Questions about upgrading from "2019.1-beta6" to the latest "2023.5.31"

[xSwagboy69x]

Hi guys, I'm still using the 2019 beta, currently on Windows 11. I'd like to upgrade to take advantage of the new features, but I'm a little worried because the last time I upgraded there were some problems that prevented Windows from loading. I resorted to deleting the .dlls via command line from Safe Mode, thankfully that worked.

So this time around, I'd like to ask first if there's anything I need to do to properly prepare for this upgrade. I use Registry Mode because it's the most seamless, and I know you made changes there (I've read the updated wiki). To my understanding, Registry Mode is still the most seamless, correct? My system does have the PATH variable and the "AppInit" registry entries correctly set. I've made backup copies of my .ini presets.

Is there anything else I need to do before running the 2023 installer?

Thanks!

[snowie2000]

Registry mode is deprecated and not recommended for all the later OS though still being supported.

As long as Windows supports the AppInit way of loading dlls, so will be MacType, but not encouraged.

MacType binaries are basically designed to be backwards compatible. A simple overwrite should be enough to upgrade. But once you upgraded, you can't re-enable the registry mode via the wizard but you can keep you working registry mode running as long as you didn't remove it.

[xSwagboy69x]

@snowie2000 Thanks for the reply!

Registry mode is deprecated and not recommended for all the later OS though still being supported.

So, when you say "deprecated", does that mean I'll be missing out on significant new features (added since 2019) if I continue with registry mode? If that's the case, would I be better off sticking with 2019?

I don't really have any "problems" while using 2019, other than MacType not hooking onto programs that are elevated with administrator rights... but I would like to see what cool new stuff you guys have added.

[snowie2000]

There is no real "cool" features added in all the later version after all. Most of them are bug fixes and new operating system adaptations. Namely better service mode, better compatibility with newer OS and newer CPU. better compatibility with more programs, less bugs and less crashes.

The only "feature" that I can tell is the custom subpixel layout support which is essential for some new OLED panel displays.

When I said "deprecated" I didn't mean it's bad or obsoleted by our side. It's just too buggy because of regular OS updates and during the changes Ms has made, injecting by registry is not welcome by them anymore. They had invented many ways to block dll loading from that and many new apps (like store apps) are not affected by it anymore. You'll have to say goodbye to it some day.

There is no real benefit upgrading from 2019 to 2024 (yes, a 2024 version was just released) if you didn't encounter any problem though that's quite unusual... as you can see there are so many bug report staying in the issue list, most of them are about win11.

[xSwagboy69x]

@snowie2000 Thanks for the explanation.

you didn't encounter any problem though that's quite unusual... as you can see there are so many bug report staying in the issue list, most of them are about win11.

I've used MacType on Win8, Win10, and now Win11 – I've found it to be very stable the whole time. The only notable conflict I found is the known issue with Mod Organizer, everything else has been great. Maybe it's because I tend to set it to "disabled" for any processes that don't have a GUI.

Anyway, thanks for the explanation – I'll probably upgrade to 2024 today.

[snowie2000]

By adding a ton of service apps into the unloaddll, I think it could work well with old version.

However, what we are trying to achieve is to make mactype more seamless and effortless and we still have a long way to go.