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Last versions of software for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008


WinClient5270

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On 1/9/2019 at 12:08 PM, UCyborg said:

What do you people make of this? Didn't think anyone would actually bother to comment, but the author of Rufus himself did. Is anyone here who uses Vista on a regular basis actually concerned of the potential security implications? At least for me, regardless of the OS I use, whether that mitigation is enabled or not, it doesn't make a difference to me, because nothing ever gets on my PC without my explicit permission.

I haven't used anti-virus software in years. To me, that's snake oil that only serves to give gullible people a false sense of security and slow the computer down and being downright annoying by deleting software that I actually want to run. It even happened to me once that I was compiling a program from source and NOD32 deleted the freshly compiled .exe right away! I was compiling a freaking game engine at the time... Windows Defender is the very first thing that gets turned off after Windows install.

So, since this is primarily for the few Vista fans on this forum and that I don't really like programming and only ever bother with it if something I'd like to use is horribly broken or otherwise find some inconvenience that I'm able to fix, what do you think? Would you rather have a version that's potentially more secure or is the current fine? Honestly, my Vista image dates back to 2013, so it's possible that the bug with controls losing Aero appearance doesn't even occur when on a later patch level, but knowing MS, when their product goes out of mainstream support, they don't usually do any interesting updates. I guess I could compile both versions. I personally prefer the one that looks right. :P

Thank you UCyborg for your efforts in making newer versions of Rufus working on Vista! I can understand not wanting to continue maintaining it for Vista since so very few people still use it these days, but whatever you decide to do, thanks for getting newer versions to work on it.

On 1/7/2019 at 2:11 PM, Tamris said:

While I found version 2.49.5:
http://www.wg9s.com/comm-esr/

Found this link on SeaMonkey's site while looking for nightly builds, but not sure how official this version is... (and if it's compatible with Vista but it should be)

Thanks for pointing that out. Added to the list:

On 3/1/2016 at 8:31 PM, WinClient5270 said:

Web Browsers:

Mozilla Firefox based:

...

SeaMonkey 2.49.5 - Unofficial Build (FREEOS) [Jan. 2019] Download from vendor here.

On 1/19/2019 at 4:22 AM, Tamris said:

I wonder if it still works? Version 4.0.1 was released recently.

I can confirm that the latest 4.0.1 release works fine on my Vista system :)

https://imgur.com/8MPUeiG

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On 1/9/2019 at 10:38 PM, UCyborg said:

What do you people make of this? Didn't think anyone would actually bother to comment, but the author of Rufus himself did. Is anyone here who uses Vista on a regular basis actually concerned of the potential security implications? At least for me, regardless of the OS I use, whether that mitigation is enabled or not, it doesn't make a difference to me, because nothing ever gets on my PC without my explicit permission.

I haven't used anti-virus software in years. To me, that's snake oil that only serves to give gullible people a false sense of security and slow the computer down and being downright annoying by deleting software that I actually want to run. It even happened to me once that I was compiling a program from source and NOD32 deleted the freshly compiled .exe right away! I was compiling a freaking game engine at the time... Windows Defender is the very first thing that gets turned off after Windows install.

So, since this is primarily for the few Vista fans on this forum and that I don't really like programming and only ever bother with it if something I'd like to use is horribly broken or otherwise find some inconvenience that I'm able to fix, what do you think? Would you rather have a version that's potentially more secure or is the current fine? Honestly, my Vista image dates back to 2013, so it's possible that the bug with controls losing Aero appearance doesn't even occur when on a later patch level, but knowing MS, when their product goes out of mainstream support, they don't usually do any interesting updates. I guess I could compile both versions. I personally prefer the one that looks right. :P

 

thanks for making newer versions of rufus available i used it a few times , there are many who appreciated your compiled version and use it :)

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Been a while since I posted one of these, but anyway here it is...

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE LIST FOR FEBRUARY 1, 2019:

  • Added MailNews by roytam1 to "E-mail Clients" section.
  • Removed Dropbox from "Cloud Storage Clients" section, as new versions of the software will no longer install in Windows Vista and older versions will no longer connect to the Dropbox service from my testing.
  • Added Steam (Jan 4, 2019) build as the last version for Windows Vista, along with information on how to prevent the software from automatically updating (resulting in Vista compatibility loss).
  • Added AssaultCube to "Games" -> "Active Development" section.
  • Added EditPad Lite to "System File Viewers/Editors" section.

Hope all the XP/Vista users have continued to make use of my list. Sorry about not being too active lately.

