Using the MIDIART Products on Windows Vista.

MIDIART Live! and the MIDIWorks Player were originally designed and developed back in the 1990's.  The software was originally targeted for Windows 3.1 systems.  Over the years Microsoft Windows evolved but amazingly the MIDIART software continued to function on all the new versions of Windows up to and including Windows XP.  During this period the author of MIDIART chose not to improve the software mainly due to lack of time and financial resources. 

Today most new computers are shipping with Microsoft Windows Vista and the author fully expected MIDIART to be incompatible with this new advanced operation system.  But wait!  It turns out that with some simple steps completed during installation the MIDIART products continue to run even on Vista.  It will be interesting to see just how long it will take before the MIDIART life cycle truly comes to an end.  For now it is still alive!

So, if you are running Window Vista this is what you have to do to use MIDIART Live! and the MIDIWorks Player:

Step #1:

• Download the original Windows Help software which is no longer included with Windows Vista.  This software is needed in order to view the MIDIART on-line help files.  To download this software go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148 and download the file Windows6.0-KB917607-x86.msu and execute the download.  If you have 64-bit Vista installed (most of you probably will not) use the "-x64" download instead.

Step #2:

• It seems that the MIDIART software installers require the switch to a more secure "mode" in Window Vista.  This switch cannot be made if Vista User Account Control is enabled.  Thus, prior to installing MIDIART, you will need to disable User Account Control.  After installation User Account Control can be re-enabled.  Keeping User Account Control enabled is probably a good idea since it protects your computer from possible virus attack.

• In order to disable User Account Control you need to follow these Vista menu selections:  Go to "Control Panel" from the Start menu, select "User Accounts and Family Safety", then "User Accounts", then "Turn User Account Control on or off", then "Continue".  Now uncheck the "Use User Account Control to help protect your computer" item and select "Ok".  Finally restart your computer and perform the next step.

Step #3:

• Download the MIDIART Live! or MIDIWorks Player ZIP file.  Start Windows Explorer (found in the "Accessories" group on the Start menu) and click on the downloaded ZIP file to view the three files contained in the ZIP file.  (Vista already knows how to deal with ZIP files and you don't need to download any special software like WinZip.)  Double click on the EXE file that is displayed in the list of three files.  Select "Extract All" and then "Extract". (This is important. You must extract the EXE file otherwise it will not execute properly.)

• After extracting the files in the ZIP file double click on the EXE file created in the extract folder that is displayed in the new Windows Explorer window. This is the MIDIART installer.  The MIDIART installer should now execute without an error and install the software properly.  If you get an error executing the installer, make sure you followed Step #2 correctly and restarted your computer.

Step #4:

• After installation make sure you take a look at the READ ME file.  (README.HLP)  If it displays correctly it means Step #1 was performed correctly.  In the READ ME file, be sure to click on the item labeled "Controlling the Animation Speed".  This information is important when using MIDIART on today's faster computers.  Remember that MIDIART was developed when computers were running at speeds in the megahertz and not gigahertz.  You will probably want to configure MIDIART so that it slows down the animation speed.  Sometimes faster is not necessarily better...

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