As explained here, Windows Vista required certain changes to RTG's software. Here we explain how to prepare RTG Bills prior to upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

For compatibility with Windows Vista, you need RTG Bills Version 2.17 (or above).

If you have RTG Bills Version 2.16 or below installed in the Program Files directory, such as this standard location:

C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

it will not work correctly in Windows Vista. You must move the data files elsewhere. You should do this before you install Windows Vista. Here is the best way to accomplish this:

1. Upgrade RTG Bills to V2.17. There are two ways to upgrade.
   
   Purchase the installation file
   If you choose to purchase the installation file, you can upgrade from any older version of RTG Bills (2.16 or below) to Version 2.17. During the installation, be sure to specify a Data Location that is the same as the program location, because that is where your data is now. If you don't, the data will not appear when you start RTG Bills. If that happens, uninstall RTG Bills and install it again with the correct Data Location.
   
   Free upgrade
   The alternative is to use the free online upgrade from RTG Bills V2.16:
   

   File > Upgrade

   However, you need to install RTG Upgrade V2.19 first. In other words, before you can upgrade RTG Bills from V2.16 to V2.17, you must upgrade RTG Upgrade (the program that installs upgrades) to V2.19.
   
   After RTG Upgrade is installed and RTG Bills starts again, upgrade RTG Bills to V2.17.
   
   
2. At this point, you have RTG Bills V2.17 working and you can see your data. Now you must move it out of the Program Files folder.
   
   We created a program to copy the data for you. Install this upgrade: Copy RTG Bills Data.
   
   
3. In RTG Bills, choose:
   

   File > Tools > Copy RTG Bills Data > OK

   You should see a new window, Copy RTG Bills or RTG Timer Data. The Current Data Folder shows where your data is now. In the New Data Folder box, enter where you want to move the data.
   
   If you are not sharing RTG Bills with other users, you can click the Standard Data Location button.
   
   However, if you are sharing RTG Bills, you should choose a location that is shared on the network. Create a folder, Rtgbills, on the network and set it to be shared. All RTG Bills users must have read and write permission for the shared folder.
   
   Click Copy to copy the data into the new location.
   
   
4. Start RTG Bills. Although it may appear to be working, it is still using the data in the old location. Choose:
   

   Setup > Database

   
   Enter the new location in the box and click Save. From now on you will be using the data in the new location.

You should now be able to install Windows Vista and use RTG Bills without problems.