Vista Business necessary for Medisoft Software?

Hello,

My girlfriend's house computer just crashed, and I'm trying to get them set up on a new computer. Her mom uses software called Medisoft Just Claims for her business, and when she tried to register this software, it returned an error that the user name she was using had already been claimed.

Her mom called their tech support hotline, who said that the software is only compatible with Vista Business edition; the computer in question is on Home Premium x86. This claim sounds sketchy to me; I've never heard of Microsoft limiting the home edition of its OS, though I have heard the reverse for the Business edition. Also, the software ran just fine on the XP home edition before the hard drive failed.

Can anyone give me input about whether or not this sounds like a legitimate claim before they go and shell out money for the Business upgrade?

 

Actually, the tech you spoke to doesn't know what s/he is talking about, either, because according to the FAQs on the webpage for the Medisoft Just Claims software (link here), that software "is not compatible with Windows Vista."

That would mean that it's not compatible with Business Edition as well as not compatible with your copy of Home Premium.

Basically, you're going to need a computer with XP on it in order to run the Medisoft Just Claims software your mother needs.

 

This is a correct statement. With the current service pack of Medisoft Just Claims, the application supports Vista Busines Edition

http://www.emedct.com/tech_support/...disoft_12/Updates/SP2/Medisoft_Ver_12_SP2.htm

cheers ...

 

Whaddya know? I stand corrected. Good catch qhn!

 

Oh boy, can of worms time.

To answer the original question, the claim is LIKELY legitimate, but I would need more information about what server your mom's business is running.

I'm torn now as to whether I should simply stop there or go on, because this involves Terminal Server Licensing which Microsoft has made so complicated that it requires an advanced degree in physics to understand.

I went looking through the Medisoft KB and it works on a client-server based model. What does this mean?

The program actually resides on a server and you are connecting in a terminal server session (basically, remote desktop) to run it.

The problem is with the concept of terminal server client access licenses (CAL). To access a terminal server, the client machine requires a client access license to initate a session.

(briefly, there are two types of CAL per device or per user--this greatly ramps up the complexity of trying to explain this, but we will work under the assumption they are set up using a per device configuration since most companies choose this method)

In Windows Server 2000, if a thin-client or non-business version of windows want to connect to a terminal server, the TS license manager grants a license from its CAL pool. This CAL is issued permanently (unless it is later revoked). Server owners have 5 CALs to begin with and once those are used, it needs to purchase more.

If the TS does not have any licenses, it cannot issue a CAL and a connection cannot occur.

Now, to muddy the waters, Windows 2000 and Windows XP Pro do not receive a TS CAL from the TS server running on WINDOWS 2000 Server because a TS CAL is included with Windows 2000 and XP Pro.

Now, I don't know if Vista business or Vista ultimate include a built in TS CAL or not as I have never tested it. I have READ that they do, but I have been told they do not.

All the ABOVE applies to Windows Server 2000

With Windows Server 2003 and 2008, ALL connections are supposed to require a TS CAL.

So, this means you might buy Vista Business and still cannot connect because the CAL that was granted to the previous machine that is no longer working.

In Server 2003, the CAL issued to the old machine will eventually expire, allowing you to connect a new machine. Or, you can contact MS and have the TS CAL revoked (actually reissued). In server 2008, you can revoke a TS license in the TS Licensing Manager (though this ability is limited--should be fine for one machine).

I'm sure I probably overwhelmed you with info, but I hope that at least partially answers you question.

Terminal Server issues are one of those areas that gives people migraines because Microsoft has changed it with each release.

 

Thanks for the info! I guess we'll find out which end the problem is on in a couple weeks, as her dad can get XP from his work for free. I will install that once it gets shipped and report back here, if only for the sake of having the information available to google search . Thanks again for the help.

 

Yah! Let us know how it goes, and which solution turns out to be the best.