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.
I am impressed that all three of you have managed to install TurboTax on a Windows 7 machine. swinokur's solution is quite simple and elegant. Had I known this a couple of weeks ago, I would have probably kept my Windows 7 Home Premium OS!
However, I could not resolve the State return issue last year and had to resort to a Windows 10 machine to complete it. Further, many software vendors, including security providers, are no longer supporting Windows 7. As a result, I decided to upgrade my OS to Windows 10 this year, even though my laptop manufacturer's "Tech Support" gurus claimed that it was not "upgradable" at all, by managing to:
The entire process took many hours to complete, but the results are impressive. My laptop has a new life, is quite fast now, and installing TurboTax 2022 was quite simple and fast!
This might be too late for most of you this year. But, I recommend that you all consider this alternative for your 2023 returns. Meanwhile, I wish you all fast tax-returns filing and sizable refunds!
Good luck!
Wiz