Necaradan's Keep Comments - Brought to you by JoeUser

Zubaz on Question about Object Desktop subscription

Zubaz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

if your subscription runs out before you reenew, do you have to pay the new subscribers price to renew?

No. Past customers always pay the renewal price. How cool is that?

gardenerstouch on Question about Object Desktop subscription

gardenerstouch — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Zubaz... along the same vein, if your subscription runs out before you reenew, do you have to pay the new subscribers price to renew?

Zubaz on Question about Object Desktop subscription

Zubaz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Yep I just sent an email asking for the same as I was out of country while my sub expired and unfortunately I didn't back up.

Good time to renew.

boomturtle on Question about Object Desktop subscription

boomturtle — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Yep I just sent an email asking for the same as I was out of country while my sub expired and unfortunately I didn't back up.

Bichur on Question about Object Desktop subscription

Bichur — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

I believe going straight to the Stardock Support Page and entering your email will get you links to the latest released version you are entitled to

Bebi Bulma on Question about Object Desktop subscription

Bebi Bulma — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

The idea is...you're supposed to archive your applications and then you can restore those once your subscription runs out.

If you email support@stardock.com, they should be able to provide you with a download of the latest version you were able to get when your subscription was active.

Fuzzy Logic on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Fuzzy Logic — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Asus A8N-SLi nForce4 chipset, 2xGeForce 7600GT and 84.21 drivers. I have all the latest betas installed and everything runs as sweet as a nut. Any problems encountered must have another explanation

From a personal point of view Stardock software is some of the most stable and well made software I've bought. I wish Norton was as well made...

cletus23 on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

cletus23 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

So has anyone been able to determine if these problems are caused by incompatibility with certain hardware, such as nVidia products or drivers? Someone mentioned the new DesktopX beta, but I've had very bad experiences with beta releases of other programs, and I'm having a real bad one right now with the approved release of the current object desktop software as it is. I really like the themes and the versatility that this software allows, and I'd hate to have to ditch it without knowing why.

Studibaker on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Studibaker — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

For the people who want to crap on in the forums.....bring your own toilet paper.Stardock make some of the best modding software around.Need help then these forums are the best place to come for advice to fix a problem or 2.Just want to talk crap and crap on things then u best be going to the crapper (toilet).
Verbal happy splash is a curse for some people.
Be nice to Jafo as he can be for advice.

Liandral on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Liandral — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

I appreciate your help Here are the answers that I hope helps..

Video cards...
I did upgrade to the latest whizzbang driver - but found compatibility problems with the last series of display drivers from NVidia so I have reverted back to older - more stable drivers.

Tried 64 - found again, too many programs not yet able to handle 64bit yet so reverted back to 32

As for themes - I am a download hog - I load a large variety of desktop themes, widgets and objects..

Just to add to all of this - after my fiance' rebuilt his PC, I put a trial version of DesktopX on his PC so he could have a rather cool desktop he saw...
It didnt taken him long before he had to uninstall it as he noticed significant instability issues with his System after Desktop X had been loaded.
He also has some of the latest hardware but runs 64..

I would love to track down what is causing this - however I love Stardock products and have pretty much resigned myself to a complete reimage every few months

Bandit4edu on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Bandit4edu — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

well said, Jafo, well said

Jafo on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Jafo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

So is this not the right place?

It's the right place to seek assistance from others...and/or enlightenment.

Generally, however you'll find people tend to leave their 'crapping' for the toilet....

Zubaz on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Zubaz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

In response to cletus23 I came here to crap on the software cause it's Stardock's website and Stardock's forums. In fact as I write this I can see the forum is called -Home/Stadock Support/Object Desktop-. So is this not the right place?

