Lee B

Just a clarification, these are not automatic updates. They are optional (noncritical) updates, which you have to select. If you're in IE, click on Windows Updates, which will take you to the Windows update site, then click on Custom, then click on your operating sytem, then a list of optional updates will display from which you can select the updates(4.0) or upgrade (4.50) depending on your OS. Just to be fair, several posters on the ATX board this morning saw no improvement, but it sounded like they had major problems before they tried this.

This is for both servers and standalone computers. The first time we installed the ATX program part on the installation was the installation of Microsoft.NET 4.0 which is required to run ATX. Microsoft.NET 4.50, which was released in August 2012, will run on Server 2008 and Windows 7. Therefore if you are on Server 2003 or XP standalone, you can download and install the optional (noncritical) updates for .NET 4.0 from the Microsoft update site (It took me about 45 minutes). If you are on Server 2008 or Windows 7 standalone, then you can upgrade to Microsoft.NET 4.50, plus there are several small additional security updates that will be required. For more detailed info, there are several pages of posts with explicit instructions on the ATX Board.

I have finished downloading and installing the noncritical (optional ) updates to .NET 4.0 on my XP standalone with 2 G of RAM. First let me say that I wasn't having many problems, just a bit slow. After installing these updates, the second and subsequent times I open the ATX 2012 program, it's loading in about 30 seconds compared to over 60 seconds before. The time to open clients returns is the same 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after. The Print Manager seems to load quicker and I wasn't having any printing problems before. A funny side benefit is that my 2011 program now loads in 10 seconds compared to over 40 seconds before

The IT person on the ATX board has reported back that the upgrade to .NET 4.50 on his clients Windows 7 NetWork was smooth and troublefree. The tax client says, that the increased speed in rollovers and opening returns is like night and day. Another poster that has a Windows 7 Network reports that entering new assets etc is working normally for him for the first time since 12.8.

Followup, ATX is now saying that they do not support .NET 4.50. One of the IT people who regularly posts on the ATX board has installed .NET 4.50 on a clients Windows 7 Network and is testing it. .NET 4.50 is not available for Server 2003 or XP. Since I am on XP I am installing the .NET 4.0 updates that I mentioned in my first post. I have the first two updates installed and the results are favorable.

FWIW Part II - Another poster on the ATX board with a Network of Windows 7 computers reports that after upgrading from .NET 4.0 to .NET 4.50 a noticeable improvement in stability and a significant improvement in overall speed.

FWIW A poster on the ATX board reports that Microsoft has 3 noncritical .Net updates (performance enhancements), which he downloaded and installed resulting in a 50% improvement in the time required to load ATX and the time to open a return.

If you uncheck print packets it's like using last year's Print Manager except that it works better. The only annoying issue is that it wants to print extra Federal Copies to go with each state return, but you only need to uncheck one box to remove those extra copies. I did a forms download the day before the 12.10 update and ever since then my Print Manager has been loading fairly quickly and my returns are printing out as fast as my printer will go without any extra pages. So I regard it as an unqualified improvement over last year.

No Problems. I agree, it's a definite improvement over last year, which was driving me crazy.

A number of users on the other board are reporting these post update problems: 1. After updating, all of the returns checked complete become unchecked. Checking them again is a waste of time, because the program will uncheck them the next time you reopen the program. (ATX is researching the problem.) 2. The cover sheet & letters will not print for a number of users. 3. A number of users report that the "Print Page" icon is grayed out and does not respond. Good Luck,

You may have an older corrupted form, per the ATX board it was a problem earlier this week. i updated my forms yesterday for the first time this week and my data entry seems to be faster and the print manager is loading noticeably faster. Still on 12.9.

On the ATX board feedback is all over the place. Some are reporting no problems, with increased speed. Some people which were previously having lots of problems are still having the same problems. One new problem being reported by a number of users is that updating to 12.10 is unchecking all of the returns checked completed. A few users are now totally dead in the water. Since I am currently running troublefree, just slower, I think I will hold off on updating for a while.

ATX has posted that you can stay at the version you're at i.e. 12.8 or 12.9. They will not make updating mandatory for efiling.

