iTalc compatibility with Windows Vista

[sbprogrammer]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone tried to use or have gotten iTalc to work with Windows Vista? I have tried to setup two Windows Vista machines one as a client and one as a master. Both have INTEL 64-bit processors in them, One is running Windows Vista Business - 32-bit and the other WIndows Vista Business 64-Bit OS. The 32-bit I was able to connect but all I get is a black screen. The 64-Bit I was unable to connect to. Any help on this would be great as we are replacing 25 computers in 2 of our computer labs (50 total).

We have 5 computer labs in all at our high school and I have already set one up with iTalc, and plan to do the other 2 in the next week or two. I have tested all the features of iTalc in the one and works great. The next big test will be when school returns in September to see how the performance is once we have everyone on the network.

Overall great product. Cudos goes out to the programmers and the time they spent on developing this product.

Regards,

SBProgrammer

[ew456]

I have had the same problem with my Windows Vista Lab. They will show up on the master but only displays a black screen. Did you find any resolution to this issue?

[john]

It probably needs a complete re-write for Vista. I know Net Support has had to have major surgery in parts for Vista, so I would think most of them will need it.

[hilltopper06]

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but I think I have found a work around and thought I would share.

I am trying to get iTalc up and running for a school in their computer lab. The two teacher units in the Lab are XP and the other systems are Vista. I was having no luck getting iTalc to work on the Vista machines by using the install. To remedy this I did the following:

1.) Disable the Windows Vista Aero Theme if it is on, Windows Vista Basic is fine and can be chosen from the Control Panel - Apperance option.
2.) Right click the iTalc setup file and run it in compatibility mode for XP.

3.) Proceed through the setup normally and then after the service is installed, browse to the location of the ica.exe file (c:\program data\italc\ica.exe by default). Set this file to run in compatibility mode for XP as well.
4.) Hit the window key + r to open the run window. Type services.msc and click run. Scroll down to the iTalc Client service. Right click on it and select properties. Select the Log On tab and change the logon from Local System Account to This Account. In This Account specify a local administrator account. Input the password and select OK. You will receive a message asking you to restart the service for the changes to take effect. do this now by selecting the general tab and pushing stop and then start.

If all has gone well then you should be up and running and your Teacher unit should she the client just fine. I tested remote control and text message and both features worked whereas previously they would not. This also seemed to remedy the "black screen" problem, although I am not sure which step took care of it. Please let me know if anyone else has any success and post questions if you hit a road block.

[nephilim]

We had success but because of the long work around (we did similar to you) we switched back to XP, and Linux. The step that fixes the black screen is the Aero Mode and the Run in XP compatability. But its too much hassle if you have an MSI that you want to blitz the machines with.

XP or Linux is the way forward with this one people!

[hilltopper06]

Yeah, I found that starting it in service mode does not work, and that you need to set the service to manual and start the ica.exe file by placing a shortcut in the all users startup folder. Downgrading to XP or switching to linux (I wish) is not an option for me at this time, so I have to get it to work on Vista. I have had more success with iTalc and Vista than I have with some of its competitors, so I guess I will stick with it.

[nephilim]

why cant you switch to linux? if all goes well at my school I am happy to send a case study to you to prove how successful it could be

[hilltopper06]

Windows is all my user base knows or understands. All of their expensive purchased software depends on Windows (MS Office, Photoshop, Etc.), and we have contracted bid lists that require us to purchase systems with Windows preinstalled (which means Vista at this point). Like I said, I wish I could, but I can't. Not without uninstalling Windows on every PC that ships, which is more hassle than its worth at this point and saves me no $$.

[hilltopper06]

Sorry to double post, just a quick question. Now that I have iTalc running successfully, is there a way to prevent a limited user from ending a process? I have noticed that on XP or Vista a user can terminate the iTalc process with little trouble. I do not want students to be able to circumnavigate the system. Thanks.

[cyruspy]

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but I think I have found a work around and thought I would share.

I am trying to get iTalc up and running for a school in their computer lab. The two teacher units in the Lab are XP and the other systems are Vista. I was having no luck getting iTalc to work on the Vista machines by using the install. To remedy this I did the following:

1.) Disable the Windows Vista Aero Theme if it is on, Windows Vista Basic is fine and can be chosen from the Control Panel - Apperance option.
2.) Right click the iTalc setup file and run it in compatibility mode for XP.

