Millenia Legacy on Linux

[Barrie Avis]

I am a Newbie and totally new to Linux. I don't even have Linux yet but am about to get a new PC and would like to build a bare machine and not have to get MS Vista or XP2 etc. (Yes even pensioners like new challenges to keep the few remaining brain cells alive!)

I have spent several days researching around to see if there are any show stoppers. I have found that I can get drivers for my printer (Canon iP4500) and scanner (Epson v350) so OK there. I have also found most of the applications I use (e.g. OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird) run under Linux or there are good or better equivalences.

Millenia Corporation's Legacy Family Tree Maker (a genealogy program) seems to be a major problem.

I have had a reply from Millenia support (appended below) that seems to indicate it will not run on Wine or Crossover - but that test was in 2005.

So my question is this - does anyone have any more recent experience of running Legacy on Linux please (or failing that, know where I might go to get answers)?

Has Wine or Crossover improved sufficiently since 2005, or am I really going to have to invest in WinXP-SP2 or Vista, plus IE7?

I hope not.

Barrie Avis

=============Reply from Legacy support ========

Here's the full report from the beta tester who tried to run Legacy on
Linux. This was in 2005.

"I bought a new computer recently and installed Linux as the operating
system. In the Linux world there is no genealogy program that has the power
or ability of Legacy.

"I tried to install and run Legacy version 4 and 5 under Linux and here are
the results:

1. Unable to install under pure Linux (expected)

2. Installed fine using WINE (latest version), opened the program, but was unable to open a data file. WINE (Open Source) is an interface which bridges Linux and Windows. A number of programs run fine on it, including Office 2000 (with some minor limitations).

3. Installed fine using CossOverOffice, opened the program, opened the data file, but was unable to do anything else, except sometimes adding one piece of data. It would then lock up with an Automation Error (JetSP and MDAC were installed).

4. Legacy runs fine using Win4Lin or VMWare.
Win4Lin is a commercial package which allows to install Win98 under Linux.
Then Legacy can be installed and run natively in a Win98 environment. It
runs at about the same speed as natively. VMWare is a commercial package
which simulates a whole computer. Any type of operating system can be
installed, i.e. XP with Legacy. Legacy runs at near native speed - more
memory is better.

5. I also installed Bochs (Open Source), which is similar
to VMWare. However, it is so slow, it is not an option for any use of
Legacy.

6. Dual booting using Windows and Linux is of course also possible.

"Conclusion:
The most cost effective and convenient option to run the Legacy successfully
under Linux is to purchase Win4Lin (US$70-90) and install Win98. This may
change as WINE and CrossOverOffice compatibility with Windows is improved."

======== End of 2005 test report =========

Millenia Support went on to say:

Legacy v7 has a mapping feature which utilizes Virtual Earth and requires
IE7 to run correctly. On anything less that IE7, the maps won't draw.

Legacy also uses low-level IE functions for the Legacy Home tab, which has
a built-in "mini browser". That works with any version of IE, but IE7 is
required for the much requested mapping feature. There is no requirement
that you *use* IE7, just that it be installed on the computer. The Internet
search features can be set to access any browser you wish to use.

[dankegel]

Supposedly Legacy versions 5 and 6 would work
if you did something like
wget http://kegel.com/wine/winetricks
sh winetricks vb6run dcom98
Give that a shot. See also

Wine AppDB - Legacy

[Barrie Avis]

Hi Dan

thank you for taking the trouble to reply.

Unfortunately I am not able to try it. Although I have Legacy (v6 Deluxe) I do not yet have Linux. My laptop that is powerful enough to run Legacy is back in Germany for a warranty repair. The machine I am using at present it a very old TowerPC (v slow, litttle RAM etc).

It needs to be replaced.

I would like to build a new PC from scratch and run Linux on it. But unless I can be sure I will be able to run Legacy (and also TomTom Home) on Linux, I think I am b******d.

So at present it looks as if I am going to have to buy a ready built machine with Vista (yuk) already installed, because it will be very expensive to get Vista later.

Thanks for your help

Barrie