AppleWin 1.21 stopped working on Windows 7?

[Hot Rod]

Hi,

I went to start AppleWin 1.21 on a PC running Windows 7, and after I get a Windows warning dialog about being from an unverified publisher, I click Run, and I get.... nothing. This was working at least two weeks ago (when I last ran it on that PC).

I downloaded and tried 1.22 and got the same behavior.

I tried the copy of 1.20 I still had on the PC, and it works fine.

So then I went to another PC where I had both 1.21 and 1.20 installed, and I get the same result. 1.21 no longer starts, but 1.20 works fine.

There have been some Windows updates installed on both PCs (the ones that come in via automatic updates).

Has anyone else encountered this? More importantly, has anyone resolved it?

Thanks.

]HR

[David Schmidt]

On 3/6/2013 9:55 AM, Hot Rod wrote:
> Has anyone else encountered this? More importantly, has anyone resolved it?

Hmmm, I'm running 64-bit Windows 7 and 1.22 is working fine for me.
Does it make a difference if you set the program to run as administrator
or whatever other chicanery one does in Windows to enable you to get
control back of your own programs' destinies?

[larry...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 8:55:42 AM UTC-6, Hot Rod wrote:
> Hi, I went to start AppleWin 1.21 on a PC running Windows 7, and after I get a Windows warning dialog about being from an unverified publisher, I click Run, and I get.... nothing. This was working at least two weeks ago (when I last ran it on that PC). I downloaded and tried 1.22 and got the same behavior. I tried the copy of 1.20 I still had on the PC, and it works fine. So then I went to another PC where I had both 1.21 and 1.20 installed, and I get the same result. 1.21 no longer starts, but 1.20 works fine. There have been some Windows updates installed on both PCs (the ones that come in via automatic updates). Has anyone else encountered this? More importantly, has anyone resolved it? Thanks. ]HR

This is a stretch but by any chance have you changed the configuration of your displays recently? Like adding/removing a second display or video cable? Check task manager to see if Applewin is running even though you can't see it. You may have to verify your display settings to make sure you are viewing the primary display. Win 7 has an active display detection running in the background. I've had programs decide to run on a display that isn't viewable.

[Hot Rod]

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 8:55:42 AM UTC-6, Hot Rod wrote:

I tried running it as Admin, and same thing - just doesn't start. I even watched the Task Manager while starting it, and it never appears in the Application list. When I run 1.20, it shows up there (and runs too).

So I don't think it's running but not able to be seen (and I haven't changed anything on the computer lately either).

Now, on the second PC where 1.21 isn't working, I deleted it, then unzipped it again (so it has a fresh setup), and still doesn't work. But, I also downloaded 1.22 to this PC, and it actually runs! So that's good.

But I had downloaded 1.22 on the first PC, and it doesn't start/run there (like 1.21 doesn't). Yet the 1.20 works fine on both PCs.

Is there a log file somewhere to see any type of exit code?

Thanks for the suggestions so far. At least I still have a copy that works, but it bugs me that 1.21 stopped working "just like that" (and 1.22 won't run on the other PC).

[larry...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 12:22:57 PM UTC-6, Hot Rod wrote:
> On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 8:55:42 AM UTC-6, Hot Rod wrote: > Hi, > > > > I went to start AppleWin 1.21 on a PC running Windows 7, and after I get a Windows warning dialog about being from an unverified publisher, I click Run, and I get.... nothing. This was working at least two weeks ago (when I last ran it on that PC). > > > > I downloaded and tried 1.22 and got the same behavior. > > > > I tried the copy of 1.20 I still had on the PC, and it works fine. > > > > So then I went to another PC where I had both 1.21 and 1.20 installed, and I get the same result. 1.21 no longer starts, but 1.20 works fine. > > > > There have been some Windows updates installed on both PCs (the ones that come in via automatic updates). > > > > Has anyone else encountered this? More importantly, has anyone resolved it? > > > > Thanks. > > > > ]HR I tried running it as Admin, and same thing - just doesn't start. I even watched the Task Manager while starting it, and it never appears in the Application list. When I run 1.20, it shows up there (and runs too). So I don't think it's running but not able to be seen (and I haven't changed anything on the computer lately either). Now, on the second PC where 1.21 isn't working, I deleted it, then unzipped it again (so it has a fresh setup), and still doesn't work. But, I also downloaded 1.22 to this PC, and it actually runs! So that's good. But I had downloaded 1.22 on the first PC, and it doesn't start/run there (like 1.21 doesn't). Yet the 1.20 works fine on both PCs. Is there a log file somewhere to see any type of exit code? Thanks for the suggestions so far. At least I still have a copy that works, but it bugs me that 1.21 stopped working "just like that" (and 1.22 won't run on the other PC).

