Flying Fox 34F Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Dear All, I hoping some of the wise counsel on this forum can assist with the following. For several years I have gleefully doodled away on TurboCAD Deluxe v14 and I have numerous drawings produced on this. Now here is the crunch, I have a new laptop running Windows 8 and the program will not start. Checking the web, I have discovered that they are not compatible. Consequently, I have searched around and found version 20 available for a reasonable amount, but here is the question. Logic says that as it is fundamentally the same software, just upgraded, the new version should open my drawings, but will it? Anyone had any experience of this? Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted March 23, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 23, 2015 Are you sure? I got the same message about Turbocad 4 from Windows 7 - after asking it three times (and three error messages) it ran it. Now it doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Is Windows 8 64bit? does it have a 32bit option? This seems to be a regular problem with old software - I use a lot of old stuff (if it ain't broke don't fix it). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGH Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I had the same problem using Turbocad 4 in Windows Vista which wouldn't install in a new computer running Windows 8.1. For Windows 8 you will need a 64 bit program and I obtained Turbocad designer 21 - a 2D program which is perfectly adequate for my needs. No problem with the old drawings produced in Turbocad 4, they all open perfectly well in the new program. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyID Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hi Paul, I've upgraded TC many times over the last 20 years, and I've never had a problem opening drawings from a previous version. I think you should be OK in that respect. I'm using Deluxe 21 on Vista, but I also run Professional 16 on the same machine (the latest Pro version is a bit too expensive for me.) Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 If in doubt, you can always create a virtual machine, install the operating system of the old machine and install your working version of Turbocad on that. This is a free option especially if you use Oracle VM Virtualbox If you fancy trying this but feel unsure about what to do, how to do it etc., feel free to ask, it's not difficult! Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks for all the replies. I'll admit right now that I do not know if I'm dealing with 32 or 64 bit system, but I'll check now its been suggested. I'm most curious about the Virtual Machine idea! When I get chance I will follow the link. I shall be asking questions no doubt Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Until one get's one's head round the concept of virtual machines, it's not easy to understand. What it basically does is create a software computer within an existing hardware computer, so you end up with two computers for the price of one. To do this, you have to already have a computer running an operating system (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux etc. you can see the Virtualbox list of host OS's here.). You then install virtual machine software (the Oracle VM software) which creates a space within your existing computer wherein you install a new computer running whichever operating system you wish, so you can create an XP machine "inside" a W7 computer. Needless to say, the fact that you are using one set of hardware to run two sets of software means you have to have a computer that meets a minimum spec., you can see here what the Virtualbox minimum spec. is, provided your computer meets or exceeds this, you should have no problem at all and you solve your problem at no cost. That sounds good to me! :-) Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
backofanenvelope Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I would thoroughly agree with Phil statements about VM's and Virtualbox. As he says it is not hard to do and the benefits are that you can try out many things your native computer may not be able to achieve. I currently run a number of Windows and Linux based software from my Apple with no issues at all. I Also had TC for some time and never had problems with updating versions and files. Hth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted March 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2015 I use VMware (also free) to set up virtual machines. On our computers these are running the last version of Windows XP. Another advantage with this is that I can leave Templot running without an internet access since the virtual machines never need to be stopped, only suspended regardless of whether the physical computer is running or not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Dear All, Thank you for the extra information. It looks like the way to go and will save money. A couple of things, if i'm using XP in the virtual machine, then I presume that it is all protected by the Windows 8 compatible Anti-Virus programs. Also is there any issues with printing off drawings from the virtual machine. I realise that this may seem over simplistic, but I love operating computers but when they do strange things I'm lost Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Dear All, Thank you for the extra information. It looks like the way to go and will save money. A couple of things, if i'm using XP in the virtual machine, then I presume that it is all protected by the Windows 8 compatible Anti-Virus programs. Also is there any issues with printing off drawings from the virtual machine. I realise that this may seem over simplistic, but I love operating computers but when they do strange things I'm lost Paul I'd better let someone else answer these questions - when I used VM's, it was in a business environment and we used VMWare's professional solution which was Unix based and we created Winmdows machines within the VMware host and installed anti-virus on them. My guess is, however, that once you've set up your VM, it will be protected by the anti-virus of the Win8 machine. For printing, I believe you will need to install the printer within XP, although I've never set up standalone printing - in our VM environment we had a print server and controlled who could print what and where from this server with Active Directory. Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimbus Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Strange that this should come up while I'm having trouble today with my XP VM in VirtualBox! Just wanted to get it trundling away on a chore while I got on with other stuff... I can't get it to see a USB device, or shut down cleanly - it remains 'Running' according to VirtualBox Manager until I quit that, then shows as 'Aborted' next time I start VirtualBox. The 'Settings' dialog for this VM while 'Running' is blank, but populated when 'Aborted'. Seems to have been chewed up by trying to attach a new USB flash drive. Oh well. I only bought 5 of them. Bang goes the rest of the day. The Nim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted March 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2015 You can connect the virtual machines to anything plugged into the box, also connect to WiFi when necessary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Birks Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I have upgraded from Turbocad 14 on XP to Turbocad 20 on 7 Pro 64 bit and Vn 20 opens the original Vn 14 drawings with no problem. Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 In light of all the replies, I'm going to attempt to upload a Virtual Machine into my 32bit laptop. I still have the XP program disk, so potentially I have everything I need. If this fails, then plan B will be to upgrade the Turbocad. I hope Nimbus can get his machine running again Thanks to you all Paul p.s. I'll let you know how I get on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
backofanenvelope Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Strange that this should come up while I'm having trouble today with my XP VM in VirtualBox! I'm not an expert The Nim but you can create a new VM but point it at the already created hard drive? this might be of help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimbus Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I'm not an expert The Nim but you can create a new VM but point it at the already created hard drive? this might be of help. Yes, that's what I've done. My host OS is MacOS, which scatters hidden files all over the place, which aren't appreciated by the device I'm transporting the files to, so I was hoping to mount directly from the VM. I can find and delete the invisibles from the VM, and hope the host doesn't decide to replace them. One of my new USB sticks now won't mount at all, BTW; it just flashes continuously. This has a Chipsbank chipset. The Nim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yes, that's what I've done. My host OS is MacOS, which scatters hidden files all over the place, which aren't appreciated by the device I'm transporting the files to, so I was hoping to mount directly from the VM. I can find and delete the invisibles from the VM, and hope the host doesn't decide to replace them. One of my new USB sticks now won't mount at all, BTW; it just flashes continuously. This has a Chipsbank chipset. The Nim. Oh the joys of a Mac OS. I think I'll stick with Windows, at least I know where the hidden files are. Now, where's the parapet so I can hide behind it? :-) Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 I've been quiet for a few days, simple reason being that I have been battling the XP. The VM loaded very easily, but the XP disk would not play ball, no matter what I tried. I discussed the problem with a colleague at work, who tested the disks for me. Sadly they are damaged, so the VM has been removed. In the meantime, I had been exploring the 3D side of my version of Turbocad and discovered that whilst it does create the items I want, I found it limited. Consequently, I've bit the bullet and upgraded to v20. Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. It certainly shows the benefits of being on this Forum. Anyway as the old saying goes, back to the (virtual) drawing board Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Fox 34F Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Dear All, Just a final comment. Indeed I purchased TurboCAD v20. It arrived a couple of days ago from Hixxysoft. To my delight they sent me V21. I have loaded it up and opened several of my older drawings in it with no issues. All I have got to do now is get used to the new display or figure out how to change it to classic view. A job for the next rainy day off from the big railway. Once again thanks to everyone for their encouragement Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Birks Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Its not obvious as it is not in any menu. Right click in an blank toolbar area then select the Options tab. Click on styles and themes and you can select Turbocad Classic. Stu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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