3.) Proceed through the setup normally and then after the service is installed, browse to the location of the ica.exe file (c:\program data\italc\ica.exe by default). Set this file to run in compatibility mode for XP as well.
4.) Hit the window key + r to open the run window. Type services.msc and click run. Scroll down to the iTalc Client service. Right click on it and select properties. Select the Log On tab and change the logon from Local System Account to This Account. In This Account specify a local administrator account. Input the password and select OK. You will receive a message asking you to restart the service for the changes to take effect. do this now by selecting the general tab and pushing stop and then start.

If all has gone well then you should be up and running and your Teacher unit should she the client just fine. I tested remote control and text message and both features worked whereas previously they would not. This also seemed to remedy the "black screen" problem, although I am not sure which step took care of it. Please let me know if anyone else has any success and post questions if you hit a road block.

Only could get it working as standalone application, not as a service. XP compatibility doesn't seem to be needed as it doesn't make any difference in my case.... Everything seems to work except for FullScreen Demo and Window Demo, my master is running XP and all I see from the Vista client is the Windows XP logo from the screensaver (it's not active on the master!!!).

Anybody got Demo mode working?

Regards,

[hilltopper06]

I have demo mode running (Vista client, XP master). I installed iTalc, disabled the service (didn't work on vista anyway), added italc to the startup folder, and set the theme to vista basic (no aero). It has worked fine for me after doing this. The only problem is that the process in vista is not protected so students can terminate it.

[cyruspy]

I have demo mode running (Vista client, XP master). I installed iTalc, disabled the service (didn't work on vista anyway), added italc to the startup folder, and set the theme to vista basic (no aero). It has worked fine for me after doing this. The only problem is that the process in vista is not protected so students can terminate it.

I'm using iTALC on openSUSE 11.0 as a master, couldn't make XP work as master for the Vista machines... I think you can disable task manager in Vista using policies..

[JackLR]

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but I think I have found a work around and thought I would share.

Glad to see someone is working on iTalc for Vista. I was really looking forward to MST's Lanview 4 and greatly disappointed to see them abandon their user base. I contacted the iTalc developer in December regarding Vista and he said he had no motivation to work on the project and that Vista support may come along "somewhen in 2009".

Ah well, your steps still did not work for me, but I do appreciate you sharing.

[hilltopper06]

I am sorry to here that my mini-guide didn't work. Let me try again.

This setup is for Windows Vista Clients ONLY! I have no idea if it will work with VISTA as a Master. I use Windows XP as the Master in my setup.

There is not an easy install for Vista Clients (yet anyway). You will have to visit each system (be sure to write down host names as you go, it will make things much easier).

Let's get started.

This guide assumes that you have successfully setup a Master PC. This guide also assumes that your setup files reside on USB Drive F:\iTalc and that your public key also resides on USB Drive F:\iTalc

1.) Log into Vista PC with admin rights.
1b.) Disable Vista Aero Theme (if applicable)
2.) Insert USB Drive into Vista PC Navigate to your F:\iTalc
3.) Set Setup.exe to Windows XP SP2 Compatibility Mode
4.) Run Setup.exe and when prompted, choose F:\iTalc for the location of your Public key.
5.) After Setup has completed, open Task Manager and stop the ica.exe process.
6.) Run services.msc and stop the iTalc service. Also set the service to only run manually.
7.) Goto your local iTalc install folder (C:\Program Files\iTalc) and set ica.exe to Windows XP SP2 Compatibility Mode.
8.) Create a Shortcut to ica.exe and copy/move it to your Startup Folder.
9.) Run ica.exe

This completes the Vista Workstation install. You can now add the system from the Master interface using the hostname. Below are some issues I have noticed with this setup.

Issues:
1.) If more than one user is logged into a machine, iTalc will not work.
2.) The client system cannot be accessed unless a user is logged in (also remote login does not work as the ica.exe is not running until a user logs in).
3.) The master does not recognize when a Vista System is in screen saver mode (shows last desktop prior to screensaver, it does come back once the system wakes up).
4.) The thumbnail screen will flash between a black screen and the actual desktop 4-5 times before finally connecting. This is only on the initial start of the master/client program.

All in all, it is highly functional. There are some nice features that I miss (remote login/logoff being the primary) but you cannot beat free.

[designmethis]

Download & Install iTALC 1.0.10 test version from iTALC's site:
http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~doto...00501_1534.exe

Then,

1. Go into services and disable iTALC service.
2. Go into firewall and add an inbound and outbound TCP rule to open up port 5800.
3. Put a shortcut to ica.exe in the startup folder on the local machines
(Windows 7 located - C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup)


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Thank you to (SourceForge.net: iTALC - OpenSource classroom-management: Topic: It will work with Windows 7)