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Vista and SPSS

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Mark A Davenport MADAVENP

Vista and SPSS

I know there have been issues with 15 vista. Can anyone elaborate on
whether or not there is a patch to make 15 work with vista? Have folks
been able to work around 15 on vista?

Any comments are welcome, you can respond privately. I am not try to get
15 to work currnetly. But was thinking about it.

Mark

Sarraf, Shimon Aaron

Re: Vista and SPSS

I know there is a "patch." I don't know any details about what it does,
but it's called SPSS15VistaHotfix.exe, at least the version here in my
office. I don't have Vista yet so I didn't have to use it myself.

If you can't get a copy from the spss website, let me know and I'll send
what I have.

Take care,

Shimon

-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
Mark Davenport
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 6:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Vista and SPSS

I know there have been issues with 15 vista. Can anyone elaborate on
whether or not there is a patch to make 15 work with vista? Have folks
been able to work around 15 on vista?

Any comments are welcome, you can respond privately. I am not try to
get
15 to work currnetly. But was thinking about it.

Mark

Tim AT Home

Re: Vista and SPSS

In reply to this post by Mark A Davenport MADAVENP

I have 15 with Vista hotfix running - trouble getting it licensed - but that
is done now
too (manually) - expect it to be working normally - but still using 14 on my
older XP box for 99%
of my work - so cant honestly tell you if there are any problems - haven't
seen any yet

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-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
Mark Davenport
Sent: August 22, 2007 6:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Vista and SPSS

I know there have been issues with 15 vista. Can anyone elaborate on
whether or not there is a patch to make 15 work with vista? Have folks been
able to work around 15 on vista?

Any comments are welcome, you can respond privately. I am not try to get
15 to work currnetly. But was thinking about it.

Mark

Pushpender Nath

Re: Vista and SPSS

In reply to this post by Mark A Davenport MADAVENP

But someonw known to me is using SPSS 13 on VISTA. I dont konw how?

On 8/23/07, Mark Davenport <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> I know there have been issues with 15 vista. Can anyone elaborate on
> whether or not there is a patch to make 15 work with vista? Have folks
> been able to work around 15 on vista?
>
> Any comments are welcome, you can respond privately. I am not try to get
> 15 to work currnetly. But was thinking about it.
>
> Mark
>

--
Regards

Pushpender Nath

Lemon, John S.

Re: Vista and SPSS

We have SPSS 15 running on a number of Vista machines with no obvious problems. There is the little 'nuisance' which causes Vista to switch display modes on starting and stopping SPSS but it is liveable with !!

The other thing to note is that if you are doing a 'clean' install on a Vista machine then you need to install SPSS first and then either licence for the 14 day trial period using the 'trial licence' file. Run the Vista hotfix, don't try and do a full licence before running this as it won't work. Once the hotfix is complete then you can licence and add all the patches.

I have created a set of instructions for our students and they seem to be managing so it seems to work OK.

Best Wishes

John S. Lemon
Student Liaison Officer
Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) - University of Aberdeen
Edward Wright Building: Room G51
Tel: +44 1224 273350
Fax: +44 1224 273372

Laflamme, David

Re: Vista and SPSS

In reply to this post by Mark A Davenport MADAVENP

Mark,

I have been using SPSS 15.0.1 on Vista since the beginning of June.
Other than the issue below which is not specific to Vista, I have had no
problems. I originally thought the issue below was a Vista problem, but
later learned from SPSS that it is not operating system specific (e.g.
affects WinXP too).

I found what I consider to be a serious bug, however SPSS has told me
that they do not intend to fix it in the current version. Their term
below is "inconvenience". I believe version 16 isn't due out until the
3rd quarter of this year. I was very disappointed, of course. Even
more disappointing is that the bug appears not to have been publicized.
The SPSS tech I spoke with told me that one other person had reported
the problem -- so they were aware of it already. His message to me is
below. I did express my disappointment to the tech on the phone.

