Looking for Software (vaporware?) for Indeterminate beam analysis

[Paver]

Just throwing a line out to see if anyone has suggestions

For years I've been using a beam analysis program called Beam 2D from Orand Systems. This has been a perfectly suited program for my needs (designing concrete formwork and shoring systems). All it does is static beam analysis, but it does it very well and has an extremely good user interface. Unfortunately it seems that the provider, who I think may have been headquartered out of his garage, has retired, died or won the lottery. As a result any distribution and support seems to have vanished.

The issue I'm currently facing is that my I.T. department is replacing my XP machine with an new Windows 7 machine. I think I can run Beam 2D in a compatibility mode but there is one additional issue. One of the "features" of the program is a very unique license management technique. Moving a license from one machine to another requires a carefully choreographed routine of moving a 3.5" floppy disc from the new machine to the old one and back. Again I think I can use a USB flash drive in lieu of a floppy but am not 100% positive. If this works, great, however if not I think I'm dead in the water.

Does anyone have knowledge or experience with another software package that might be a reasonable replacement? The one's I've found are either clumsy to use, wrong (the internet is a scary place), too simple (can't handle indeterminate structures) or complete overkill (i.e. RISA 2D). Of course I could always just break out my green pad and see how good I still am at the Moment Distribution Method but that just seems like a bad idea.

Any thought are appreciated

Thanks

Ken

[PinkertonD]

Hi Ken, and welcome to the forum.

I can't help with the software, but I had a similar issue just recently when migrating over to win7. It is very unlikely you will be able to use a USB-stick for the license transfer as any good self respecting programmer (I have been programming since 1976) will do some tricky stuff with the actual sectors and sector counts or numbering on the floppy.

They will do that so you cannot make copies of the license floppy halfway through the transfer process. So, I got a copy of MSoft's Virtual-PC 2007 (VPC) and installed that. It said I couldn't or shouldn't install for my version if win7, but I ignored that and it installed OK. I then installed w2000-pro from an old long dead PC. I always keep the OS-CDs and hard drives just in case there is some data on them I find I need.

I bought a USB-3.5" drive and then installed the Licensed software. It was all handled very simply and smoothly via VPC and took about an hour, total.

Now, I shut down VPC with the "Save" option while the Licensed software is still running. I have it start full-screen and life goes on smoothly with VPC seemingly not involved.

More ways than one to skin a rabbit...

[JBStructEng]

Although this is an old thread I'm commenting because I am faced with the same dilemma and need to find a new simple eng. software for five seats here in the office... Software-wise, I'm considering enercalc, strucalc, beamchek.. woodworks.. and a new program I was asked to test which actually seems legitimate. Was hoping to fan up this coversation for some constructive feedback.