membrother
Technical User
After much experimentation, I've found a way to run Sidekick 2.0 (with patch) successfully on my XP computers. I've been running this version of Sidekick on three of my XP computers - a Toshiba laptop, a Gateway desktop and an eMachines desktop.
(Disclaimer: I can't guarantee this will work for everyone. I can only say that this method does work for me.)
1. With Sidekick closed, go to Start -> Programs -> Sidekick for Windows 2.0 -> Backup & Restore. Run the Restore utility. (Do this step if you have backed-up data, if not, proceed to step 2.)
2. With Sidekick closed, navigate to the SK2 folder in Windows Explorer and find "sidekick.exe."
3. Right-click on "sidekick.exe" and go to Properties. Then click on the "Compatibility" tab.
4. Click the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" box. Then from the dropdown menu, choose: "Windows 98 / Windows Me."
5. In Display settings section of this same window, click on: "Disable visual themes"
6. In Input settings section, click on: "Turn off advanced text services for this program." Click "OK."
7. Open Sidekick 2.0 and go to Help -> About Sidekick. Make sure it reads: "Sidekick Version 2.00p" If the "p" isn't there, you'll need to run the patch.
8. At this point you might have to manually open your files, e.g. File -> "Open Cardfile" "Open Calendar" "Open Notefile" (This is a one-time procedure.) Then simply use the "Save All" button after any changes or additions, and you should be up and running.
Additional notes:
I don't use a password on startup of Sidekick. To disable password go to Tools -> Preferences. Under "Options" uncheck "Password a Start-up." (I'm not sure that this step is 100% necessary. You might experiment for yourself.)
Always back up data in case the dreaded: "Not valid card file" message pops up preventing the program from opening. If you should ever get this, run Restore and then Sidekick will open. But you might have to manually open each cardfile from:
File -> Open Cardfile.
The two most common problems that I'd encountered in running Sidekick 2.0 with XP prior to taking the above steps were: 1) opening Sidekick only to see the Calendar view blank and all calendar data lost and 2) getting the "Not valid card file" message upon attempting to start Sidekick. This error message seemed to occur on attempting a startup after having previously added a card (Add Cards), then having saved and exited the program.
I've also found a slick way to allow my backup utility (in this case Second Copy 2000) to do periodic, automatic backups (which work with the Sidekick Restore utility) of my Sidekick data without doing it from within Sidekick (Tools -> Backup & Restore Files.) If anyone is interested, I'll write out these steps and post them in the near future.
(Disclaimer: I can't guarantee this will work for everyone. I can only say that this method does work for me.)
1. With Sidekick closed, go to Start -> Programs -> Sidekick for Windows 2.0 -> Backup & Restore. Run the Restore utility. (Do this step if you have backed-up data, if not, proceed to step 2.)
2. With Sidekick closed, navigate to the SK2 folder in Windows Explorer and find "sidekick.exe."
3. Right-click on "sidekick.exe" and go to Properties. Then click on the "Compatibility" tab.
4. Click the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" box. Then from the dropdown menu, choose: "Windows 98 / Windows Me."
5. In Display settings section of this same window, click on: "Disable visual themes"
6. In Input settings section, click on: "Turn off advanced text services for this program." Click "OK."
7. Open Sidekick 2.0 and go to Help -> About Sidekick. Make sure it reads: "Sidekick Version 2.00p" If the "p" isn't there, you'll need to run the patch.
8. At this point you might have to manually open your files, e.g. File -> "Open Cardfile" "Open Calendar" "Open Notefile" (This is a one-time procedure.) Then simply use the "Save All" button after any changes or additions, and you should be up and running.
Additional notes:
I don't use a password on startup of Sidekick. To disable password go to Tools -> Preferences. Under "Options" uncheck "Password a Start-up." (I'm not sure that this step is 100% necessary. You might experiment for yourself.)
Always back up data in case the dreaded: "Not valid card file" message pops up preventing the program from opening. If you should ever get this, run Restore and then Sidekick will open. But you might have to manually open each cardfile from:
File -> Open Cardfile.
The two most common problems that I'd encountered in running Sidekick 2.0 with XP prior to taking the above steps were: 1) opening Sidekick only to see the Calendar view blank and all calendar data lost and 2) getting the "Not valid card file" message upon attempting to start Sidekick. This error message seemed to occur on attempting a startup after having previously added a card (Add Cards), then having saved and exited the program.
I've also found a slick way to allow my backup utility (in this case Second Copy 2000) to do periodic, automatic backups (which work with the Sidekick Restore utility) of my Sidekick data without doing it from within Sidekick (Tools -> Backup & Restore Files.) If anyone is interested, I'll write out these steps and post them in the near future.
