(What's the difference between 32-Bit and 64-Bit and how do I tell what I have?)
Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 compatibility note:
- Only Intel or AMD compatible tablets will run our software, usually advertised as 'Intel Inside' or AMD.
- All current Microsoft-supported versions of Windows including Windows 8 and 10 will run our software, except the ones immediately below.
- Windows 8 RT and Windows 10 S will not run any of our programs. *** See notes below.
- For example: The Microsoft Surface Pro will work, but not the less expensive Surface which is RT.
***Notes:
Windows 8 RT is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. It is an edition of Windows 8.x built for the 32-bit ARM architecture.
Windows 10S can only run apps downloaded from the Windows store and not third party applications like Solar Fire. Most computers are equipped with Windows 10 Home or Pro version so this shouldn't be an issue for most people. On the off chance that your computer uses Windows 10S, you will need to upgrade to Windows 10 Home or Pro versions (around $50) in order to run our software.
| Software | Windows 11 | Windows 10 | Windows 8 / 8.1 | Windows 7 and Vista 64 Bit ** | 32 Bit Vista ** | Windows XP ** |
| ACS Stand Alone Atlas | Unknown: No longer sold as a standalone product | Requires a password plus CD 600E or later, or downloading from web | Requires a password plus CD 600E or later, or downloading from web | Requires a password plus CD 600E or later, or downloading from web | Yes | Yes |
| Astro Tides | Unknown: Product discontinued | Yes* – CD 200E or greater | Yes* – CD 200E or greater | Yes* – CD 200E or greater | Yes | Yes |
| Astrolabe Font 1 | Yes | Yes. Registered users download update here | Yes. Registered users download update here | Yes. Registered users download update here | Yes | Yes |
| Astrolabe Report System | Yes* - CD 500F or greater | Yes* - CD 500F or greater | Yes* - CD 500F or greater | Yes* - CD 500F or greater | Yes* | Yes |
| Cosmic Ray Screensaver | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Data Collections | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes - CD 500G or greater | Yes |
| Old MS-DOS Programs | No, sorry | No - (geeks, try DOSBox) | No - (geeks, try DOSBox) | No - (geeks, try DOSBox) | No - (geeks, try DOSBox) | No - (geeks, try DOSBox) |
| Imperial Astrologer | Unknown: Product discontinued | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Jigsaw 1 | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes |
| Jigsaw 2 | No | No | No | No | Yes* | Yes |
| Jigsaw 2.2-2.5 | Yes* - CD 150G or greater | Yes* - CD 150G or greater | Yes* - CD 150G or greater | Yes* - CD 150G or greater | Yes | Yes |
| Nova Chartwheels | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes* - CD 500G or greater | Yes * | Yes |
| Solar Fire 2 Standard | No | No | No | No | Yes?* | Yes |
| Solar Fire 3 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Solar Fire 4 | No | No | No | No | ?* - Font Problem (2) | Yes |
| Solar Fire 5 | No | No | No | No | Yes * | Yes |
| Solar Fire 5.1 | No | No | No | No | Yes* | Yes |
| Solar Fire 6 Deluxe | No | No | No? | Yes* | Yes* | Yes |
| Solar Fire Gold (v. 7.0) | No | No? | No? | Yes, see footnote (3) | Yes | Yes |
| Solar Fire Gold (v. 7.3) | Probably | Yes, see footnote (5) | Yes, see footnote (5) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Solar Fire Gold (V8) | Yes, see footnote (5) | Yes, see footnote (5) | Yes, see footnote (5) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Solar Fire V9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Solar Maps 1 | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes |
| Solar Maps 3 | Yes* (Solar Maps CD 200C or greater) | Yes* (Solar Maps CD 200C or greater) | Yes* (Solar Maps CD 200C or greater) | Yes* (Solar Maps CD 200C or greater) | Yes* | Yes |
| Zone Trekker | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Yes |
** All software currently sold by Astrolabe will run on Microsoft-supported Windows operating systems. We cannot guarantee that older Windows operating systems will be able to run our software.
* With our older installation CDs (those numbered lower than 500G) these programs may require administrator access to function properly. This is not a problem on our latest CDs 500G or greater. After you install the program, if it won't run or you see strange error messages, try this (a procedure which will enable you to run many older programs on the latest Windows versions):
Setting Admin Access: Right-click the program's icon on the desktop, select Properties, click on the Compatibility tab and put a check mark where it says Run this program as an administrator. All the other compatibility options can remain turned off.
If the program's Help menu doesn't work, then get this help menu fix from Microsoft.
? - Not tested or results not yet conclusive. Contact us with your results, please.
2 - Solar Fire 4 can have a problem installing the astro glyph fonts on Vista. If Solar Fire 4's glyphs aren't working properly, try manually installing the fonts after the main program is installed. To do so, open My Computer, click on the icon for the CD drive, then on the folder called 05-Solar Fire 4, and then on the folder labeled Disk 3. In here, right-click on each of the following files and select Install: Etastro.ttf, etsans.fon, etastrob.ttf. Also see the * paragraph above.
3 - If the Solar Fire install program asks you to check for program updates during the installation you must say no, or the program will not install properly. Only early versions of the Solar Fire 7.0 CD will ask to check for updates while installing, so you may not see this message. Once the program is installed and running successfully you can then check for updates with no problems.
4 - Solar Fire V9 may work if you have applied all of the Windows updates and service packs available online. It is likely to become increasingly problematic since Microsoft has now ceased supporting and updating Windows XP.
5 - Certain features problemmatic on dropdown menus in Solar Maps; workarounds are available.
What's the difference between 32-Bit and 64-Bit and how do I tell what I have?