I sent a message (first message pasted below) to the person who manages
the SPSS license at my university, who then sent it out to all of our
SPSS users. Fortunately, there is a workaround -- unfortunately, it is
not a workaround that can be implemented automatically. Rather, it
relies on the user to remember to take action frequently.

**Here is the issue and workaround: After deleting a variable, you must
save/cache the dataset. If you don't, then when another variable is
created, any missing values in the new variable are populated with
whatever values used to be in the now deleted variable. Not always easy
to detect unless you're looking for it, so it is very possible that many
SPSS users have unknowingly used faulty data. I had to go back and
check a couple weeks worth of work.

I am considering moving to SAS because of the handling of this issue.

I was not a member of this list when I discovered this, or would have
shared it at that time. Also, it is possible that SPSS has since fixed
the bug but not notified me -- though again, their stated intention was
not to fix it in the current version. I know there are several SPSS
staffers on this list, so perhaps they will chime in. I would be happy
to learn that the info I received was incorrect!

-David

>>>>6/20/07
I identified what I think is a pretty serious bug in SPSS yesterday.
The SPSS tech support person was able to replicate it while I was on the
phone with him. He later sent me the email below. It looks like the
bottom line is that SPSS has no intention of issuing a patch. Instead,
they will wait until version 16 is released. At the very least, I would
expect them to notify their customers. The ramifications are not
insignificant. I will need to go back and recheck several analyses I've
done using version 15.0.1. I think it may be worth sending out a note
to all SPSS users. There is a workaround, but if you don't know about
the problem/solution you could end up with faulty data. That is what
happened to me. Fortunately, I did a little detective work and got lucky
and found the bug.

The summary below is from another SPSS client who originally found the
bug. I can describe how you can replicate it on your machine if you
want.

Anyway, I just thought I should let you know in case you want to let the
other UNH SPSS users know about the problem. Someone who intends to
publish results compiled using SPSS version 15.0.1 would probably want
to recheck their work.

>>>>>
From: SPSS Support [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 5:27 PM
To: Laflamme, David
Subject: SPSS CaseID : DED/501861 - Strange behaviour with duplicating
values

David,
A quick update here - before submitting this to development, I ran
this issue by a colleauge, who informed me that he's already submitted
it! It's fixed in 16.0, and I ran your data and syntax through a 16
beta, to confirm that I can't replicate the problem there. Looks like
someone else got to this one before we did.

Problem Summary:
Deleting a variable may cause subsequent transformations to be incorrect

Problem Description:
I'm using SPSS for Windows version 15.0.1 and I compute a new variable
in a dataset, for instance:

COMPUTE z = x + y

where 'x' and 'y' are existing variables. I then delete 'z' by either
right-clicking on it and selecting Clear or via a DELETE VARIABLES
command. I then run something like this:

IF (gender = 1) a = 1.

The variable 'a' now holds the same position in the dataset that 'z'
used to. And any cell of 'a' not populated with a 1 is populated with
data that had been in 'z' before it was "deleted".

It appears 'z' wasn't really deleted.

This problem did not occur in 15.0.0 or earlier. What is wrong?

Resolution Description:
This appears to be a defect and has been reported to SPSS development
for remediation in an upcoming release of SPSS. As a workaround until
the behavior is corrected, please cache your dataset after Clearing a
variable or issuing a DELETE VARIABLES command.

This error has been fixed in SPSS 16.0 for Windows.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Devon Dejno - SPSS Technical Support
[hidden email]
Tel: +1.312.651.3410 Fax: +1.815.304.1804
Have a question for SPSS Technical Support?
Try our resolution search at: http://support.spss.com

Maguin, Eugene

Re: Vista and SPSS

David,

Thank you for reporting this problem. I expect to be getting 15 soon as UB
renews licenses and it always good to know what doesn't work right and won't
be fixed, ever. And, it will be interesting to see if anybody from spss
comments. At the same time, Whether they do or don't doesn't matter because
16, not 15, is the new model. I'd agree that it must be an uncommon command
sequence.

