Best1inDE

Catman 777's concern over the software lock is an interesting point. VM uses your drivers that you install on the computer and all the hardware. For example, if you have a dvd player or a card reader, and in my case a Sentinel HASP HL (Aladdin), they all work within Virtual Machine as well, but the drivers are install in Windows 8.1 for the devices. It would be the same for the software lock, but I would ask the software lock maker. For the Sentinel HASP, the folks at Safe Net were very nice and very helpful. I would also look through the Oracle VM documentation https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Documentation to see if you can find a specific answer for your parallel lock, but I don't see why it should not work. It is the CA software that may not recognize it due to the code in the executable which is works specifically for how Win XP is built, not the Oracle VM. The VM solution is a great if you have only one hard drive, and you don't have to partition it, and it will have the actual Win XP loaded into it. The reason I had to have my hardware lock updated (flashed and install a driver for Win 8.1),was so it would work with Windows 8.1. When I loaded CA 10.a in Win 8.1 directly, it could not find the HASP hardware lock. So I deleted the program and re-installed it in Win XP (SP3) inside the Oracle VM Virtual Box installed in Win 8.1. The way I see it, if you want a new computer, it should not be just for CA, but rather for better performance and all the other reasons you should upgrade. Then try this solution with the Oracle VM. If you need to upgrade your software lock's parallel card, that will much less expensive than a new CA license for the newer software which has tons more features than what you may need. Just to be clear, I'm not pushing any particular solution, I'm an American living in Germany and have learned to be thrifty. You get used to the words "zu teuer" (too expensive) and look for valuable alternatives. Since this issue had bugged me for years and I had already upgraded at least five times, I find that paying for more features than I need is not reasonable and CA 10 works just fine for me, so I'm sharing my experience to let other know there is an alternative. And I'm really glad to see other comment as well. Obviously there are other good ideas as well and there is personal preference as well. Don't be afraid to try, maybe on someone else's computer if you don't want to buy your own first. It doesn't take so long to load the software and erase it if it doesn't work and it will not hurt anything to try. I would add that if you have zipped libraries, you should keep them and install them on your new machine. Simply copying libraries which may need to be installed from zipped installations will most likely not work and those downloads are no longer available from the CA site, but other users may still have them and since they were free to begin with they may be happy to share them.

I wanted to try the dual boot concept since I also had multiple hard drives, but the hardware was just too old to support the new operating systems. In the Virtual Box solution, I loaded XP with all the latest updates. However I don't have any other software other than Chief Architect running on XP, even though in Win 8.1, my computer has a lot of software. I have not experienced any flickering screens, nor do I find CA to be slow, certainly not slower than on my older XP computer, but rather much faster and more reliable. I am neither a draftsman nor an architect, so the complexity that I am used to, may not be a realistic stress test for others, however the installation within Virtual Box is very stable, to include use of the camera, 3D, etc...

I can see upgrading to the latest software if you can afford it, however I've had Chief Architect products pretty much from the beginning, and I don't see buying more upgrades when I own a good version, I have the tutorials, and a hardware lock, and it works. I was disappointed that there are no clear instructions anywhere to install this version on the latest Windows operating system 8.1 implying it is not possible. However, there are usually solutions and I found one that works for me as if I were on my old computer running Win XP, but now with an i7 chip. You cannot simply install Chief Architect 10 on Windows 8.1 because it will not accept the CD Key, and you may have to upgrade the hardware lock as well by flashing it. Read on... What you can do is to first install on Windows 8.1 the free software by Oracle called Oracle VM VirtualBox. Then you load your Windows XP software in the Virtual Box software which is simply a way of using two operating systems at the same time. Once Win XP is properly installed, you can install your Chief Architect 10 software, install the hardware lock, and even transfer your old chief files/plans and off you go. I haven't tried to port the library downloads for cabinets, and other products, so I can't vouch for that, but this solution works for me like the original installation on a PC with only Win XP. I haven't run into any problems so far and there is a distinct advantage of being able to use new and old software simultaneously. You may enjoy building a house with your fingers using a touch screen in Window 8.1 as, for example, you can drag a door and put it in wall, or simply use your fingers instead of the mouse. I did have to contact the hardware lock maker to get the latest software upgrade for the hardware lock to work on Window 8.1. They kindly sent me a link to the software and it worked the first time after it was flashed and the driver was installed on my new PC. The point is when you are done with the installation above, you are using Chief Architect 10 on a Window 8.1 PC like any other software. It takes two extra clicks to get it launched because you start the Virtual Box manager and then Win XP, but then every thing else is the same. Just wanted to give a little hope for users who may not have deep pockets, because this solution did not cost any money.