Sunday Software's Windows 7 Compatibility Report
Our software and W7,   .... tweaks and recommendations
an article by Neil MacQueen, www.sundaysoftware.com
specifically for our software and customers

Date of this version: March, 2010.
This report will be updated.

Go to the compatibility list   |   Read my opinion about Window 7
 
Read my recommendation about Windows 7 for Sunday School computers

INTRO:
Upgrading to a new operating system is always a catch-22. You get a great new system, and often better hardware which came with it, --but some older (and newer) software may have problems with the new system or hardware.  We've seen it with every new system since the days of DOS and Windows 3.1.  Microsoft has a good history of trying to make each new operating system as "backwards compatible" with older software as possible. And there are some options built into the operating system you may need to adjust to get your software running properly. But from time to time, some systems come along that are "serious upgrades" and not merely incremental ones. If you're jumping from XP to Windows 7, you are doing a "serious upgrade" and should expect some compatibility issues with older software. In most cases, we can give you some tweaks to get things working. This page does that. In some cases, however, there is -or will be no solution to the compatibility problem coming from either Microsoft or the program developer. In other cases, we are simply waiting for something to get 'fixed' in the new system by an automatic update from Microsoft, or for a user who is smarter than we are and can figure out a workaround.

This report is "in progress." This list will be updated.
Programs listed here with fixes/tweaks/workarounds may have their problem solved by a future Windows 7 update. If you own Window 7 at your church, you need to get that computer hooked up to the internet from time to time to download the updates. No argument, it's just the way things are. And just because a fix is listed here doesn't mean it will work on your computer. There are simply too many computer manufacturers, drivers, and operating system variables (and versions) to guarantee 100% compatibility.  If these solutions don't help, or if you come up with a different solution, please email me at neil@sundaysoftware.com.

  If one of our programs is NOT listed here, then it runs fine in Windows 7.
This page only has info about programs which have Windows 7 issues or notes.

Most of our software works great in Windows 7!  In fact, some of the problems we saw with a few of our programs in Vista seemed to have disappeared. That said, there's still time to be wrong!

For specific technical report about ANY of our software, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/support

  
  Programs in our catalog that will NOT run in Windows 7
(and will not be updated)
  • Pathways Through Jerusalem CD
  • Play and Learn Children's Bible CD
  • Where's Noah & Bible Concentration (the two free 'extra' games in Fall of Jericho. Fall of Jericho itself works just fine in W7)

As predicted, these older programs made to 16 bit programming standards will not run in Windows 7's 64 bit environment.

  
  Programs that seem to have some odd behavior in Windows 7, but not deal-killer problems:
  • Say Your Prayers with Lil Angelina. The 'sing along' sound files seemed to skip. Need to test this on other machines. May be a compatibility tweak that Microsoft or Quicktime will solve.
  • Kid Pix 4.0 **Everything worked fine except for the animated stamps feature, which you have to download a 'patch' to correct. **If you have Kid Pix 4th Edition version 4.1, you have the patch built in. Sunday Software sells only the latest version of Kid Pix.
 
  Programs that are currently getting needed tweaks to run in Windows 7:
  • Elijah and Jonah CD. Version 1.1 begins and you can view the stories, but can can bomb out when switching between games. Fix is in the works.
  • Ilumina Bible Gold Premium   -as of January 12, 2010, everything works except the Guided Tours.
  • Attack of the Sunday School Zombies CD.  --was doing fine until March 2010, then some versions of W7 needed tweaked. Go to www.sundaysoftware.com/zombies/support.htm
  
  Programs you may need to upgrade your version to get them to run in Windows 7:
  • Kid Pix 4.  There were several versions of the 4th edition that were released. At this time, there is no "patch" or downloadable version upgrade.
  • Life of Christ. Everything in version 3 works except the castle. There are no plans for a patch or downloadable upgrade. You will need to buy version 4 to utilize that part of the program in W7.
  