This is a community forum hosted by Wincustomize (funded by Stardock). THe devs and support team often pop in and help out. The official support channel is email (support@stardock.com)or http://stardock.helpserve.com/

Bichur on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Bichur — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

script blocking and firewall can screw with some of SD's products.

cletus23 on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

cletus23 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

This thread is very interesting. I downloaded object desktop and applied the minimus suite. My computer froze half in and half out of the installation and I had to re-boot. Upon re-boot, my computer started acting strangely; hanging, freezing, not responding, and giving all kinds of error messages. So I tried to unload minimus, but it wouldn't do it. I ended up buying another theme and overwriting minimus with the other one. My computer worked fine for a day or so, and then it got so bad that I had to completely restore the entire system back to factory specs. I'm not sure what was going on, but someone in an above thread mentioned possible incompatibility between Stardock products and specific computer hardware. So I will list what I've got below, and hopefully someone will tell me if my problem is a compatibility issue.

By the way, I've been working with the support staff at Stardock on the issues I've been having (although we haven't discussed compatibility issues specifically yet), and I've got to say that the people there are very helpful. They didn't just release a product designed to screw up everyone's computers, so give the support people a try before crapping on the software.

My system has the following: Pentium Extreme 965 (3.73 GHz), Asus P5N32-SLI Deluxe Mobo, nVidia GeForce 7950 graphics card, 2GB DDR2, Soundblaster X-Fi Elite. Also, I've got Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with all Microsoft updates, Norton Internet Security 2006 and Counterspy.

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Liandral... your system specs are very good. In fact, better than mine and many of my colleagues systems. So, narrowing down the problem is not easy. Here are a couple of options:

1. Have you upgraded your video drivers to the most recent release? If so, had you noticed any changes in your system overall?

2. It appears that you are not running the 64bit Windows... am I correct?

3. What objects or themes are you loading in DesktopX?

Finally, I know of many people who have had issues with CursorXP Plus who have a 64 bit processor. There is more recent release of CursorXP Plus that fixes all of the issues. You should check your version number of CursorXP Plus and make sure it is up to date.

Liandral on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Liandral — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Well, from experience with the forums - usually someone asks for that info so I tried to save time - this was the info asked for previously when I posted my issue (on Desktop X) as I gave the system specs right off the bat but that wasnt wanted apparently

Here's what you asked for - let me know if there is any other info you need...

Machine name: VENUS
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: NVIDIA
System Model: AWRDACPI
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 479MB used, 5494MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 6600 PCI-E
Monitor AOC LM925 [NoDB] (14554JA036148)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Realtek ALC850 @ nVIDIA nForce4 (CK8-04) - Audio Codec Interface

Storage:
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce4 Parallel ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ST3200822A (200 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Disk Drive ST3300622AS (300 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109 (DVD+R9:6x, DVD-R9:6x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:40x/24x/40x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS)
T: (NTFS) 142997 MB (123094 MB free)
W: (NTFS) 143167 MB (138934 MB free)
Total Size

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse Microsoft USB Optical Mouse (IntelliPoint)

Network:
Primary IP Address [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Primary MAC Address 00-14-85-05-59-BF
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport (192. [ TRIAL VERSION ])

Peripherals:
FireWire Controller Texas Instruments TSB82AA2 1394B OHCI 1.1+ Compliant Link-Layer Controller (PHY: TI TSB81BA3)
Infrared Controller Infrared Port
USB1 Controller nVIDIA nForce4 (CK8-04) - OHCI USB 1.1 Controller
USB2 Controller nVIDIA nForce4 (CK8-04) - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device

DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor Award Software International, Inc.
DMI BIOS Version F4
DMI System Manufacturer
DMI System Product
DMI System Version
DMI System Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
DMI Motherboard Product GA-K8NF-9
DMI Motherboard Version x.x
DMI Motherboard Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Manufacturer
DMI Chassis Version
DMI Chassis Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Asset Tag [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets 4 / 0

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Liandral... need a bit more information... could you provide your system specification... Processor, Video Card, Memory, etc. By the way, why are you providing a Windowblinds System Report for a DesktopX and CursorXP issue?

