Run the TurboTax installer until the error dialog pops up. Click the close button since you can't go any further. Now press WinKey-R and type %TEMP% to go to the temporary folder. Copy the ckz_XXXX folder to the desktop. Select the Setup.exe file and press CTRL-C then CTRL-V to make a copy/backup.
Now use radare as follows:
Command | Description |
---|---|
r2 -A -w SetUp.exe | analyze and allow writing (thanks to @SureshotM6) |
axt str.CurrentVersion | look for references to this string |
s fcn.0041cc60 | seek to the function's location that was found in the previous command |
VV | Use visual mode |
p | optionally show addresses |
x | jump to xref |
l | seek to ref/xref |
( | reverse the opcode |
exit from visual mode | |
q | quit radare |
Now you can click on "Setup.exe" and install without error. (Note that the Verified publisher says "unknown" even though we only changed one byte.)
Paste these commands into a regular terminal window:
cd %TEMP%
cd ckz_XXXX
powershell
Now paste these command into a powershell window:
$bytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("Setup.exe")
$offset = 120746
$bytes[$offset] = 0x75
[System.IO.File]::WriteAllBytes("Setup.exe", $bytes)
exit
Open the Setup.exe file and at offset 0x0001d7aa change the 74 to 75. Save it and you are done. Remember this offset only works with the version of TurboTax Deluxe mentioned above. If you have another version, follow the radare instructions above to find the right offset.
DISCLAIMER: This is for educational purposes only. Use TurboTax in Windows 7 at you own risk. It most likely will work just fine, but Intuit doesn't want to support older versions of Windows.
For folks trying to make states install on Windows 7 - the state installer .msi also needs a quick edit to change the OS check.
first, you'll need the Inst Editor: http://www.instedit.com/ - download that, the free version is fine, and install that.
second, you'll need to grab the State MSI. For me it was in:
C:\ProgramData\Intuit\Common\Update Service\v4\Data\e02ec8e6200f4bf9af32572fea31f457\C\C-wcaiperStateIS\022.000.0115_msi\v1\F\wcaiperStateIS.msi
(note that the "CA" in the file name "wcaiper" refers to the state abbreviation, so if you're elsewhere, the name will be different)
Open your state .msi with InstEd
In the Tables tab, find Launch Condition:
Double Click on VersionNT>=603 and change it to VersionNT>=601
Save the .msi, run the .msi - and you'll get install dialogues, etc.