go into computer management > system tools > event viewer > windows logs then view application and system logs for any warnings or errors during the time frame you run the application. Most of the time it doesn't report much unless it's serious.

[Hot Rod]

Thanks. I trolled through as many of the Windows event and application logs as I could, and didn't see any hints.

Hmmm.

This is 64-bit Windows 7 Pro

[TomCh]

On Friday, 8 March 2013 01:00:12 UTC, Hot Rod wrote:
> Thanks. I trolled through as many of the Windows event and application logs as I could, and didn't see any hints.
>
>
>
> Hmmm.
>
>
>
> This is 64-bit Windows 7 Pro

The main change from 1.20 to 1.21 was for the configuration (via the Property Sheets). It was a fairly hefty refactor (under the hood). I just wonder if there's either some stale (or broken) Registry entry which is tripping this newer version up.

Have you tried the DELREG.INF that comes in the AppleWin.zip?
This is effectively the "uninstall" for AppleWin, and delete the Registry entries (it's the same .inf for all version of AppleWin). Try it, then try re-running AppleWin 1.21.

Tom

[Hot Rod]

I right-clicked on the DELREG.INF file and ran Install, then I tried running AppleWin again. I still get the same behavior - it doesn't start. Version 1.20 still does though. But 1.21 and 1.22 do not.

Are there more 'cleanup' steps to do first?

[TomCh]

Can you check that after "Installing" DELREG.INF, that the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppleWin node in the Registry has been deleted?

I'm just thinking that maybe this is a UAC (User Access Control) issue, since it sounds like your Win7 account doesn't have admin privileges (not that it should need them for running AppleWin).

btw. I used DELREG.INF, and on restarting then quitting AppleWin, the Registry's AppleWin\Preferences:"Window Y-Position" had a value of -1. This doesn't seem to be a problem, but I have fixed it in the latest code base.

Tom

[Hot Rod]

On Saturday, March 16, 2013 9:02:12 AM UTC-5, TomCh wrote:
>
> Can you check that after "Installing" DELREG.INF, that the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppleWin node in the Registry has been deleted?
>
>
>
> I'm just thinking that maybe this is a UAC (User Access Control) issue, since it sounds like your Win7 account doesn't have admin privileges (not that it should need them for running AppleWin).
>
>
>
> btw. I used DELREG.INF, and on restarting then quitting AppleWin, the Registry's AppleWin\Preferences:"Window Y-Position" had a value of -1. This doesn't seem to be a problem, but I have fixed it in the latest code base.
>
>
>
> Tom

Yes, after installing the DELREG.INF, there is no longer an entry for AppleWin.

Then, just to be careful, I ran AppleWin 1.22 as admin when I tried starting it for the first time after DELREG.INF, but it still won't start. I re-checked the registry, and AppleWin now has an entry. I can still run 1.20 just fine though.

[Hot Rod]

Just thought I'd post one bit of closure to this mystery. After much terrific work by Tom, he narrowed it down to one particular point in the startup sequence (which I'll defer to him for explanation), but in the process, he provided some test code which just happened to trigger a pop-up message on my computer about blocking the program - yes, the trouble was ultimately due to anti-virus software being unhappy about something. I wasn't getting this pop-up message whenever I started AppleWin, but this small test program prompted it the first time it ran. That led to discovery of it having blocked all versions of AppleWin from 1.21 on (including several test builds Tom provided).

