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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Installation of Quickbooks under VPC 7
DudleyT - Jan 3, 2006 - 4:45 pm
I am using OS 10.3.9, VPC v7 w/ MS XP Pro & QB 2006. When I try to install I get a screen "QB installation has encountered a problem...(then it goes on to...)Please tell Microsoft about this problem."
At first I had not figured out how to view the VPC toolbar, but now I have it and the disc appears to be "captured." Have tried several routes to adding the program but the same screen comes up. I tried to install a simple Windows application (a dictionary) and all went well so I assume VPC and XP were installed properly.
Thanks ahead of time for any help.
At first I had not figured out how to view the VPC toolbar, but now I have it and the disc appears to be "captured." Have tried several routes to adding the program but the same screen comes up. I tried to install a simple Windows application (a dictionary) and all went well so I assume VPC and XP were installed properly.
Thanks ahead of time for any help.
mdnky - Jan 5, 2006 - 9:47 pm
Is there a specific reason you're installing the Win version of OuickBooks? The company offers a Mac native version which would run much better than the Windows version will under VPC. The price for QB 2006 Pro - Mac is the same as the price for QB 2006 Pro - Windows version. You may be able to get Intuit to switch your Windows copy for a Mac version, since they do have a 60-day money-back guarantee.
I'm going to venture to say the issue you're having probably revolves around the way the processor is "described" to Windows under VPC. According to Intuit's site Quickbooks 2006 for Windows requires a 500MHz or greater (Pentium II) with 128MB of RAM (256MB for multiple users). Unfortunately a 1.67GHz G4 Powerbook (the current 'for sale' model, my system) only shows up as a 133MHz 686 (aka Pentium I) processor to VPC 7/XP Pro.
If the 'My Computer' icon is visible on your desktop under Windows, opposite click (right click) on it and select 'Properties'. The window that loads contains the information about the processor Windows is seeing in the bottom right corner under "Computer:".
I'm going to venture to say the issue you're having probably revolves around the way the processor is "described" to Windows under VPC. According to Intuit's site Quickbooks 2006 for Windows requires a 500MHz or greater (Pentium II) with 128MB of RAM (256MB for multiple users). Unfortunately a 1.67GHz G4 Powerbook (the current 'for sale' model, my system) only shows up as a 133MHz 686 (aka Pentium I) processor to VPC 7/XP Pro.
If the 'My Computer' icon is visible on your desktop under Windows, opposite click (right click) on it and select 'Properties'. The window that loads contains the information about the processor Windows is seeing in the bottom right corner under "Computer:".
DudleyT - Jan 6, 2006 - 2:11 am
I am at home and not the office right now but I set it up on my laptop also. My 667 Mhz G4 Powerbook shows up as 533 Mhz 686 processor under properties on Windows.
The reasons not to use Mac Quickbooks are: 1) we currently run our office business under Filemaker and my bookkeeper uses Quickbooks on a PC. We save the information for him and he physically reenters the information. We are do not/cannot get the information back to generate reports after it has been reconciled. 2) I am told by Intuit that Mac QB is not multiuser which makes it impossible to use a fileserver or host in our office to generate/view quotes, work orders or invoices. 3) If we are on Mac and bookkeeper on PC, we have to save the information to transfer to PC format. After they reconcile, we cannot merge the information back (synchronize) if we have been updating our information. 4) The idea is that on PC Quickbooks (with QB running under VPC on the Macs) we could have a multiuser setup on the network in our office with a physical, dedicated PC running QB as host, and allowing our bookkeeper to access the PC from the outside...so we can all be on real time and synchronized.
I could probably come up with a couple more reasons. I am sure we have not considered all the options, and we would love to run QB/Mac on our office Macs and let the bookkeeper dial into our system...but we are unable to find a way to do that. And I am trying to avoid adding more PCs to the office or having a PC and a Mac on some of the desks...especially my own.
Dudley
The reasons not to use Mac Quickbooks are: 1) we currently run our office business under Filemaker and my bookkeeper uses Quickbooks on a PC. We save the information for him and he physically reenters the information. We are do not/cannot get the information back to generate reports after it has been reconciled. 2) I am told by Intuit that Mac QB is not multiuser which makes it impossible to use a fileserver or host in our office to generate/view quotes, work orders or invoices. 3) If we are on Mac and bookkeeper on PC, we have to save the information to transfer to PC format. After they reconcile, we cannot merge the information back (synchronize) if we have been updating our information. 4) The idea is that on PC Quickbooks (with QB running under VPC on the Macs) we could have a multiuser setup on the network in our office with a physical, dedicated PC running QB as host, and allowing our bookkeeper to access the PC from the outside...so we can all be on real time and synchronized.
