FAQ: Windows 7 Compatibility in VisualDSP++ Development Tools

Q:

Is VisualDSP++ supported on Windows 7?

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A:

We offer support for Windows 7 (including the 64-bit version, but not including Windows 7 Embedded) as of VisualDSP++ 5.0 Update 7. However, some operations in the VisualDSP++ tools are impacted by the security model of this operating system.

The Windows 7 operating system uses the same User Account Control (UAC) security feature found in Windows Vista. When enabled, UAC provides a more secure operating environment for the user by prohibiting the modification of critical system directories and files. One of these directories is the Program Files directory into which the VisualDSP++ tools are installed when using the default setup options. When logged into an account that has UAC enabled, all files written to the Program Files directory will be automatically redirected by the operating system to a special VirtualStore directory specific to that  user. By default, this directory can be found at:

C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files

Where  <user_name> is the user name of the currently logged in user. This mainly impacts Licensing, and the use of the examples distributed with VisualDSP++.

If your user account has administrator privileges, you can build the example projects in-situ in the Program Files directory by running VisualDSP++ using the "Run as Administrator" option, available by right-clicking on "idde.exe". Users who do not have administrator privileges should copy the examples to a folder which is not under UAC before using them.

As the license.dat file for VisualDSP++ is created in the 'System' folder of the VisualDSP++ installation directory, this can also be redirected by UAC to the VirtualStore directory of the user who installs the license. This has the side-effect that other users on the machine will not have access to the license(s) when using VisualDSP++. This can be avoided by using the "Run as Administrator" option, available by right-clicking on 'Manage Licenses' under the Windows Start Menu entry for the VisualDSP++ Installation for which you wish to manage the license.

Further information on using "Run as Administrator" can be found in the following FAQ: FAQ: Advantages of using 'Run as Administrator' on Windows 7 or 8 for VisualDSP++

Versions of VisualDSP++ prior to VisualDSP++ 5.0 Update 7 are not supported on Windows 7.

In addition, VisualDSP++ is not supported on other 64-bit Operating Systems, namely 64-bit Windows XP and 64-bit Vista. For further information, see the 64-Bit Windows Support FAQ here: FAQ: VisualDSP++ and 64-bit Windows

Please also note that support is limited for Windows 7.  New emulator drivers with 64-bit support for the HPUSB-ICE and USB_ICE and RoHS Evaluation platforms have been provided.  However, there is no driver support for the HPPCI-ICE or older non-RoHS EZ-KIT Lites under 64-bit Operating Systems.

Please refer to this list of supported operating systems for VisualDSP++ 5.0 Updates 7 & 8:

Windows 7 Home Basic/Home Premium/Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate (including 64-bit support)

Windows Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate SP2 (no 64-bit support)

Windows XP Professional SP2 (no 64-bit support)

Windows 2000 SP4