Jack, FYI Microsoft is still supporting XP. I get still updates regularly, until spring 2014 I believe

You need the to read the IRS PUB info about agriculture. This is very similar to planting a vineyard, which is a capital asset or the capitalization of brood mares or christmas trees etc etc. If you're not familiar with this area of taxation, you will either need to spend some time reading and researching all the special rules in this area or you need to pass this return on to a preparer that knows this area. It would be a big mistake to do this return quickly, because with all the spcial rules you could screw up badly.

I copied the ATX Blog about the next update, since it's so big, plus they're adding several new functions. It has the potential to either fix a lot of problems or make giant mess??? Frankly, I'm hoping it works! Update 2/26 2:30 PM EST: We are in the process of completing a new Release Candidate (RC) that incorporates some items that are shared between ATX 2012 and FAM. We will be spending the rest of today and tomorrow regression testing these changes. This changes our target release date from Wednesday, Feb 27th to the morning of Feb 28th. As a reminder, we will be posting the 12.10 update to the Solution Center. It will not be placed on Automatic Update. This will allow our network users to download and install the 12.10 update following the instructions below. Reminder Information for Network Users Install version 12.10 on the server first. Make sure all other workstations are logged out of ATX 2012 before installing the update to the server. This will prevent files from being locked during the update process. You MUST run netsetup.exe on all workstations Following the steps outline above ensures the registry entries are the same for all workstations, which will also ensure that all your fixed asset data is stored in the proper data directories. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update 2/26 1:00 PM EST: Below are some more detail around the stability and performance improvements that are resolved with the 12.10 program update. Stability Improvements The stability improvements will not resolve all crashes, but significantly decreases and in some instances eliminates them in the follow situations: When the application is attempting to lock resources (lock files) Several crashes identified during the loading or editing of the Client Letter Showing Print Packets Printing to PDF Crashes when opening returns caused by a corrupt form master. See Re-download forms in marked returns for more details Restoring an entry Inserting a note on a detail sheet Using return filters Displaying forms that have a particular kind of bar code Forms containing inserted texts or images Viewing the billing form Cancelling return delete and then selecting Return Manager Printing a state/local form Deleting a row on a statement where there is a single row Application crashes that are preventing application start up Performance/Memory Improvements Increase memory limit before seeing the "Low Resource" message when opening up to three returns at one time Fixed excess memory utilization when adding/modifying fixed assets Fixed excess memory utilization when modifying records in a detail data grid Update 2/22 12:20 PM EST: We will be adding a new menu option to Support>Customer Service Utilities titled Refresh Application Configuration. This will allow user to get updated e-file rules if they need them before the system auto-updates to them or if there is an issue with the system getting the update e-file rules. Update 2/22 9:30 AM EST: We will be building a new release candidate today for 12.10 to go through our testing cycle. Our original target date of Tuesday, February 26th has been moved to Wednesday, February 27th. It will be placed on the Solution Center first. (Added 2/22): Restoring the ability to have up to 3 returns open at a time. We made changes in 12.8/12.9 to prevent memory allocation crashes with up to 3 returns open. We set the limit too low which is generating a "Low memory" error and not allowing most people to open more than 1 return at at time. Original Post Below are some items that are planned to be released and/or corrected with the ATX 2012 Program Update 12.10. Please note that this is not an all-inclusive list. It will be placed on the Solution Center first Important Information for Network Users Install version 12.10 on the server first. Make sure all other workstations are logged out of ATX 2012 before installing the update to the server. This will prevent files from being locked during the update process. You MUST run netsetup.exe on all workstations Following the steps outline above ensures the registry entries are the same for all workstations, which will also ensure that all your fixed asset data is stored in the proper data directories. Performance and Stability Improvements Our work in the area of program performance and stability continues. This release includes more improvements in these two areas. New Functionality Re-download forms in marked returns: This allows you to mark one or more returns in Return Manager and re-download the updated versions of the forms used in those returns. Client Letter: You can rename the Blank customer template, or edit the federal return Cover Sheet. Resolved Issues 1065 K-1 values are now being updated correctly. The fields marked as estimates on the 1099-R Input sheet can now be unmarked so that e-filing can proceed. By selecting the Complete check box, the current date will be properly posted in the Paid preparer section of the return. Printer properties are now being saved properly The Fix Rejected Bank Apps function has been repaired. Fixed Asset Issues Resolved Depreciation recapture calculation has been corrected to read the current year business use percent as it is being edited. Form 8865 (w/other) was added to the list of available activities for federal signature

I just finished reading the ATX blog. 12.10 now delayed to Thursday morning. They are adding several interesting functions, if they really work. 1. A selection under the Support Menu to refesh your efile rules file (Corruption of this file has been a big problem). 2. A selection under the Return Manager to replace the forms in any selected client return with the most current versions (If this works it will make it much easier to recover from corrupted form problems.) 3. A fairly lengthy list of performance & stability improvements. Film at 11:00 February 28, 2013.