I could probably come up with a couple more reasons. I am sure we have not considered all the options, and we would love to run QB/Mac on our office Macs and let the bookkeeper dial into our system...but we are unable to find a way to do that. And I am trying to avoid adding more PCs to the office or having a PC and a Mac on some of the desks...especially my own.
Dudley
mdnky - Jan 6, 2006 - 9:16 am
The fact that it's showing up as a 686 processor may be the issue. The 686 was Cyrix's designation for their chip that competed with the original Pentium. There was some issues with compatibility, so some programs are coded not to run on a chip identifying itself as such or treat it as a 486 processor. Pentiums usually identify themselves as 586.
I setup my copy of VirtualPC under my old G3 900 iBook, then tx'd the image to my new PowerBook...so that might explain why mine shows up as a measly 133MHz. Might be worth me reinstalling XP Pro to see if I get any speed gains then.
Sounds like Intuit is still dropping the ball on the Mac side. Have you considered MYOB's AccountEdge software? I'm not sure if it'll allow you to do what you want to, but I vaguely remember hearing tale of something like what you're describing (company -> CPA -> company). Maybe giving their tech people a call could get a definitive answer. I do know their Windows and Mac versions have no problems sharing data.
One other possible solution: Why not setup a PC running XP Pro as a server, then use the Remote Desktop feature of XP Pro (there's a free OS X client is available from Microsoft) or a VNC system to access and control it? It'll be a ton faster than trying to run QB under VirtualPC, not to mention you'll only have one copy that'll need to be setup. Shouldn't cost any money to do it either.
I used Remote Desktop to control a test-box (view website in IE and other Windows browsers) and it worked well. Even after acquiring VPC, I still used Remote Desktop since it was faster. The downside to Remote Desktop is it logs out the current user when a connection is initiated, so I'm not 100% sure if more than one person could use it at a time. VNC systems are a bit different and allow simultaneous use. I'll have to look into that a bit more and get back to you on it.
How many people need simultaneous access to QB in your office?
I setup my copy of VirtualPC under my old G3 900 iBook, then tx'd the image to my new PowerBook...so that might explain why mine shows up as a measly 133MHz. Might be worth me reinstalling XP Pro to see if I get any speed gains then.
Sounds like Intuit is still dropping the ball on the Mac side. Have you considered MYOB's AccountEdge software? I'm not sure if it'll allow you to do what you want to, but I vaguely remember hearing tale of something like what you're describing (company -> CPA -> company). Maybe giving their tech people a call could get a definitive answer. I do know their Windows and Mac versions have no problems sharing data.
One other possible solution: Why not setup a PC running XP Pro as a server, then use the Remote Desktop feature of XP Pro (there's a free OS X client is available from Microsoft) or a VNC system to access and control it? It'll be a ton faster than trying to run QB under VirtualPC, not to mention you'll only have one copy that'll need to be setup. Shouldn't cost any money to do it either.
I used Remote Desktop to control a test-box (view website in IE and other Windows browsers) and it worked well. Even after acquiring VPC, I still used Remote Desktop since it was faster. The downside to Remote Desktop is it logs out the current user when a connection is initiated, so I'm not 100% sure if more than one person could use it at a time. VNC systems are a bit different and allow simultaneous use. I'll have to look into that a bit more and get back to you on it.
How many people need simultaneous access to QB in your office?
DudleyT - Jan 6, 2006 - 11:22 am
From the last to the first.
3-4 in the office would be good with my bookkeeper as remote...all are remote anyway.
I will have to think through the Remote Desktop/VNC idea. One of the reasons we set up a dedicated PC was so the bookkeeper could access our files remotely. It is my understanding only one person can remotely access that machine at a time. I am not familiar with VNC but will educate myself about it.
I remember going down the remote version of QB route but do not remember right now why that did not seem to be a possibility...I sort of recall it is only available as a PC verson...and we go back to the issue of VPC.
