* Installing V7 on a second device

[Dave Annal]

Could someone please talk me through the process for installing FH V.7 on a second device? I was able to do this with V.6 but I now have a new mini-laptop which I want to install FH on, in the unlikely event that I'll ever be able to go to a record office sometime in the future!

[tatewise]

Belated welcome to the FHUG Dave.

The KnowledgeBase has much advice on this topic as so many users need to do it.
Presumably, the mini-laptop is a fully-fledged Windows 10 PC.

Copy the downloaded FH V7 installation file to the laptop, then run it and enter your account and activation code details exactly as you did on your main PC.

To migrate your Projects and settings follow the Family Historian V5 & V6 Migration Guide and use the instructions for FH V6.

[ColeValleyGirl]

I don't think you need to enter your activation code, just logon to your account. (One of the benefits of the new authorisation system is that you don't need to retain and enter a complex multi-character code more than once).

[Dave Annal]

Thanks for this.

The KnowledgeBase has much advice on this topic as so many users need to do it.
Presumably, the mini-laptop is a fully-fledged Windows 10 PC.

That was the first thing I tried and I could only find references to installing V6 on a second device...

Copy the downloaded FH V7 installation file to the laptop, then run it and enter your account and activation code details exactly as you did on your main PC.

Can you explain what you mean by the FH V7 installation file and let me know where I might find it?

Cheers, Dave

[ColeValleyGirl]

YOU should have downloaded an installation file when you bought the product and saved it somewhere secure. However https://www.family-historian.co.uk/install7 will lead you to a link to download again.

The KB has only just started being updated for V7, I'm afraid,

[Dave Annal]

I don't think you need to enter your activation code, just logon to your account. (One of the benefits of the new authorisation system is that you don't need to retain and enter a complex multi-character code more than once).

Thank you - this worked!

[Gary_G]

I'm seeing two activation codes that are active, when trying to activate a copy of FH7.
I know I only have one previously activated on a specific computer.
How do I tell which code pertains to the one I have on that computer, so I can deactivate the other?
Is the code displayed somewhere in the installed FH7 program?

[tatewise]

See the https://www.family-historian.co.uk/activation-help page.
I suspect what you are seeing is not activation codes but Device codes on which the licence is ACTIVE.
i.e. The Device codes listed on the left should match the system names of your computers.

[Gary_G]

Mike;
Neither of the system names of the virtual machines match either device code.
I wonder what FH7 is using or how FH7 constructed it?

[Mark1834]

It will be some kind of hash derived from the hardware and possibly the software as well. It’s quite sensitive to hardware changes, and even reinstalling on the same hardware can trigger a requirement to re-activate.

MS tie Windows to the motherboard, so it silently reactivates after changing any other hardware. I asked CP what system changes FH permits without having to jump through these hoops, but they wouldn’t tell me.

[Gary_G]

Thanks everyone.

I finally discovered the correct code to deactivate and then was able activate FH7 under VMware Fusion.
I then installed the VMware Tools, in order to get the dual screens to operate at their intended resolution.
Fh7 seems to work just fine within the virtual machine, but can't access external files.
Now; if I can only get Windows 11 to see my network drive, I think I'm in business.
[I store my files on a NAS and, as-shipped, the virtual machine does not see any NAS drives.
Can't remember having this much trouble with a plain windows machine, but things have changed since that time.]

[Gary_G]

Finally found the missing piece of the puzzle. VMware Fusion Pro 13 does not yet have the capability to directly access one's Mac files. However; there is a way to share one or more directories via Mac "File Sharing" and get roughly the same effect. My path to my data is something like \\Mac\FH\{project data directory name]. eg. \\Mac\FH\Murison.

Apart from setting up one or more Mac directories as being shared, there is a bit of a trick. One needs to think of the virtual machine as accessing the Mac via an "internal" network. So, the Mac also has to have a user/password defined for the computer accessing the shared directories. That is what is missing in most sets of instructions. I can try to go into more detail, if someone needs the info.

The net result is that I can now run FH7 on Windows 11, as if I were running using Parallels, but using the free VMware Fusion Pro 13 instead. So far, the differences are quite minor. Just need to test Ancestral Sources, but I bet it will work, too.

[Gary_G]

To the best of my knowledge, everything has now been transferred over from Parallels to VMware Fusion Pro 13 and is working.
That means quite a yearly savings and opens the possibility of getting a FindMyPast renewal. :>)
Tomorrow will be a day dedicated to cleaning up any loose ends and doing some final validation checks.

Thank goodness for Mike Tate's "Backup & Restore Family History Settings 3.6".
I had to read and reread all the instructions, but it did seem to work well and restored all my settings etc.

I must admit that switching between virtual machine platforms is not for the faint -of-heart.
Mike; I don't think I'd have tried the porting exercise without your plugin. Thank you.

[Tony Jones]

All very interesting — my Parallels subscription is some way from renewal, I will try to test this at some point before

[Mark1834]

Thank goodness for Mike Tate's "Backup & Restore Family History Settings 3.6".
I had to read and reread all the instructions, but it did seem to work well and restored all my settings etc.

Be aware though that the legacy plugin has not functioned under WINE/Crossover for at least the past two years, just in case any Mac users are misled by stumbling on this thread.

The newer Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings via Windows plugin is fully functional in Windows, Crossover, Parallels, and Linux (although Mac users are recommended to use the latest update to be posted to the store shortly for restore, to fix an issue with the current version). It has a far simpler user interface, but does exactly the same job.

[Gary_G]

Be aware though that the legacy plugin has not functioned under WINE/Crossover for at least the past two years, just in case any Mac users are misled by stumbling on this thread.

By way of explanation...
There is one key point of which readers need to be aware. The programs that seem to cause the noted issues are emulators. WINE and Crossover don't actually run the unmodified Windows O/S. Virtual machines like Parallels, VMware run the actual target operating system. So, one would not expect similar issues.

[Mark1834]

Indeed - that’s why I’m careful to always say Crossover/WINE, rather than just Mac/Linux.

My assumption is that folks who run FH on a non-Windows do so because that’s their device of choice for general use, but prefer FH to options in those ecosystems and don’t have access to a Windows PC. I don’t know what the split is between emulators and virtual machines, but it’s the former that generates the majority of traffic here, probably because of exactly that distinction - VMs usually work, emulators often don’t!