Windows 7 and chess software

This article is about chess software compatibility with Window 7. Chess software compatibility has been good, but not perfect.

So far I am very pleased with my decision to get Windows 7, 64-bit Professional. Right now, I'm running Rybka 3 on an HP Pavilion Elite e9260f Desktop PC - Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

As a user of nearly all previous Windows OS, I carefully investigated W7 after the Vista debacle. Reputable users were cranking out strong reviews. I was baffled. Could it really be that good?

Well, I've been using it for over 2 weeks. This is the only Microsoft operating system that has warmed my heart and lowered my blood preassure.

Not a single crash. And the most intuitive, subtle interface improvements I've ever seen. Of course personal preferences will vary intensely, but I consider myself an average very experienced computer user.

Of the nearly 20 non-chess software programs I installed to get my working environment up and running, only one program asked to run in some sort of "XP mode". Which, after that was smooth.

If you're sitting on the fence about Windows 7, just get it.

But let's talk about chess software compatibility.

If you have Windows 7 and run chess software on it that has been mentioned in replies to this post, tell us what you find works, and if there is any software that doesn't run on Windows 7.

So far I have found that ChessBase has done a good job with ensuring programs work with W7. Chess programs like Fritz 12, Rybka 3, Hiarcs, Junior, Shredder, and the database programs ChessBase 10. All of the addon Fritz Trainer products should work fine as well. So far I have not see any non-compatibility there.

Convekta software may have trouble. So far I have only tried Total Chess Training 3. In this product is "Chess Tactics for Beginners" as one of the 5 programs. Installation ended with an error saying the program did not install correctly. And when I tried to run the program it had a run time error.

Reply with your experiences. What chess software have you tried? What chess software works well? What chess software doesn't work?

- Raphael
chesshouse

There is an easy solution for "Total Chess Training 3". Just discovered, right click on the program, and "Run as Administrator". works perfectly.

Disable User Account Control and forever avoid the issue. UAC only protects the ignorant.

And Windows Seven is just what Vista should have been. I have yet to have a problem with it. Rybka 3, Fritz 12, and Chessmaster XI work perfectly.

 Chesshouse I have a quad core 2.8mhz amd  9650 phenom 64 bit with 8 gb of memory. I have fritz 12 which is getting smeared in the computer vs computer games. Whats your take on the reason why. Is fritz 12 that weak vs rybka. Are my computer specs too low? Are there engines constantly improving on themselves if so how?

PS I must have missed that whole vista windows 7 thing I'm completely happy with  the spx version of vista as I have 7 also. Read about all the comlplaints though.

Raphael,

You're a poet!

"This is the only Microsoft operating system that has warmed my heart and lowered my blood pressure."

I order to avoid giving you all of my disposable income (as much as I would like), I need to continue running some old chess software. Have you tested old versions in Windows 7--programs like Fritz 9, ChessBase 8, Chess Informant Expert 5.0, Chessmaster 9000, ...?

I'm still running XP, but W7 seems worth considering. BTW, XP did not increase my blood pressure when it came out, although it took a few days to get accustomed to the differences. It seemed the first stable MS OS.

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Many thanks for starting and posting the info regarding compatibility issues for Chess Software installation on Windows 7. Running program simply as Admin for Chess Tactics for Beginners as well as CT-ART 3.0 has fixed it. Note: one shall NOT try to run these software checked in any compatibility mode for previous Win OS(es).

I do have an issue with running  Majestic Chess on Windows 7. Did anyone managed to install and run it on Win 7 so far? It is a favorite program of my 7 y.o. and I am truly struggle here in my attempts to run it. Please help.

I am also about to install ChessMaster 10th edition. Any recommendations /words of wisdom on that one?

Many thanks

Chess Mom ;)!

Wish I had a copy of Majestic Chess or ChessMaster 10 to try!

For now I'm going to start another round of chess software testing and see what we come up with.

Raphael

I'm running Windows 7 now. Many programs designed for XP either do not run, run with errors, or run only after I get beyond an ominous looking (but likely harmless) warning. Chess Informant software, in particular, is not yet Vista/W7 compatible.

Even so, I've been happy with Window 7 ... until now. I'm still running old database software (ChessBase 8). It has several issues and was a pain to get installed and running correctly. Even so, these took only a few careful steps and was running fine until I installed Rybka 4 (which uses the Fritz 12 interface). Now every database that I have opened with Rybka 4 is no longer accessible through CB 8.

Whether this issue is fundamentally a compatibility issue designed by ChessBase to force me (and others) to upgrade, or whether these problems somehow stem from the OS is not yet determined. Researching it led me back to this thread.

I had a very old PC, running XP, no problems, except it was slow.

Now I bought a new PC, lots of memory, dual core, all the bells and whistles, with windows 7.

After a month, I'm seriously reconsidering running in XP again.

I've had to uninstall and reinstall my DVD drive several times, Windoes 7 just stops seeing it.

My nokia PC suite picked up my phone for a week, then it stopped. Uninstalling and reinstalling does not help. I had to fish out an old Samsung so I connect on the net.

My desktop icons scatter all over the screen every few days for no reason

The icons on the quick launch bar changes to the unknown file type icon every few days.

When I run some programes (esp chess engines) the program works perfectly, but suddenly exits and I get a message the program stopped responding.

It suddnly decides it's not happy with the email client I'm using, and changes the default to something else, taking my address book and messages with it.

So, the question is, why do people laugh at me if I want to install XP again?

Surprised to hear those, I've been using w7 for years with no problem whatsoever. Are you installing windows updates? Are you sure you're installing the correct drivers for 64 bit or 32 bit (whatever you system is?) Do you use any security software to prevent programs messing with your registry etc? (like comodo, perhaps?)

Well, I'm not really a fundi, but I don't think I did anything wrong.

I'm in the process of installing updates. But, with a slow connection and very expensive data here it's a bit of a process. (Actually I find it amazing that I pay good money for a brand new Windows 7, and it's so out of date it will cost me more in data-rates to update than the program itself cost, which wasn't cheap, btw)

My System is 32 bit, I'm pretty sure the drivers are correct.

I don't know what comodo is, but spybot gives me warnings when something tries to change the registry.

Oh, another thing... when I open firefox I can't do anything, click links, change tabs etc. I have to exit, and then it works the second time round.

I don't know how can things behave so strangely on a w7. Maybe an antivirus scan with an updated database, cleaning up your registry and start up (with the spybot tool) and installing the windows updates as you mention could help.

I'm certainly no fan of linux, but if you're so stuck that you can't operate on that system, there's always free ubuntu.

or XP :)

it works ;-)

live chess doesn' t do it anymore sinds windows 7 (64bits) . Its loaded half way and then stops. can anyone tell what the reason could be?

I'm trying to use my chess tactics art 3.0 cd and it didn't work. I'm using Windows 7 Home edition, for 64 bit system. I downloaded the update and when I tried to run the update it said it was not applicable to my system. I also tried to run it as an administrator, and also using different compatibility settings, and it still won't work. Any ideas?

Great topic. I was just about to upgrade from Vista to Win7 because the CPU load is supposed to be less. Now, I am definitely going to wait until the dust settles. I've got an older version of a ChessBase database (ChessBase Light 2009) that might not work with Win7. Also, it sounds like Chessmaster doesn't work either.  

I recently instaled windows 7 in my pc. I installed chessbase.. but chessbase videos are not working  :( :( please help

I purchased a new window 8 samsung ATIV pc and trying to download spark chess using my license already purchased for window 7 based computer I previously owned...It looks like it is giving my trouble running it...keeps freezing my computer...Any help is appreciated!

lasca