SAS 9.4 and Windows 11

[mthorne]

I recently started a discussion about difficulty installing SAS 9.4 on a Windows 11 platform. There were a couple comments but none with a solution (even though one was accepted as a solution by accident, somehow). 

After communicating with SAS technical support directly, it was discovered that Windows 11 requires SAS 9.4 to be at least version M7, and the latest version is actually M8. The version I was trying to install was an old M4 version and that is apparently why the install failed.

Moral of the story, if you are using Windows 11, use the proper version of 9.4. 

[SASKiwi · Accepted solution]

Indeed. It's worthwhile remembering that the SAS 9.4 life cycle to date is extremely long, stretching back over 10 years, long before current Windows versions were available. M8 was released in Jan 2024 so will have full support until Jan 2029. The indications are that there will be further maintenance releases beyond M8. 

[Quentin]

Last year some of the big news out of SAS Explore was SAS giving away "I <heart> SAS 9" buttons, and asking users what features want to see in the next SAS 9 release (could be M9, could even be 9.5).  SAS 9 R&D lead Susan Owenby was on the main stage in a bedazzled I <heart> SAS 9 shirt! https://blogs.sas.com/content/sasdummy/2023/09/29/sas-9-and-sas-eg/

SAS Innovate is just a couple months away. I'm looking forward to hearing the SAS 9 news that comes out.

[BarbaraD_SAS]

Slight update to @SASKiwi 's response.  M8 was made available Jan 2023 and will have full support until 2028.
See the announcement: 
SAS 9 4 M8 is now available 

[abyssguard]

Dealing with software compatibility can be quite a journey, but it's great that you were able to find a solution by reaching out to SAS  technical support directly.

[CraeSnolind]

This page is always a good reference to see what support we have and how long it's valid for:

https://support.sas.com/en/technical-support/support-levels.html

As mentioned, latest version of Base SAS, M8, is currently supported fully to February 2028.

After that it will likely move to Limited support, not getting new hotfixes, updates, etc. But will still get limited technical support until completely retired.

[Season]

Thanks for this valuable piece of information. I am using Windows 10 and messages reminding me to update my operating system (OS) to Windows 10 frequently pop up. I am tempted by the interface of the new OS but am alerted by the issue of whether SAS can run on the new OS every time I am about to update the latter. Your message has helped me make up my mind not to update it.