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Hi Necaradan:

Thanks for providing your process list. I think I've found a couple of things that are causing the issues you've described. I can not speak for all of the Stardock products that you've listed problems with, partially because some of them are out of date (i.e. Spring Folders, ObjectZip). I know that I can probably help with IconPackager, Windowblinds, IconX, Enhanced Dialog, CursorXP, and WindowFX. So, give me a minute of your time try and narrow down some things:

1. The icon problems you've described is the ICSI Technology Ltd.: Customized Icon and Label process that is running. This would clearly cause issues with IconPackager, IconX, and Enhanced Dialog. Even though you have disabled it (either from the task manager or whatever) the hook is still there that is controlling the icons. IconPackager will not adjust the icons because this other software has already controlled it. I've known many other users of IconPackager who have had issues with icons not getting changed, issues with reseting icons to the default, or the rebuild icon option not working... all because the ICSI Technology process hook has control. This process would need to be removed fully (uninstalled and the service disabled) in order for IconPackager to work correctly. I can also attest to the fact that this process can play havoc with Windowblinds... partially because Windowblinds has the option of applying icons.

2. I still believe that part of the issues you are describing (after consulting a colleague) is that your updated ATI video drivers are causing the crashes. Many people have reported issues with the last two releases with crashes, freezes, slowdowns, etc. when running some programs (not just Stardock). This is not a problem directly related to Stardock; but, incompatibilities with the drivers with specific hardware in your computer. I would suggest backing the updated drivers out and then retry some of the Stardock products (one at a time) to verify how each program is interacting with each other. By the way, the clistart.exe and keystat.exe files are ATI related files.

Liandral on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Liandral — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

I love Stardock products - plus run the WinCustomize Browser and all up, I am one happy camper apart from one main issue that has remained with me right from the very first when I eagerly downloaded the Trial versions....

Desktop X and CursorXPPlus simply screw up my system.

I posted a while back regarding this issue but no one ever could resolve it for me and yes, caches were deleted, programs uninstalled and reinstalled to no avail.
After rebuilding my PC, like the gentleman above, all is well until I download and run Desktop X (winblinds, packager etc have no issues - just Desktop X)

Since I love tinkering with my PC - I've kept installing it (yes I know - duh) but have become extremely good at saving and solving Windows errors

In my experience, after using Desktop X - my system degrades to the point of no return and I face rebuilding or ghosting again

specs below - anyone keen to solve?

WindowBlinds 5.0 System Information Report:

STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+ TRAY+

WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.

WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC

Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.

You have one monitor in total.

(AOC LM925) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce 6600

Wblind.dll 2006/08/15 17:50:10
Wbsrv.dll 2006/08/15 17:50:18
Wbconfig.exe 2006/07/13 18:37:40
Wbload.exe 2006/03/13 17:54:12
Wbhelp.dll 2004/09/18 16:37:00
Wbui.dll 2005/12/06 21:29:06
Tray.dll 2006/04/13 17:29:04

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Well, Dude, just because you deleted all traces of Stardock products and did a restore does not clearly mean that the products was causing your problem. In fact, you MAY be running software on your machine that is conflicting with a specific Stardock product, or your video drivers are still not correct. By the way... I can tell you that MSPaint would not stop running because of Stardock products... none of the products make any changes to the program, its registry settings, etc.

Finally, before deleting all of the products off your machine, had you considered contacting Stardock support? Or providing the information that was requested so that the Stardock admins could help, or even us citizens that have extensive use of their products? I truly believe we could have narrowed down the issues with your computer if you had provided us a clear list of the processes running on your computer. But, instead, you decided to create this thread whining about something that you truly can not substantiate.

You changed your settings in the drop down menu??? In the Enhanced Dialog settings??? Impossible. The settings area of the Enhanced Dialog configuration are checkboxes... It sounds as if you were just clicking on the dropdowns within the standard dialog area. You have to RUN the Enhanced Dialog software (click on run from the Stardock Central is one way) and you can get access to those options.

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Necaradan... just for your reference, my other computer has the same video card that you've identified and I had issues with the most recent release of the drivers. I went back two versions and have had no other issues. But, it must be noted that the drivers not only affected Stardock products but other things as well (sometimes the issues were very minor). Can you provide a list of the software you have running on your machine (specifically the processes)? The list will be found by opening up the task manager and then click on the processes tab. I still have a very strong feeling that there is some type of program, spyware, malware, or resource hog causing your problem... trust me, I know from much experience!

