LINC Update

Horizon 7.4.2 on Windows 7 PC's

If your older Horizon workstation running Windows XP Pro has been replaced by a new PC running Windows 7, then Horizon 7.4.2 may not launch at all, or may seemingly launch OK but may run oddly or may suddenly quit after launch. Per our website, http://www.lincolntrail.info/HorizonUpgrade/Horizon_Specs.htm, Horizon 7.4.2 is not compatible with Windows 7. Although there have been some posts on the Horizon List Serve, where a few libraries have been successful at getting both to run smoothly, SirsiDynix states that the first support offered for Windows 7 will be in conjunction with the next Horizon release V.7.5.x. 

There are two possible solutions that a library may attempt at their own risk, to try and get Horizon 7.4.2 to work on a Windows 7 machine. The easiest is this process: 

• Right-click on the “My Computer” icon on the desktop of the Horizon workstation.
  
• Invoke the “Properties” tab
  
• Invoke the “Advanced” tab
  
• Click the “Environment Variables” button
  
• Under “System Variables”, press the “New” button
  
• Enter “Variable Name” as: HzShrMemBase
  
• Enter “Variable Value” as: 1912602624
  
• Click <OK> all the way back to the desktop. Reboot the PC.
  

You should use Horizon for several hours before assuming this solution resolves the incompatibility issue. If it doesn’t, the second possible solution is to download and install the appropriate version, from Microsoft’s website, of the Windows XP Mode product:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

This basically runs Windows XP Pro in a “virtual” environment, so it may run slower than on a PC running XP Pro in its native environment. If neither of these possibilities resolves the problem, then the only alternative is to revert back a PC running the Windows XP Pro operating system in its native state. 

LTLS is considering a possible late fall upgrade to Horizon V.7.5.x but this has not yet been scheduled because we will lose all custom programming and will need to be 'down' for two days with this upgrade.

Schools Returning from Summer Break

While you were away for summer break, the tech folks for your school district may have been hard at work installing new routers and/or firewalls. In doing so, they may have inadvertently “broken” your connection to the Horizon database located here at LTLS.

One effect of adding or changing equipment is that the IP number of your Horizon workstation was changed without your knowledge. If you are totally unable to connect to the Horizon database, go to this website using the Horizon workstation that cannot connect to Horizon: http://www.ipchicken.com and record the IP number that 'IP Chicken' displays. Call the Automation Department at LTLS (217-352-0047, ext. 1) and ask that the number be compared to the LTLS firewall and see if it matches what is currently being allowed in our firewall. If the numbers differ, then the firewall with the new static, public IP number that 'IP Chicken' displays will have to be updated before you will be able to connect to Horizon. This may have to be done at each Horizon workstation in your building.

Another effect of installing a new router/firewall is the Horizon workstation getting disconnected after “x” (usually 5, 10, or 15) minutes of inactivity. This is generally a router/firewall configuration setting, usually labeled “Inactivity Timeout”, or words to that effect, that needs to be disabled. If this is happening at your school library building and a new piece of equipment has been installed over the summer, please contact your tech person and advise him/her to investigate the Inactivity Timeout feature on the new router/firewall.