Workaround for Infrastructure design suite 2014 installation (probably also other 2014 generation products)

[davor]

Hello,

is there possibly a workaround for Windows Vista users to be able to complete installation for Infrastructure (or any other) design suite, 2014 generation?

Our client has tried to install the product but get "unsupported OS" error and the installation closes.

Thanks for any tips in advance.

[Illiniwek]

I just managed to get AutoCAD MEP 2014 to install on a Vista. A similar procedure may work on other 2014 products.

Please keep in mind that all 2014 products are unsupported by AutoDesk on Windows Vista, and there may be a reason AutoDesk is blocking installation on Vista. 2013 products were also not supported on Vista, although the installers did not specifically block installation on that OS.

First I opened up setup.ini (its in the root of your install media along with setup.exe), and removed references to vista. I'd recommend making a backup before editing.
In my case there was a line under [MEP] that began with the following:
PREREQUISITE=ACAD_VISTA_BLOCK;IE;SSE2;_DOTNET35SP1....
which I changed to the following:
PREREQUISITE=IE;SSE2;_DOTNET35SP1....
Further down there was a section titled Block Vista Version Check, which I deleted in it's entirety.

After saving the file and running the installer I was still getting an error. I then right clicked on setup.exe, and went to properties, compatibility, and selected Windows XP (Service Pack 2). After making this change the I was able to run and complete setup of AutoCAD MEP 2014 on Vista without error.

[davor]

Thank you kindly for the tip/solution.

I must say that I agree with the 'safe' solution (upgrade to Windows 8 ), which may prove far cheaper for the customer, taking into account the possibility of mishaps, errors and/or poor performance due to the use of Windows Vista. So, strong recommendation for NOT using Vista stands, but this definetely helped as a temporary solution.