I demoed ITO last month. It seems useable, a bit slow, a little clunky, interview based, not really my cup of tea.

I seen several posts from tech people that were highly critical of this program because they said it was making changes to the windows registry. It sounds like they were correct. What left for you, reinstall Windows ???

I am running with minor problems, just a bit slower than last year. So, I agree with jainen.

This is probably a stretch, but I have noticed that in certain address fields this year, special characters are not accepted where last year they were OK, for example the use of the #.

I'm using an older XP SP3 with only 2 Gig of RAM as a standalone. I waited until after 12.9, before I downloaded the program for the first time because, since I'm a monthly writeup, payroll, & business tax practice, I don't normally start preparing tax returns until about the 20th of February. I can truthfully say that my program opening time is only a bit slower than last year. The client rollover has been fine with one exception. Opening a return for the first time takes about 4 times longer than last year. Then I save the return. When I reopen the return, it takes maybe 10 to 15 seconds longer than last year. When I print, the loading of the print manager takes 2 or 3 times longer than last year, but the actual printing is happening just as fast as the printer can go. I attribute my lack of problems to having a very clean system, minimal stuff running in the background, plus in past years I did not customize anything so my rollovers are very clean. I think anyone who who has been struggling with this program for weeks has accumulated corrupted program files, corrupted forms, and corrupted client files. If you have uninstalled and reinstalled, doing the uninstall through Windows can leave a lot of crud behind waiting to mess up your reinstallation. There have been several posters that have used third party uninstallers so that they can get the cleanest uninstall possible, and as a result had successful reinstalls. I am not saying this program is running well and I am not saying the program doesn't have a lot of bugs. What I am saying is that the program in the right environment is useable, just somewhat slower than last year. My comments only applies to standalone XP systems since that is what I am running. There are a number of posters on the ATX Board running similar sytems to mine with similar results.

ATX has been posting that the software has in some cases been incorrectly responding to false low resource signals, when you try to open more than one return. This may be on their list to fix in 12.10 ???

I would go back to 2011 open up the 2011 return and make sure the return is as clean as possible i.e., no extra forms, no unused entry worksheets such as W-2, 1099, 1098, no unclaimed dependents, delete everything you don't really need then save it. When you do the rollover, do not roll over anything but the basic return, uncheck all of the boxes at the bottom of the rollover screen. It's possible there is some component of your 2011 return that the 2012 program can't convert properly. Good Luck,

This is the scenario: Spouse marries 8 or 9 years ago. Son is born in 2005. Father dies 2008. Spouse receives SS Widow benefits and son receives SS survivor benefits. Spouse remarries 2010, SS Widow benefits stop, Son's SS Survivor benefits continue. In 2011 Son's SS Survivor's continue, it's OK. In 2012 family moves to new address in same city, SS notified of address change. For some unknown reason, SSA starts sending Widow's benefits to the spouse even thought she's remarried. She calls SSA and tells them to stop sending Widow's benefits. Of course it takes several months for the SSA to stop the payments. SSA starts withholding $240 a month for repayment from son's survivor benefits. She receives a 2012 SSA-1099 with her SSN on it for $2,643. Son receives a 2012 SSA-1099 with his SSN on it showing $960 deduction for benefits repaid to SSA in 2012. The remaining overpayment of $1,683 is going to be wihheld from son's survivor benefits during 2013. Should I show $2,643 on line 20a (85% taxable due to family income) and $816 (85% of $960) as an other adjustment on line 32 or should I net $1,683 (2,643 - 960) on line 20a with the remaining 2013 repayment of $1,683 x 85% ( 1,431 ) showing up in 2013 as an other adjustment in order to arrive at AGI? (I didn't see anywhere on the SS worksheet to enter repayments) How would you do it?