Long story short, AppleWin wasn't running because this software called Constant Guard Protection Suite was blocking it. I found an option in it to manually allow AppleWin to run (override the 'blocked' setting), and all is well again.

Since AppleWin *had* been running fine before, I can only assume that an update in either Windows and/or this anti-virus software combined to interpret things differently when AppleWin started.

Whew!

[Bill Buckels]

"Hot Rod" <hotrod...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Long story short, AppleWin wasn't running because this software called
> Constant Guard Protection Suite was blocking it.

Don't feel too badly... I have been on Tom's case quite abit lately about
blaming AppleWin for some stuff about lo-res colors and the AppleWin
debugger that turns-out to be my problem or a problem with my Windows
Session. As we AppleWin users work together through these problems, whether
they are ours or AppleWin's, we accumulate a knowledge base.

I have followed your thread from the start and so have other folks. I have
Windows 7 on 2 computers here and Windows XP on my big-a** super-tower and I
test between them... your experience is certainly in my knowledge base now
as well.

What I already knew about Tom is that he is patient... excellent man to lead
his project... whereas I am about a subtle as a baseball bat...

Anyway, thanks for sharing your happy ending.

AppleWin Rocks!

Bill

[TomCh]

Thanks for following up on this group. I have written this bug up here:
https://developer.berlios.de/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=18976&group_id=6117

From the AppleWin logs that Hot Rod was sending me, AppleWin was always terminating after calling (but never returning from) DirectInput's Acquire() method.

I don't know how this AV s/w is working - maybe it's nothing to do with the DirectInput call. Some ideas that come to mind:

1) Maybe there's a watchdog process (part of the AV s/w) that gets notified when all user processes are started. If the process is on the blocked list, then it terminates it. Could the timing of this termination be so precise that it always occurs during DirectInput's Acquire() call? I doubt it.

2) If not this, then maybe the AV s/w has hooked something that Acquire() calls (some external access, eg. to the Registry), and at this point it detects that that AppleWin is blacklisted, so terminates it.

But why is AppleWin even being put onto this AV blocked-list? Probably some heuristic in the AV s/w thinks it's detecting some suspicious behaviour from AppleWin. I am running AV s/w on my dev machines (but not this particular AV s/w), but AppleWin is never being blocked on these machines.

Thankfully Hot Rod and I managed to get to the bottom of it. One to add to the troubleshooting section of the documentation.

Tom

[TomCh]

On Tuesday, 2 April 2013 13:45:24 UTC+1, Bill Buckels wrote:

Yep, I'm gradually working through those issues & requests.

(btw. I followed up about the Screen Mode info, here: https://developer.berlios.de/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=18955&group_id=6117)

Thanks,
Tom

[Moose]

On Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:02:12 AM UTC+10, TomCh wrote:
> I'm just thinking that maybe this is a UAC (User Access Control) issue, since it sounds like your Win7 account doesn't have admin privileges (not that it should need them for running AppleWin).

Yes it does need admin privileges. Under Windows 7 Pro (64 bit), to associate DSK, DO, PO, etc files with AppleWin, you need to be logged in as administrator.

I still haven't worked out why double clicking a DSK, etc file opens AppleWin but with no disk in the drive. The DSK is associated with AppleWin, because AppleWin runs when I double click the DSK, but AppleWin does not recognise or pick-up the DSK file and load it into D1.

This same behaviour happens with every version of AppleWin I have tried from v10 (ancient) until the latest v1.23.0.0.

Anyone got any ideas ?

Moose

[TomCh]

No ideas yet, but this bug has already been logged (30th Aug 2010):
https://developer.berlios.de/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=17479&group_id=6117

I'll add a comment (to this bug) with your info too.

Tom

[Moose]

On Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:46:34 AM UTC+10, TomCh wrote:
> I'll add a comment (to this bug) with your info too.

Thanks Tom. I'm happy to do any testing / checking to help with this.