Finally, you wrote about your issues with your settings not being saved in Enhanced Dialog... have you went into the Enhanced Dialog configuration settings to update how you want things? When I first used E Dialog I had the same issue... then someone showed the settings area and all is MUCH better!

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Frogboy... you stated, "ObjectZIP and SpringFolders shouldn't be available anymore to new Object Desktop users as we discontinued that ages ago. Not sure how you were even able to get those." Those products are still showing up in Stardock Central for me. So, the user claiming all the issues probably downloaded them through Stardock Central. I still use the SpringFolders to this day without any type of issues.

BigDogBigFeet on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

BigDogBigFeet — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

I purchased Object Desktop in December 2005. And, I have continued to purchase other Stardock products happily and with confidence. Without question I will be renewing my Object Desktop subscription and my WinCustomize subscription because I'm a satisfied customer! Honest! Stardock's Object Desktop can not possibly be causing all the problems he's talking about. He's experiencing: catastrophic failures ...I'm sorry but its not even believable to be from Object Desktop especially while using Object Edit (a very stable program). Icon Packager simply loads icons and doesn't remain in system memory. If he is really experiencing these problems its from something else. Viruses? Trojans? other malware? Anyway, I hope you solve your computer problems. Over the past few days, I've happily purchased CursorXP Plus, Essorant Skin Pack 2, Logitek 2007, and Argos. Object Desktop works great! My desktop has never worked better and looked better! And, I recommend this great product to friends. Nuf said.

Frogboy on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Frogboy — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

There's a lot of legitimate points but also some oddities.

ObjectZIP and SpringFolders shouldn't be available anymore to new Object Desktop users as we discontinued that ages ago. Not sure how you were even able to get those.

It sounds like there are some shell oddities with your system as IconPackager is one of the more bullet proof things out there.

wscwebyoda on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

wscwebyoda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Jafo... I too agree that it is not so much whether they are up to date or not. In fact, I have noticed MANY of the nVidia drivers to be more buggy for my specific computer over the past year or so. So, I've stayed with my original drivers as provided by HP (after all, they are still listed online as the ones to use... which Medion typically indicates as well).

Necaradan... What programs do you specifically have loading up at the start of Windows? I have a feeling that you have got a boat load of stuff loading that is quickly making a hit on the performance of Stardock products. If not, I would say that your "up-to-date" drivers are causing your issues. I found with my laptop, which does not even come close to your system specs, runs Stardock products perfectly... even with 512mb of memory, 64mb video card, and multiple programs running at the same time.

Jafo on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Jafo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

First Google hit on the Aldi Medion I got said something about it being no good because it wouldn't run 'genuine nVidia drivers'....

It's not so much about whetether they are 'up to date' as to 'what they are'.

Mine for example are the originals packaged with my card...so are getting on for 2 years old...

Island Dog on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Island Dog — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Are you running Norton?

Jafo on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Jafo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

I have been able to handle every game I have tried even if I can't have full settings

First thing to verify is the age/version of your graphic drivers....

CerebroJD on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

CerebroJD — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

Please post your exact system specifications. Processer, vid card, ram, etc.

Jafo on Stardock/Object Desktop Complaints

Jafo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:17:19 -0400

On a somewhat unrelated note, the WMP skin from Terminator3 is one of the coolest looking skins I've used for WMP, but what is this huge white box around the outside of it? I can drag the player around the desktop by this white box too, so even if it was transparent it could get in the way of doing things. I am using the new WMP11beta but all my other skins from WMP9series+ work exactly the same as always. Does anyone else see this white box? If so whoever said it should be called ' official ' needs to work out what quality means.

Just a quick reply to one bit of all this...that T3 skin IS an official release...for WMP9, not WMP11beta. They are two quite different programs. You will be [almost] guaranteed to have issues with skins for 11 that were NOT designed for 11...