* Implications for WINE in dropping Windows 7 support?

[Mark1834]

It appears that CP quietly dropped support for Windows 7 from FH 7.0.20 onwards, as this version and later generate a message about an unsupported version of Windows when installing fresh into W7, with a strong recommendation to abort the installation.

While few would argue against that approach in 2023, have the implications of this when installing under WINE been assessed? Even if I set my PlayOnLinux to W8 or W10 emulation, it still generates this warning with the most recent versions of FH. Does the same apply for Mac users?

If it is now more difficult to install FH in emulators, I may drop support for them in future versions of the Windows Backup and Restore FH Settings plugin, as it would make the coding significantly simpler and easier for users to follow.

[mjashby]

Mark,

I've been away from the forum for a few months due to family priorities (both hatches and despatches), but hope I can answer your question.

Newer Wine versions on Linux, and Crossover on Mac/Linux, have for some time adopted 'Windows 10' as the default setting when creating any new prefixes or bottles, and users only need to alter that setting if the specific software they are installing requires an earlier version of Windows. Can't remember precisely when the change was made but, in my experience, FH7 has no problem installing/running in either a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10 Wine Prefix/Crossover Bottle.
64-bit may be a preferable choice in the medium/long-term, especially if other software may be installed in the same prefix/bottle, e.g. the 64-bit version of Ancestral Sources.

Mervyn

[KFN]

Just a quick note about Win7 end-of-life.

“ Windows 7 has reached its end of life. While the OS’s Extended Support ended on Jan. 14, 2020, the Extended Security Updates (ESUs) reached their end of life on Jan. 10, 2023.”

Most software applications end support of an operating system where that system is is no longer providing security updates!

[Mark1834]

Curious - I know official repository versions can lag a little behind, but current Linux Mint PlayOnLinux/Wine seems to still default to W7, and FH installation raises the warning even if set to a later version.

Perhaps the Mac options are better developed? Hopefully, it's a non-issue, so not something to worry about unless real users (as opposed to curious dabblers like me!) raise problems...

[mjashby]

Mark,

I've checked back and the default prefix for new installs was changed to Windows 10 on the release of Wine 8.1 (Development) on 2 Feb 2023 and Wine 8.0.1 (Stable) on 20 April 2023. Crossover updates seem to tend towards being built from the latest available stable Wine release, unless the developer decides to use a later development release that offers a necessary fix for reported problems.

Mervyn

[Mark1834]

Thanks Mervyn - clear that it is a Linux problem, not an FH problem. The Mint repository still offers Wine 6.0.3!

There seems to be very close cooperation between CodeWeavers and the Wine developers, so CrossOver is far more up to date. Wine does offer various Ubuntu/Mint versions on its own website, and CrossOver for Linux is available for those who want a more polished version. However, unlike most common Linux offerings, it's a commercial package so not an option for a dabbler.

[mjashby]

Mark,

Here's a useful link for Linux users who may want to install and maintain a more up to date version of Wine than their distribution's repositories make available: https://wine.htmlvalidator.com

I currently use MX Linux, which does offer current Wine distributions through its 'Test Repo' repository.

Unfortunately the Wine version offered by the main Debian/Ubuntu repositories are approximately 18 months behind the current stable Wine release, so lack many of the features and improvements added since 2021.

Mervyn

[tatewise]

IMO the KB articles for Running Family Historian on Crossover / PlayOnLinux/Mac / Wine need updating in light of these revelations because they refer to older versions of WINE that will exhibit the Windows 7 installation problem.