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More updates to the list have finally arrived :)

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE LIST FOR FEBRUARY 18, 2019:

  • Added links to @i430VX's new installer for roytam1's Basilisk and New Moon browsers next to each browsers' entry in the "Web Browsers" section.
  • Added HouseCall and ESET Online Scanner to "AntiVirus/Security software" section (again, thanks to @i430VX for sending me these to add to the list)
  • Updated information about VLC Media Player in Windows Vista: with the upcoming 4.0 release now in Beta, Windows Vista will no longer be supported as of this release, with 3.0.7 (currently still in beta) being the last version, so a link to this version has been added.

I have also checked every entry in the AntiVirus software section still marked as 'ONG' to ensure that they remain compatible with Windows Vista since I hadn't done that in a while (probably over a year now), and I'm happy to report that I didn't need to change anything, and Vista users still have a plethora of options to choose from in 2019! :D

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One thing I thought I'd mention since a number of people (most recently @yoltboy01) have been asking about this on the Vista forum lately...

As we all know, Microsoft Office 2010 is the last version to support Windows Vista and newer versions such as Office 2013 and 2016 will not work as they require APIs/functions found in only Windows 7 or later.

However, a free (for personal use) office suite that's been on the list for sometime now called WPS Office 2016 (despite the year, this is still the latest version for all Windows versions and still receives updates)  that is very similar to Microsoft Office 2013, fully supports Windows Vista and is one of the last office suites to do so. As you can see, it works great (don't care for the UI myself, however):

JhQiLfG.jpg

You can download it here: https://www.wps.com/office-free

:)

Edited by WinClient5270
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  • 2 weeks later...

One thing I still use my vintage Vista system for is watching and recording TV, and I wonder if the list needs a DVR/PVR category. (Of course there are hardware requirements: a suitable TV tuner of some sort, but hardware is OT here.) Vista Home Premium and Ultimate included Windows Media Center, which in most cases was not really different from Windows XP Media Center Edition. Some later Vista systems shipped with TV Pack 2008, which was almost equivalent to Windows 7's Media Center. (The first page or two of a 2015 Green Button thread might be of interest to some Vista users.) Of course Media Center with TV Pack is only supported insofar as Microsoft/Rovi are still providing electronic program guide data, which might end when support for Windows 7 ends.

For those who are running Vista Basic or Business, or who wouldn't dare to download TV Pack from a third party, or who have TV Pack but are dissatisfied with Rovi's North American EPG data, or who want something that can be used as a "back end" for Kodi (formerly XBMC), one alternative is NextPVR. I recently installed the current 4.2.3 version of NextPVR on Vista, and I'm very satisfied with it. This was the first time I had a reason to install .NET Framework 4.6, which is now a prerequisite. The 4.2.3 installer will install Visual C++ 2017 for you. Newbies may find this software to be not very user-friendly, but MSFN members generally seem to be the kind of users who could handle it. You may have to download one or more decoders, e.g. in North America you are going to need an AC3 audio decoder (perhaps AC3Filter or LAV). Unfortunately there is no free guide data for North America beyond the several hours' worth that can be obtained from over-the-air ATSC broadcasts, so a Schedules Direct subscription is highly desirable.

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Thanks for the information, @Vistapocalypse! I think you'll enjoy today's changes...

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE LIST FOR MARCH 4, 2019:

  • Added new link for the last version of Yandex Browser for Windows Vista and XP (thanks to @i430VX for providing it), as visiting the vendor's site no longer delivers a compatible installer for XP/Vista users.
  • Added new category: DVR/PVR software.
  • Added Windows Media Center with TV Pack 2008 and NextPVR to "DVR/PVR software" section.
  • Added Piriform Recuva to "Hard Drive Utilities" section.
On 3/4/2019 at 8:07 PM, Jody Thornton said:

Apparently the legacy Malwarebytes v3.5 doesn't update anymore on Vista.

https://www.vistax64.com/threads/vista-no-longer-supported-by-some-security-software.304411/

(Added today at the bottom of the thread)

 

That's strange; I have just updated to the latest definitions on my system today with no problems :huh:

TrkP1d6g.png

bQfa0RPg.jpg

 

 

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22 hours ago, WinClient5270 said:

Added new link for the last version of Yandex Browser for Windows Vista and XP (thanks to @i430VX for providing it), as visiting the vendor's site no longer delivers a compatible installer for XP/Vista users.

FWIW, it actually does feed XP a compatible installer stub, but not Vista.

Edited by i430VX
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On 6/16/2017 at 4:23 PM, Werewolf said:

XBMC Foundation recently announced that Kodi 17 would the last version to officially support Windows Vista.