I have this question. If I do this command sequence, does the problem occur?
I'd be appreciative if somebody with 15.0.1 would try it out and report
back.

Let x and y be existing variables. Then,
Compute z=x+y.

Delete z.

Compute a=0.
If (gender eq 1) a=1.
Execute.

Gene Maguin

Kylie Lange-2

Re: Vista and SPSS

In reply to this post by Laflamme, David

Hi David,

I am the SPSS contact for my university and on June 27th I received one of their
'Proactive Notification' emails warning about the issue you raised. The text of
the message was:

====================================
Subject: SPSS Proactive Notification - Deleting variables from dataset may
generate subsequent incorrect results with SPSS 15.0.1 dated November 22, 2006

NOTE: If you are not running SPSS 15.0.1 dated November 22, 2006 - please
disregard this email.

SPSS Technical Support recently detected a problem with SPSS 15.0.1 dated
November 22, 2006. Deleting variables in a dataset may cause data to be
incorrect upon subsequent transformations. This only occurs when variables are
deleted interactively from the user interface or invoking the DELETE VARIABLES
syntax command. This would be apparent when a new variable is generated in the
active dataset.

SPSS is evaluating the most appropriate solution but until it is available, the
workaround would be to cache your dataset after deleting a variable. From the
data editor go to File->Cache Data and choose Cache Now. Via command syntax,
please add the CACHE command following every DELETE VARIABLES command.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS support
team (http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp ).

SPSS apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. We are continually
striving to provide more proactive communication to our clients. However, if
you do not wish to receive further proactive e-mails from SPSS Support, just
reply to this message with REMOVE on the subject line.

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support
====================================

Then, on July 12th another Proactive Notification was sent announcing the
15.0.1.1 patch that fixes the problem:

====================================
Subject: SPSS Proactive Notification - SPSS 15.0.1.1 Patch availability
notice addressing the delete variables issue with SPSS 15.0.1 dated November
22, 2006

SPSS Technical Support announces the availability of the SPSS 15.0.1.1 Patch for
Windows users. This patch will work only for English Windows versions of SPSS
15.0.1.

This patch addresses the issue that was previously announced on June 26, 2007
relating to potential data transformation errors after deleting variables from
your dataset in SPSS 15.0.1. Please see Resolution 70501 for more details. This
patch does not correct previously saved SPSS data files.

For detailed information on the description of this patch, installation
instructions, and downloading go to: http://support.spss.com and click on
"Login to Online Tech Support" then enter your user name and password. Select
the "SPSS" menu link then on "Patches" followed by "SPSS for Windows". If you
have forgotten your user id or password you can use the "Find Password" feature
on our Web site. This can be found at: http://support.spss.com/password.html

We are continually striving to improve our communication to our clients.
However, if you do not wish to receive further proactive e-mails from SPSS
Support, please reply to this message with REMOVE on the subject line.

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support
====================================

It sounds like these notifications don't get distributed to as many users as
they should, but presumably if people aren't receiving them they can contact
Technical Support and request to be added to the distribution list for the
future.

In the meantime, the 15.0.1.1 patch can be downloaded from
http://support.spss.com.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Kylie.