With a former bookkeeper we used MYOB. We were his main client and therefore he was willing to learn and work with it. But in the real world, most administrative people are on PC and the bookkeeper we have has used QB for several years is not going to go the MYOB route. It is always a possibility to chang bookkeepers but we are not there at this time.
I appreciate your observations about the processor issues. I used to keep up on the various processors, but got away from it a few years ago, especially as we migrated more toward Macs. I always keep a couple PCs running just to open up files if need be. I used to run Mac/PC/and UNIX all on a 12 computer network. I still say I really don't care whether I am on Mac or PC platform, but for about 4 years we have primarily focused on Mac and I have enough trouble keeping up with the OS changes (a primary piece of our production equipment runs on a serial connection for example) and still run my business (commercial graphics).
P.S. I have not discussed the technical side of this yet with Intuit or MS other than an initial conversation with Intuit sales associate before I purchased QB and VPC. I wanted to get a better understanding of it myself before I let them point fingers at each other.....
Thanks for your help.
Dudley
3-4 in the office would be good with my bookkeeper as remote...all are remote anyway.
I will have to think through the Remote Desktop/VNC idea. One of the reasons we set up a dedicated PC was so the bookkeeper could access our files remotely. It is my understanding only one person can remotely access that machine at a time. I am not familiar with VNC but will educate myself about it.
I remember going down the remote version of QB route but do not remember right now why that did not seem to be a possibility...I sort of recall it is only available as a PC verson...and we go back to the issue of VPC.
With a former bookkeeper we used MYOB. We were his main client and therefore he was willing to learn and work with it. But in the real world, most administrative people are on PC and the bookkeeper we have has used QB for several years is not going to go the MYOB route. It is always a possibility to chang bookkeepers but we are not there at this time.
I appreciate your observations about the processor issues. I used to keep up on the various processors, but got away from it a few years ago, especially as we migrated more toward Macs. I always keep a couple PCs running just to open up files if need be. I used to run Mac/PC/and UNIX all on a 12 computer network. I still say I really don't care whether I am on Mac or PC platform, but for about 4 years we have primarily focused on Mac and I have enough trouble keeping up with the OS changes (a primary piece of our production equipment runs on a serial connection for example) and still run my business (commercial graphics).
P.S. I have not discussed the technical side of this yet with Intuit or MS other than an initial conversation with Intuit sales associate before I purchased QB and VPC. I wanted to get a better understanding of it myself before I let them point fingers at each other.....
Thanks for your help.
Dudley
mdnky - Jan 6, 2006 - 7:58 pm
I spoke with my brother about the DRP (remote desktop) idea just a bit ago, since he's more familiar with Windows in a large network setting than I am (one of the top 5 largest UPS distribution warehouses). The gist of it is it's doable with RDP, but it would require Terminal Services. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Terminal Services or not, but the best way to put it is you basically bend over and grab your ankles for Microsoft. About $495 for the first user license, then another $1200 or so to get a 5 user add-on pack license. It might actually be cheaper to grab a copy of 2000 Server or 2003 Server with 5-user access licenses, but then again even that'll run in the $1000 range. So I'd say unless you can limit the use to one person at a time, RDP is not viable. VNC is questionable, but should work. He was at work, so I couldn't talk with him long. He'll be calling me later this evening hopefully and we'll try to figure out a doable option on that idea.
I mentioned AccountEdge because they seem to have a usable import/export system in place, which might allow you to get the accountant the data via a CSV or other type file that he could import into QB, then export and send back. That of course depends on a lot of variables. If the accountant has the data digitally, then his time with it shouldn't be much more than a day or two. I'm not sure how often he does his magic for you (nor the workload he has), but that might be another option to explore.
I'd definitely suggest in the future that you don't rely on information given to you by sales people, particularly software sales people. Their job is to sell...its rare to find one that actually knows what he's talking about (they'll seem like they do). Most will just repeat some things they were told in training, then let their company's support personnel worry about getting you up and going. I've found it leads to far less hassle if you speak with their support people before the actual purchase.
I'll give it a try installing their demo version under my setup just to see if I can replicate the issue or not. Maybe its something in the VPC setup, but I doubt it.
I mentioned AccountEdge because they seem to have a usable import/export system in place, which might allow you to get the accountant the data via a CSV or other type file that he could import into QB, then export and send back. That of course depends on a lot of variables. If the accountant has the data digitally, then his time with it shouldn't be much more than a day or two. I'm not sure how often he does his magic for you (nor the workload he has), but that might be another option to explore.
