The following is an e-mail I sent to Hugh Brooks at Retain Pro. I was installing a couple of software programs on a new laptop running Vista (Home or Ultimate) and could not get the programs to load. I noticed that others had the same problem with programs running in Vista. This article covers two issues. Properly installing Pre-Vista software and dealing with missing WinHlp32.exe file necessary to run the Help files from programs written for Windows XP and earlier. The following information works for RetainPro 2005 and earlier but is not ncessary for RetainPro 2007. The information is typical for all programs updated after the released before or considered not Vista Approved or Microsoft Signed (Vista Ready Software).
This is a fairly common problem with older programs and although the software is Vista Compatible, there are security measures involved that may prevent it from running on some systems until certain changes are made.
Vista uses a new program that is reported to be a pain in the butt as many users report for software currently written for XP or earlier. This is called the User Account Control or simply UAC. The work-around is to install RetainPro (in my case 2005) and to turn the UAC off.
UAC
The UAC is a small program that runs automatically in Vista to protect your machine from Trojan horses and viruses that may automatically attempt to install themselves on your computer. This is especially useful if you are a novice or are connected to a full-time Internet broadband or cable modem (or wireless LAN). If a program tries to load or install itself on your computer then UAC will prevent it and alert you that a program is attempting to install itself on your computer. You can allow it or reject it at this point. For advanced users this can be both a blessing and a curse. A curse because you tend to download software more than others and are constantly notified of programs that can cause potential harm and a blessing if you choose not to shut it off and do have a virus get past you when you are not looking.
To Install RetainPro 2005 (similar to other Pre-Vista based programs) on systems running Vista:
You will not have this problem is you are using a program that is verified to be “signed” or indicated as an approved Microsoft Vista Compatible program. However, if you are running an older program that has not been verified with Vista, you may need to use the following instructions:
1. Click on the start button and choose the Control Panel
2. If you have the control panel in the Vista format look for the User and Family setting icon.
3. If you have the older traditional Control Panel icons, then look for setting up or changing a User account.
4. Depending on how you installed RetainPro (by specific user or for All users) click on the user that has Administrator privileges used when you installed RetainPro.
5. At the bottom of the choices for changing the user settings you should see a choice (generally the last one) for the User Account Control and click this to bring up the UAC screen.
6. Uncheck the UAC (disable it). When you do this you will receive a number of warnings and a shield with an “X” in it in the taskbar to warn you that you are at risk. For now disregard the warnings and apply the change (disabling the UAC). You will need to reboot your computer now.
7. After you reboot, wait for all software to load and again disregard the red shield with the “X” in it in the taskbar (lower right corner of your screen).
8. Before starting RetainPro, click the start button and go to All Programs. Here you will find a folder for RetainPro. Right click on the RetainPro 2005 shortcut;
a. Click on the Properties choice in at the bottom of the context sensitive menu
b. Click on the Compatibility tab and set Compatibility Mode to “Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)” .
c. If you have the program set for all users then click on the button at the bottom of the screen for “Show settings for all users” and you will be presented with the same screen. Change the Compatibility mode as noted in ‘b’ above.
d. Apply the change twice to exit the properties menu.
e. For security sake, go back to the instructions for this number 8 and before starting the program right click on the shortcut and check the “Run as Administrator” to insure that it will run properly.
9. Click on Start Menu; All Programs; and the RetainPro 2005 shortcut to start the software. It should run without a problem at this point. If you have not done so, this is the time to install the PAC number and user settings for RetainPro. Once you are finished, exit the program and go back into the control panel as noted starting in number 1 above to turn the User Account Control settings back on. You can also do this by double clicking on the red shield with the “X” in it and turning the UAC on from here. The computer will need to be rebooted again, but RetainPro should run fine from this point on.
10. If you need to update the software, the update program may not work. Generally you can just manually download, but you can also repeat each of the steps above to change the automatic update feature to launch by making it compatible with Windows XP Service Pack 2.
VISTA NO LONGER USES WINHLP32.EXE AND IS NOT INSTALLED WHEN DOING A CLEAN INSTALLATION. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS ACCESSING HELP FILES AND RECEIVE A SIMILAR MESSAGE, THERE IS A FIX FROM MICROSOFT.
Vista uses a new Help program and has retired the traditional help files in software made for pre-Vista days. Sometimes these files will run, other times you will receive an error message telling you that it cannot run HELP because it is no longer compatible with Vista. There is a work-around for this. If you receive an error message that states WinHlp32.exe is not installed or is required to view pre-Vista help files, then use this link to download Pre-Vista Windows Help features: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607/en-us
You can now download a simple program from Microsoft that will restore the Windows Help files in program versions written for Windows XP and earlier. The file is called WinHlp32.exe and can be found with full instructions on the above Knowledgebase support file.
This should take care of most of the problems associated with loading programs that were written prior to Vista.
Enjoy,
Dennis
Tools 
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