Quoting "Laflamme, David" <[hidden email]>:

> Mark,
>
> I have been using SPSS 15.0.1 on Vista since the beginning of June.
> Other than the issue below which is not specific to Vista, I have had no
> problems. I originally thought the issue below was a Vista problem, but
> later learned from SPSS that it is not operating system specific (e.g.
> affects WinXP too).
>
> I found what I consider to be a serious bug, however SPSS has told me
> that they do not intend to fix it in the current version. Their term
> below is "inconvenience". I believe version 16 isn't due out until the
> 3rd quarter of this year. I was very disappointed, of course. Even
> more disappointing is that the bug appears not to have been publicized.
> The SPSS tech I spoke with told me that one other person had reported
> the problem -- so they were aware of it already. His message to me is
> below. I did express my disappointment to the tech on the phone.
>
> I sent a message (first message pasted below) to the person who manages
> the SPSS license at my university, who then sent it out to all of our
> SPSS users. Fortunately, there is a workaround -- unfortunately, it is
> not a workaround that can be implemented automatically. Rather, it
> relies on the user to remember to take action frequently.
>
> **Here is the issue and workaround: After deleting a variable, you must
> save/cache the dataset. If you don't, then when another variable is
> created, any missing values in the new variable are populated with
> whatever values used to be in the now deleted variable. Not always easy
> to detect unless you're looking for it, so it is very possible that many
> SPSS users have unknowingly used faulty data. I had to go back and
> check a couple weeks worth of work.
>
> I am considering moving to SAS because of the handling of this issue.
>
> I was not a member of this list when I discovered this, or would have
> shared it at that time. Also, it is possible that SPSS has since fixed
> the bug but not notified me -- though again, their stated intention was
> not to fix it in the current version. I know there are several SPSS
> staffers on this list, so perhaps they will chime in. I would be happy
> to learn that the info I received was incorrect!
>
> -David
>
> >>>>6/20/07
> I identified what I think is a pretty serious bug in SPSS yesterday.
> The SPSS tech support person was able to replicate it while I was on the
> phone with him. He later sent me the email below. It looks like the
> bottom line is that SPSS has no intention of issuing a patch. Instead,
> they will wait until version 16 is released. At the very least, I would
> expect them to notify their customers. The ramifications are not
> insignificant. I will need to go back and recheck several analyses I've
> done using version 15.0.1. I think it may be worth sending out a note
> to all SPSS users. There is a workaround, but if you don't know about
> the problem/solution you could end up with faulty data. That is what
> happened to me. Fortunately, I did a little detective work and got lucky
> and found the bug.
>
> The summary below is from another SPSS client who originally found the
> bug. I can describe how you can replicate it on your machine if you
> want.
>
> Anyway, I just thought I should let you know in case you want to let the
> other UNH SPSS users know about the problem. Someone who intends to
> publish results compiled using SPSS version 15.0.1 would probably want
> to recheck their work.
>
> >>>>>
> From: SPSS Support [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 5:27 PM
> To: Laflamme, David
> Subject: SPSS CaseID : DED/501861 - Strange behaviour with duplicating
> values
>
> David,
> A quick update here - before submitting this to development, I ran
> this issue by a colleauge, who informed me that he's already submitted
> it! It's fixed in 16.0, and I ran your data and syntax through a 16
> beta, to confirm that I can't replicate the problem there. Looks like
> someone else got to this one before we did.
>
> Problem Summary:
> Deleting a variable may cause subsequent transformations to be incorrect
>
> Problem Description:
> I'm using SPSS for Windows version 15.0.1 and I compute a new variable
> in a dataset, for instance:
>
> COMPUTE z = x + y
>
> where 'x' and 'y' are existing variables. I then delete 'z' by either
> right-clicking on it and selecting Clear or via a DELETE VARIABLES
> command. I then run something like this:
>
> IF (gender = 1) a = 1.
>
> The variable 'a' now holds the same position in the dataset that 'z'
> used to. And any cell of 'a' not populated with a 1 is populated with
> data that had been in 'z' before it was "deleted".
>
> It appears 'z' wasn't really deleted.
>
> This problem did not occur in 15.0.0 or earlier. What is wrong?
>
>
> Resolution Description:
> This appears to be a defect and has been reported to SPSS development
> for remediation in an upcoming release of SPSS. As a workaround until
> the behavior is corrected, please cache your dataset after Clearing a
> variable or issuing a DELETE VARIABLES command.
>
> This error has been fixed in SPSS 16.0 for Windows.
>
> We apologize for the inconvenience.
>
> Devon Dejno - SPSS Technical Support
> [hidden email]
> Tel: +1.312.651.3410 Fax: +1.815.304.1804
> Have a question for SPSS Technical Support?
> Try our resolution search at: http://support.spss.com
>