Multimedia software:
Kodi 17.3 (FREE, OS)

Kodi can reportedly serve as a "front end" for NextPVR and other DVR software, among other uses. I never used Kodi before, and frankly don't know of any reason why I would want to, but curiosity recently got the better of me.

The download link for Kodi 17.3 under Content Consumption Software in the list appears to be broken. Kodi has stated that 18.x does not support Vista, but there is a 17.6 at http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/windows/win32/, so I decided to give it a try. The installer soon gave me an error message:

PURequired.JPG.3b3925ac906c76c66823161754c42f6c.JPG

Some of you are probably thinking, "Vistapocalypse never installed Platform Update, LOL. Probably doesn't know how to solve why has vista stopped automatic updates, LOL." Not so fast:

PUInstalled.JPG.3d3a6ceb7e036a181ed73fc489d2e82e.JPG

True, if I search for KB971644 in Installed Updates, it cannot be found; but that is because Platform Update's four components are listed separately there:

Installed.JPG.d676be8787c9aba8b390e0aef73c5b98.JPG

Could it be that Kodi's last Vista-compatible installers were never tested on Vista? There are numerous Kodi "support" threads indicating that hapless Vista users were the beta testers. and that this issue affected all 17.x versions. The solution was found here: run the installer in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2, and it works! Here is a screenshot of Kodi 17.6 playing a .ts file:

KodiShot.thumb.JPG.1a27fdbb6ddcd94bcdeec34b65325b3d.JPG

Of course I could have played that old recording in NextPVR or VLC anyway. I did not take the time to figure out how to send live TV from NPVR to Kodi, but I have no doubt that it could be done.

The developers devoted a great many words to saying Goodbye Windows Vista, but I dislike long goodbyes. Goodbye Kodi. Thanks for making an uninstaller that does not require Platform Update.

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On 3/7/2019 at 3:31 PM, Vistapocalypse said:

Kodi can reportedly serve as a "front end" for NextPVR and other DVR software, among other uses. I never used Kodi before, and frankly don't know of any reason why I would want to, but curiosity recently got the better of me.

The download link for Kodi 17.3 under Content Consumption Software in the list appears to be broken. Kodi has stated that 18.x does not support Vista, but there is a 17.6 at http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/windows/win32/, so I decided to give it a try. The installer soon gave me an error message:

PURequired.JPG.3b3925ac906c76c66823161754c42f6c.JPG

Some of you are probably thinking, "Vistapocalypse never installed Platform Update, LOL. Probably doesn't know how to solve why has vista stopped automatic updates, LOL." Not so fast:

PUInstalled.JPG.3d3a6ceb7e036a181ed73fc489d2e82e.JPG

True, if I search for KB971644 in Installed Updates, it cannot be found; but that is because Platform Update's four components are listed separately there:

Installed.JPG.d676be8787c9aba8b390e0aef73c5b98.JPG

Could it be that Kodi's last Vista-compatible installers were never tested on Vista? There are numerous Kodi "support" threads indicating that hapless Vista users were the beta testers. and that this issue affected all 17.x versions. The solution was found here: run the installer in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2, and it works! Here is a screenshot of Kodi 17.6 playing a .ts file:

KodiShot.thumb.JPG.1a27fdbb6ddcd94bcdeec34b65325b3d.JPG

Of course I could have played that old recording in NextPVR or VLC anyway. I did not take the time to figure out how to send live TV from NPVR to Kodi, but I have no doubt that it could be done.

The developers devoted a great many words to saying Goodbye Windows Vista, but I dislike long goodbyes. Goodbye Kodi. Thanks for making an uninstaller that does not require Platform Update.

Thanks for the information about Kodi and letting me know about the broken link, @Vistapocalypse! Fixed :)

On 3/1/2016 at 8:31 PM, WinClient5270 said:

Content Consumption Software:

...

Kodi 17.6 (FREEOSDownload from vendor here. Must run the installer in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2 to get the software to install.

 

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On 3/16/2019 at 5:48 PM, win32 said:

uFile 2018 (Canadian tax prep software) works on Vista SP2 according to the box.

Thanks for letting me know. Added :)

On 3/1/2016 at 8:31 PM, WinClient5270 said:

Invoicing, Finance, and Business Management software:

...

uFile ($$$CSONG) Requires SP2.

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On 3/16/2019 at 5:48 PM, win32 said:

uFile 2018 (Canadian tax prep software) works on Vista SP2 according to the box.

Speaking of which, Studio Tax 2018 (also a Canuckistan tax package) works as well on Vista as well.  (it does require .NET 4 though).

:)

 

Edited by Jody Thornton
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