I'd definitely suggest in the future that you don't rely on information given to you by sales people, particularly software sales people. Their job is to sell...its rare to find one that actually knows what he's talking about (they'll seem like they do). Most will just repeat some things they were told in training, then let their company's support personnel worry about getting you up and going. I've found it leads to far less hassle if you speak with their support people before the actual purchase.
I'll give it a try installing their demo version under my setup just to see if I can replicate the issue or not. Maybe its something in the VPC setup, but I doubt it.
mdnky - Jan 6, 2006 - 8:06 pm
One other possible solution...they offer an Online version of Quickbooks that's run as a subscription service. Right now it's IE only (of course), but according to their site users have used VPC to access it. If all else fails, that might be a viable solution which should be rather easy to setup and would make giving external access to your account easy and hassle free (no firewall/security concerns).
They offer a 30-day free trial, so it might be worth checking out.
http://oe.quickbooks.com/index.cfm?s...ME-PRDPGE-0509
They offer a 30-day free trial, so it might be worth checking out.
http://oe.quickbooks.com/index.cfm?s...ME-PRDPGE-0509
DudleyT - Jan 6, 2006 - 9:34 pm
First of all, thank you for all your help. I greatly appreciate the noodling you have done over this matter.
While the Terminal Services and the the 2000/2003 server are plausable, they do not seem practical in our situation. I have dealt with this type of problem in the past with other issues, and it does not seem worthwhile if it is not a system that I can manage when it crashes after it has been set up and the consultants have left...especially if I have to deal with MS support. I think I would change accountant/bookkeepers first.
We can import/export QB between PC and Mac but the time gap does not make it seamless. It saves a little input time, but I would rather keep working in Filemaker and not disrupt our workflow. In fact we can export out of Filemaker as fields but it is about as clunky as how we do it now physically printing our invoices and sending over check stubs, etc.
When I previously mentioned we looked at the remote version of QB, I meant the Online version run as a subscription. As I said, I think we ruled it out because of the PC only issue having thought we might be able to access a common database. I will have to rethink if there were other issues. If we can run that application under VPC, I think it might be the solution. I do recall much of the conversation at that time was about utilizing our own host/server with remote access once we ruled out being able to run Macs and PCs at the same time.
In some defense of the sales guy, he was not trying to sell me QB, but only responding to the questions I had...and now I know more specific questions...and considerably more experience...than I did then. What a differnece 2 weeks makes.
Enough for today. I have to catch a red-eye flight tonight from San Francisco to Minneapolis. My father (96) and my step-mother (91) are in Iowa. She had a stroke Wednesday and it is not going well. They have been OK for 90 yo but it has been a delicate balance with their frailties. Now it is one of those situations that have to be dealt with. I will be checking my mail from there the next few days.
Again, thank you for your help.
Dudley
While the Terminal Services and the the 2000/2003 server are plausable, they do not seem practical in our situation. I have dealt with this type of problem in the past with other issues, and it does not seem worthwhile if it is not a system that I can manage when it crashes after it has been set up and the consultants have left...especially if I have to deal with MS support. I think I would change accountant/bookkeepers first.
We can import/export QB between PC and Mac but the time gap does not make it seamless. It saves a little input time, but I would rather keep working in Filemaker and not disrupt our workflow. In fact we can export out of Filemaker as fields but it is about as clunky as how we do it now physically printing our invoices and sending over check stubs, etc.
When I previously mentioned we looked at the remote version of QB, I meant the Online version run as a subscription. As I said, I think we ruled it out because of the PC only issue having thought we might be able to access a common database. I will have to rethink if there were other issues. If we can run that application under VPC, I think it might be the solution. I do recall much of the conversation at that time was about utilizing our own host/server with remote access once we ruled out being able to run Macs and PCs at the same time.
In some defense of the sales guy, he was not trying to sell me QB, but only responding to the questions I had...and now I know more specific questions...and considerably more experience...than I did then. What a differnece 2 weeks makes.
Enough for today. I have to catch a red-eye flight tonight from San Francisco to Minneapolis. My father (96) and my step-mother (91) are in Iowa. She had a stroke Wednesday and it is not going well. They have been OK for 90 yo but it has been a delicate balance with their frailties. Now it is one of those situations that have to be dealt with. I will be checking my mail from there the next few days.
Again, thank you for your help.
Dudley
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