Surround SCM and Vista: Shine on

So when running the current version (5.0.4 at time of writing) of Surround SCM on Windows Vista there is a little problem. Instead of seeing this:

you end up getting this:

with a demeaning warning that looks like this:

And, well, that just stinks. If you take away the Aero shininess from Vista all you have left is Windows XP with a lot of Allow or Deny popup boxes. Fear not though, here’s how to fix it.

First, let me explain what is going on. Surround SCM uses a product called Guiffy to do its Diff/Merge functionality and Guiffy is written in Java. (Surround SCM is in C++ for the curious.) When the Surround client starts up it creates a JVM so that when you ask for a diff or a merge Guiffy can launch and do all the crunching. Unfortunately, the current version of Surround ships with JRE 1.4 which apparently gets along with Aero as well as Paris gets along with Nicole.

Essentially, when the JRE 1.4 starts Vista throws up its hands in exasperation, says “This is NOT hot” and switches to basic mode.

To fix this, follow this link to Sun’s Java download page and download the JRE 6u1 for Windows.

Once the magic gnomes of the internet have delivered it to your computer install it and stare at this progress screen for a while. (Or maybe go get a drink or a bagel or a bacon sandwich or something.)

Once it is done installing go the Tools menu of the Surround client and select User Options.

From here you are going to need to change the JRE setting from what it currently is:

to what we want it to be, the new Sun JRE. Your install path may vary, but you get the idea. Then just quit the Surround client, start it up again and ta-da you’re set.