Mark A Davenport MADAVENP

Re: Vista and SPSS

I don't recall ever receiving this notice. And I am a beta tester.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Mark A. Davenport Ph.D.
Senior Research Analyst
Office of Institutional Research
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
336.256.0395
[hidden email]

'An approximate answer to the right question is worth a good deal more
than an exact answer to an approximate question.' --a paraphrase of J. W.
Tukey (1962)

Kylie Lange <[hidden email]>
Sent by: "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <[hidden email]>
08/30/2007 10:56 AM
Please respond to
[hidden email]

To
[hidden email]
cc

Subject
Re: Vista and SPSS

Hi David,

I am the SPSS contact for my university and on June 27th I received one of
their
'Proactive Notification' emails warning about the issue you raised. The
text of
the message was:

====================================
Subject: SPSS Proactive Notification - Deleting variables from
dataset may
generate subsequent incorrect results with SPSS 15.0.1 dated November 22,
2006

NOTE: If you are not running SPSS 15.0.1 dated November 22, 2006 - please
disregard this email.

SPSS Technical Support recently detected a problem with SPSS 15.0.1 dated
November 22, 2006. Deleting variables in a dataset may cause data to be
incorrect upon subsequent transformations. This only occurs when
variables are
deleted interactively from the user interface or invoking the DELETE
VARIABLES
syntax command. This would be apparent when a new variable is generated
in the
active dataset.

SPSS is evaluating the most appropriate solution but until it is
available, the
workaround would be to cache your dataset after deleting a variable. From
the
data editor go to File->Cache Data and choose Cache Now. Via command
syntax,
please add the CACHE command following every DELETE VARIABLES command.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS
support
team (http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp ).

SPSS apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. We are continually
striving to provide more proactive communication to our clients. However,
if
you do not wish to receive further proactive e-mails from SPSS Support,
just
reply to this message with REMOVE on the subject line.

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support
====================================

Then, on July 12th another Proactive Notification was sent announcing the
15.0.1.1 patch that fixes the problem:

====================================
Subject: SPSS Proactive Notification - SPSS 15.0.1.1 Patch
availability
notice addressing the delete variables issue with SPSS 15.0.1 dated
November
22, 2006

SPSS Technical Support announces the availability of the SPSS 15.0.1.1
Patch for
Windows users. This patch will work only for English Windows versions of
SPSS
15.0.1.

This patch addresses the issue that was previously announced on June 26,
2007
relating to potential data transformation errors after deleting variables
from
your dataset in SPSS 15.0.1. Please see Resolution 70501 for more details.
This
patch does not correct previously saved SPSS data files.

For detailed information on the description of this patch, installation
instructions, and downloading go to: http://support.spss.com and click on
"Login to Online Tech Support" then enter your user name and password.
Select
the "SPSS" menu link then on "Patches" followed by "SPSS for Windows". If
you
have forgotten your user id or password you can use the "Find Password"
feature
on our Web site. This can be found at:
http://support.spss.com/password.html

We are continually striving to improve our communication to our clients.
However, if you do not wish to receive further proactive e-mails from SPSS
Support, please reply to this message with REMOVE on the subject line.

Thank you,
SPSS Technical Support
====================================

It sounds like these notifications don't get distributed to as many users
as
they should, but presumably if people aren't receiving them they can
contact
Technical Support and request to be added to the distribution list for the
future.

In the meantime, the 15.0.1.1 patch can be downloaded from
http://support.spss.com.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Kylie.

Quoting "Laflamme, David" <[hidden email]>: