The wizard finished. Artie rebooted his PC—no skipping this step. After restart, he launched Peachtree from the Start Menu. A Product Activation window appeared. He clicked Activate Now (internet connection required). Ten seconds later: “Activation Successful.”
“There,” he said, sipping his now-cold coffee. “Let’s hope I never need to do that again.” Peachtree 2010 is nearly 15 years old. It was designed for Windows 7 / Vista / XP . It will likely fail or be unstable on Windows 10 or 11. Also, its activation servers may be offline, so you’d need a phone activation or crack—neither of which is recommended for legitimate business use. Consider upgrading to a modern version (now called Sage 50).
Artie labeled the two CDs with a marker: Peachtree 2010 — Installed Oct 12, 2010 on Win7 . He stored them in a fireproof safe, along with a printed copy of the serial number and a PDF of the activation email. how to install peachtree accounting software 2010
After the files copied, a second installer launched: Peachtree 2010 Service Release 1 . “Always,” Artie sighed. This required no CD. It patched the database engine and fixed a payroll tax table bug from April 2010. He let it run.
He opened the program, created a test company called “Test Testington,” and posted a dummy $1 journal entry. It worked. The wizard finished
He inserted Disc 1 . The drive whirred. AutoPlay didn’t pop up. No panic. He opened Computer , right-clicked the CD drive, and chose Open . Inside, he double-clicked Setup.exe .
In the autumn of 2010, old-school accountant Arthur “Artie” Ledger finally decided to upgrade from his green-screen DOS program. His new computer ran Windows 7, and on his desk sat a shiny box: . A Product Activation window appeared
A blue splash screen appeared: Peachtree Accounting — Installation Wizard .
The wizard asked for the Serial Number . Artie typed it carefully, then his Name (“Arthur Ledger”), Company (“Ledger & Co.”), and the 25-digit Product Key from the yellow card. He triple-checked it. One wrong digit meant starting over.
Artie was methodical. He knew software could be temperamental. So he brewed a pot of coffee, closed his email, and began.
Artie first checked the box. Inside were three things: a CD-ROM labeled Installation Disc 1 , a second CD labeled Disc 2 , and a yellow card with a 22-character serial number: PCH-2010-XXXX-XXXX . He ran Windows Update first. “Always patch the house before moving in the furniture,” he muttered. Then he disabled his antivirus temporarily—he’d learned in 2003 that Norton hated Peachtree installers.