Performance Caution:
Windows 7 is being released on FAST computers. And this means that the multimedia and animations in some older programs can appear, move, or transition must faster than you expect them to. Take it easy! Some installations happen extremely fast. Preview your software, take notes, and encourage the kids to take it easy.

Installation Delays:
During my tests, I noticed that Windows 7 seems a bit slow in allowing an "autorun" installation to begin from a CD. Probably a security thing. Be patient.

Required Upgrade:
Windows 7 users need to UPGRADE to the very latest version of Quicktime for Windows 7. Quicktime is the multimedia utility used by many of our programs to delivery multimedia. Quicktime continues to receive small upgrades to address compatibility issues. www.quicktime.com (from Apple, works on Windows).  However, please note: there are still a couple of programs which will only run with Quicktime 2.1 installed. Life of David, Daniel, Noah and Paul all still work in Windows 7, ...just gotta remember to manually install the qt32 install program found on the CD.

 

Contact neil@sundaysoftware.com if you have suggestions, experience, or technical expertise to share regarding Windows 7 and our software.

 

Neil's Recommendation about Windows 7

Opinion:  I like Windows 7.  I liked Vista. I liked XP. I'm not an operating snob. I just want my computer to work and not give me trouble. I've got two laptops, a Gateway with Vista, and a Dell with Windows 7. Windows 7 seems to be a nice upgrade of Vista. And I appreciate the increasing stability and security in the system. The key is to buy good hardware and take care of it. Keep your antivirus and spyware programs up to date.

Windows 7 seems to me to be a "better version of Vista." Very stable, intuitive, lots of nice features  BUT.... If you're a "power user" like me with lots of software to install and run, then it's a pain to upgrade to a new computer. If all you need is some speed or storage space, and if mostly what you do is email and surf the net, then I would suggest you consider upgrading your current hardware --rather than buying a new computer and getting Windows 7. I needed a Windows 7 laptop with a better screen because I'm on the thing all day. (I used to have desktop computers with big screens, but not anymore). Plus I need to have the latest system to test our software on. That said, I was happy with XP.

Windows 7 was released in SEVERAL different versions. Most people are familiar with the "Home Basic" and "Home Premium" designations, but please be aware that with Window 7, they also release two SERIOUSLY different versions:  one 32 bit version and one 64 bit version. 64 bit is allegedly faster than 32 bit. But many older programs can't run in the 64 bit environment.

If you bought your computers new with Windows 7, it is probably the 64 bit option. If you bought Windows 7 at the store and installed it on your existing computer, you may have bought the 32 bit version. 64 bit versions of Windows 7 do not support" software that was made for 16 bit computers (roughly speaking...made prior to 1997). W7 dropped support for 16 bit software. XP-32 and Vista-32 can still play them. Play and Learn Children's Bible CD, for example, and Pathways through Jerusalem will only run on 32 bit operating systems (Me, XP, Vista 32, Windows 7 32 bit). It won't run on Windows 7 64 bit. To find out which version of Windows 7 you have, click your Windows start 'pearl' and type "version" in the search field, and click the link to your Windows Control Panel system info (or open "computer" and right click an empty area and select "properties.")

I don't recommending upgrading an existing computer to Windows 7 that ALREADY has XP or Vista.  You're asking for trouble and the improved features aren't enough to take the risk.
 

For Sunday School use, however, XP is still a very good choice. Read on....

Recommendation for Churches using computers in Christian education and their offices:
If you have XP installed computers with a minimum 1.4 megahertz processors, stick with them. You don't need to invest in W7. Add some ram and get a new monitor, but do not buy a copy of Windows 7 and try to install it on your old machine. You'll be sorry you did.

If you have Vista installed computers, stick with them.

If you have anything less than 1.4 ghz processor, consider upgrading to newer "used" XP era computers which businesses and members have to donate. XP installed computers are still the system of CHOICE for Christian education software, for no other reason than EVERYTHING we have works great on XP right now.  For a full discussion on recommended computers, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/techie.htm


Take a look at Bongo Loves the Bible CD from Sunday Software, www.sundaysoftware.com/bongo


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