CUSTOMER SERVICE MEMO CSTP1503

for 2015 Edition of HowardSoft's Tax Preparer®

How to avert Tax Preparer start-up problems after upgrading to 32-bit Windows 10

Background. If you use a 32-bit computer, you may find that you can no longer start Tax Preparer after upgrading to Windows 10. This may lead you to believe that Tax Preparer is not compatible with Windows 10, but the fact is that Tax Preparer is fully compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10. Rather, the problem is caused by default settings that Microsoft has chosen to make for their 32-bit version of Windows 10. Therefore, with the proper change in these settings, you will be able to run Tax Preparer with the same success that you did before the upgrade.

Symptoms. For the problem covered in this memo, when you attempt to start Tax Preparer you will encounter the error message:

16-BIT MS-DOS SUBSYSTEM

Tax Preparer 2015 U.S. Individual 1040

NTVDM has encountered a system error.

A device attached to the system is not functioning.

Close to terminate.

However, contrary to the misleading error message, Tax Preparer is not a 16-bit program and there is no attached device that is not functioning. Rather, the upgrade to Windows 10 has, by default, turned off two Windows components that are required by the 32-bit version of Tax Preparer. (These components are not required by the 64-bit version of Tax Preparer, but are used in the 32-bit version to ensure high-speed performance on older computers.)

Solution. The problem is solved by changing two settings in the 32-bit Windows 10 operating system. (You must be signed in as an Administrator to make these changes.)

The first part of the solution is to enable NTVDM:

Open your computer's Power Menu by pressing Win-X (that is, hold down the Windows key in the lower left corner of your keyboard and tap the X key).
From the Power Menu, click Control Panel.
From the Control Panel, click Programs and Features.
On the left side of the resulting window, click Turn Windows Features on or off.
In the resulting alphabetical list of Windows features, expand Legacy components to see its available components (that is, click the boxed + that appears to the left of Legacy components). One of the components should be NTVDM. If you do not see NTVDM as a component, you are using 64-bit Windows 10, and this memo does not apply.)
Under Legacy components, check NTVDM.
Click OK to register your change.

The second part of the solution is to activate the legacy console:

Open your computer's Power Menu by pressing Win-X (that is, hold down the Windows key in the lower left corner of your keyboard and tap the X key).
From the Power Menu, click Command Prompt. (If Command Prompt does not appear in the Power Menu, click Run and enter cmd.exe.)
Right-click anywhere in the title bar of the Command Prompt window, then click Properties from the drop-down menu.
Near the bottom of the Options tab in the Properties window, check Use legacy console (requires relaunch), then Click OK.
Close Command Prompt (that is, click the X on the Command Prompt's title bar).

After making these changes and restarting your computer, Tax Preparer should start without problems.