Data Acquisition (DAQ) and Control from Microstar Laboratories

Knowledge Base: Platform

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Q 10124 Support terminating for Windows Vista

Tags: Help, Windows, Vista, 64-bit, DAPcell Server, DAPcell Client, end-of-lifetime

Applies to: DAPtools Software

Why is Microstar Laboratories dropping support for Windows Vista?

Maybe the correct question is: Why is Microsoft dropping support for Windows Vista?

It is understandable why security is a major concern, after Microsoft has been plagued for years by serious security problems. The problems are addressed on two fronts:

  1. Fix software defects that allow hostile software improper access into Windows systems.
  2. Make it much harder for any software outside of Microsoft's direct control to be able to run, making system defects harder to exploit.

On the latter front, Microsoft has upgraded their "security signing" process to use a much better "one-way hashing" algorithm, improving the ability to detect imposter software. This is probably a good move in the long run, but Windows Vista does not accept the new signing methods, and Microsoft is not going to issue any Vista fixes for this. That means, if we use the procedures Microsoft requires for every other Windows system, Vista won't load our modules.

If you have a 64-bit Vista system, you will have these options available to you:

  • If you are sure that your Vista system has enough storage and processing capacity, you can upgrade to Windows 7 or to Windows 10. However, there are possible hazards with upgrading some of the drivers.
  • Use an old license to downgrade to Windows XP, regardless of the dangers.
  • If you absolutely must run your system on Windows Vista x64, 32-bit Windows Vista is not an option for you, contact us. We can provide a download copy of the older DAPtools CD 6.20, which is quite stable but old, and it will never be updated.[1]

At this time, only the DAPcell Server software is subject to this problem. The DAPcell Client (enabling access to other systems that run DAPcell Server) remains supported.

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[1] Contact information for Microstar Laboratories is available at contact.html.