and MapInfo has continued to work without issue.

    Thank you.

    --

    As an aside: We don't have an account manager for the product and the forum software has assigned a company to my account details which has nothing to do with the work I do (I've never worked there) and I am unable to change it. Please ignore these details.

    ------------------------------
    Mark Dymond
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-28-2019 13:03
    Hi Mark

    Well MapInfo v10 was released in 2009 and Windows 10 was released in 2015​.
    We have some customers still on v12.5 running with Win10 - precariously!

    ------------------------------
    John Ievers
    CDR Group
    Hope Valley, United Kingdom
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-29-2019 04:47
    We may still have a number of users running v12.5 on Win10. The biggest issues or drawbacks are that we have multiple versions running across the business, meaning that if anyone using a newer version creates something and then needs to share a workspace or layer, that it is unlikely to be compatible.

    Also, as we run 64bit Windows, when opening any 32bit version of MapInfo, we get the Jet engine error, which (to my knowledge) simply means that we are unable to bring Excel spreadsheets into MapInfo.

    ------------------------------
    James King
    Essex County Council
    Chelmsford
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-29-2019 05:39
    Hi James

    That is a Microsoft driver issue depending upon which version of Office is installed.
    There is a technical fix described here to enable both 32 and 64 bit drivers on the same PC
    https://support.pitneybowes.com/VFP06_KnowledgeWithSidebarTroubleshoot?id=kA280000000TSZiCAO&popup=false&lang=en_US

    Or you can just save the Excel file as an xls file - rather than an xlsx (much easier fix).
    Cheers

    ------------------------------
    John Ievers
    CDR Group
    Hope Valley, United Kingdom
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-29-2019 06:01
    Thanks John. 

    We had tried the Office fix, but again we have different versions (Office 13/Office 16 & 365) and it was hit and miss. This solution has since been updated.

    Will try this out.

    ------------------------------
    James King
    Essex County Council
    Chelmsford
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-29-2019 07:08
    And if everyone is on 64-bit MapInfo with 64-bit Office...
    Those problems should be eliminated.
    Just the issue of adjusting to the new UI.

    ------------------------------
    John Ievers
    CDR Group
    Hope Valley, United Kingdom
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-29-2019 09:26

    For anyone who is on a 64-bit version of MapInfo Pro, but using a 32-bit version of Office, there is a trick you can use to get things working. I found the following AutoCAD article which describes the (albeit fiddly) process of installing 64-bit database drivers so you can open Excel/Access files.

     

    https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-install-64-bit-Microsoft-Database-Drivers-alongside-32-bit-Microsoft-Office.html

     

    Regards,

    Warren Vick

     






  • 8.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Employee
    Posted 10-29-2019 09:33
    Warren, thanks for sharing the article!
    Note that the Release Notes for MapInfo Pro discuss the issue of Access/Excel 32-bit and 64-bit drivers and
    this issue is also discussed in a PB-published article.

    ------------------------------
    Dave Sepowski
    Support Analyst
    Pitney Bowes
    Troy, NY
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Employee
    Posted 10-29-2019 09:27
    Mark, we are aware of user's running MapInfo Pro successfully on Operating Systems that Pro was never tested on. 
    We certainly encourage users to either upgrade Pro or run Pro on the OS platforms it was tested on but know this is not always possible. 
    It can sometimes be difficult for Engineering to troubleshoot certain issues when Pro is not being run on a tested and supported OS.
    One tip that may help some users running older versions of Pro on unsupported OS platforms, is to use Windows Explorer and navigate to the 
    MapInfoPro.exe (or Mapinfow.exe for older versions), found in the MapInfo\Professional folder by default, and then right-clicking on the .exe file and choosing 
    "Properties" and then the "compatibility" tab.
    There is a "compatibility mode" section with a drop-down that is enabled when you check the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" checkbox.
    Use the drop-down to select an OS your version of Pro supports -  this info can be found in the Install Guide for Pro.
    If not sure, try "Windows 7" for most older versions of Pro.
    Bonus: there is also a checkbox in this dialog to allow users to always run Mapinfo Pro as an Administrator, which can solve many Rights-related issues in Pro.
    Click Apply and OK and test MapInfo Pro.
    If upgrade is not possible, then this tip may get Pro working for you.


    ------------------------------
    Dave Sepowski
    Support Analyst
    Pitney Bowes
    Troy, NY
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 10-30-2019 05:35
    Thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions.

    I will go ahead with the in-place upgrade from Win7 to Win10 and test. My main concern was that the application would refuse to run. I'm aware of the compatibility options available but have seen these fail when applied to some older programs.

    Cheers!​

    ------------------------------
    Mark Dymond
    Heritage Services
    Lincoln
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 11-04-2019 09:28
    This has been a disaster.

    The OS upgrade worked perfectly but when MapInfo is started an error message is displayed -158.

    Essentially, the application is unable to determine if it is licensed and the official solution is to uninstall, rename files/folders then reinstall.

    We are unable to reinstall because although we have the serial numbers for each of the products, we no longer have the installation media and Pitney Bowes support declined to send me copies of the installers when I requested them several months ago.

    Does anyone know if it is possible to fix this whilst leaving the installation intact, please?

    Thank you

    ------------------------------
    Mark Dymond
    Heritage Services
    Lincoln
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 11-05-2019 04:03
    Hi Mark
    Is this on the same PC or have you just shifted applications over to a new PC running Win 10?​
    The MapInfo licence is registered against the hardware id.

    ------------------------------
    John Ievers
    CDR Group
    Hope Valley, United Kingdom
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Older versions on Windows 10

    Posted 11-05-2019 06:50
    Hi, John, thank you for responding.

    This particular installation has a bit of history. It was originally installed on a different Windows 7 client. Several years ago I used PC Mover to port all the applications from the original Win7 to a newer Win7 client. All the applications worked fine after the move.

    Our preparations for the migration from Windows 7 to Windows 10 took one of two routes.

    Machines that just used Microsoft Office had their old mechanical hard drive removed and a new SSD with the Dell drivers and Windows 10 replaced it. I then installed MS Ofice on the W10 client.

    Machines which had software which takes a lot of configuration or otherwise had a lot of applications had their mechanical drives cloned to an SSD. The intention was then to upgrade the SSD from Win7 to Win10.

    This machine had its drive cloned and then the OS was upgraded. MapInfo had worked without a problem after it was cloned but, as stated above, the OS upgrade broke something.

    Anyway, as we do not have the installation media we are now forced to purchase MapInfo. Good in that we will be using the latest version but bad because we will need to buy three. Unfortunately, there is no charity licensing available for MapInfo so our charity has to pay full price.

    ------------------------------
    Mark Dymond
    Heritage Services
    Lincoln
    ------------------------------