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Appcompat


mtong

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Hi all,

Running:Win XP SP2

Its bveen about 2 onths since i last did a clean install of my comp and now i am getting some funny error when i try to run openGL applications. They simply crash before any graphics are displayed and say that a file appcompat.txt was involved.

 

I have done a bit of searching on the net but have found no specific solution for my problem. Some sites blame it on the spyware 'WinTools" however i have found no trace of this on my system.

 

Just wondering if you guys had any experiance with this problem or sugestions on how i might fix it.

 

Thx alot

-Lucas

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well if you can give me the exact error message you get it would help...

 

however by the sounds of it you are getting that "send error report" XP thingy which will attach one of a number of files to help the MS dudes "fix" your problem! appcompat.txt is probably just some kind of log and not part of your problem, although maybe the problem is logged there... i dunno, its a *.txt file... try it (open it with notepad).

 

SP2 can cause a lot of problems.... even MSN (a MS prog) (as i found today) can be screwed up by SP2... come on, MS's SP2 update can stop their OWN chat thingy (stops access rights for activeX on the game section).

 

right... "sites blame it on the spyware 'WinTools" however i have found no trace of this on my system." right, my uncle had a worm on his computer like last week or something... when the computer was running NOTHING came up on the virus scan... however as soon as you did a boot time scan (ie. before windows had started) it found it.

why? because once windows has started so has the virus (or worm or spyware or wtvr) therefore if it is well programmed it can avoid AV software.

 

i would advise something like avast (60 day free trial from: http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html )

with this prog you can schedule boot time (before window starts) scan.

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however if "WinTools" is spyware avast may not find it as it scans for viruses and trojans, but its worth a try.

 

try:

 

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

(spybot - free - quite good)

 

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

(adaware - free (non-commercial only) - very good)

 

and there are many other similar progs... try spybot as it has some kind of boot time scan (i think - i once saw it somewhere!).

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for more comments i need a better description of the problem.

 

which program is it you are trying to open?

 

try re-installing them.

 

are they compatable with XP?

 

are they compatable with XP - SP2? (can be different from previous question in some cases)

 

try looking in your start-up list to see if "WinTools" is running from start-up.

 

are you an advance user?

 

if so you could look in msconfig and other such and maybe use process viewer (similar windows task manager but better) available free from:

http://www.teamcti.com/pview/

to search for a virus or other malware... if you have malware running, it will be displayed in that program... its just a case of YOU spotting it!

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Hi, thanks for the speedy reply

 

-The programs that seem to crash are the newish 3D games, like Underground 2 and Pro Evo Soccer

 

-I have tried re-installing them with no luck

 

-I believe Underground 2 is compatible with SP2, i have heard no reports saying otherwise

 

-I whave looked all over my computer, but cannot find any traces of WinTools

 

-I would consider myself an advanced user

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Here is the Appcompat file

 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>

<DATABASE>

<EXE NAME="Tanks 3D.exe" FILTER="GRABMI_FILTER_PRIVACY">

<MATCHING_FILE NAME="unins000.exe" SIZE="72748" CHECKSUM="0xC1D0305B" BIN_FILE_VERSION="51.5.0.0" BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="51.5.0.0" PRODUCT_VERSION=" " FILE_DESCRIPTION="Inno Setup Uninstaller" COMPANY_NAME="Jordan Russell" PRODUCT_NAME="" FILE_VERSION="51.5.0.0" ORIGINAL_FILENAME="" INTERNAL_NAME="" LEGAL_COPYRIGHT="Copyright © 1998-2001 Jordan Russell" VERFILEDATEHI="0x0" VERFILEDATELO="0x0" VERFILEOS="0x4" VERFILETYPE="0x1" MODULE_TYPE="WIN32" PE_CHECKSUM="0x0" LINKER_VERSION="0x0" UPTO_BIN_FILE_VERSION="51.5.0.0" UPTO_BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="51.5.0.0" LINK_DATE="06/19/1992 22:22:17" UPTO_LINK_DATE="06/19/1992 22:22:17" VER_LANGUAGE="English (United States) [0x409]" />

<MATCHING_FILE NAME="Tanks 3D.exe" SIZE="299008" CHECKSUM="0x49692ED5" MODULE_TYPE="WIN32" PE_CHECKSUM="0x0" LINKER_VERSION="0x0" LINK_DATE="01/03/2002 14:34:08" UPTO_LINK_DATE="01/03/2002 14:34:08" />

</EXE>

<EXE NAME="kernel32.dll" FILTER="GRABMI_FILTER_THISFILEONLY">

<MATCHING_FILE NAME="kernel32.dll" SIZE="983552" CHECKSUM="0x4CE79457" BIN_FILE_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180" BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180" PRODUCT_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180" FILE_DESCRIPTION="Windows NT BASE API Client DLL" COMPANY_NAME="Microsoft Corporation" PRODUCT_NAME="Microsoft® Windows® Operating System" FILE_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)" ORIGINAL_FILENAME="kernel32" INTERNAL_NAME="kernel32" LEGAL_COPYRIGHT="© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved." VERFILEDATEHI="0x0" VERFILEDATELO="0x0" VERFILEOS="0x40004" VERFILETYPE="0x2" MODULE_TYPE="WIN32" PE_CHECKSUM="0xFF848" LINKER_VERSION="0x50001" UPTO_BIN_FILE_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180" UPTO_BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION="5.1.2600.2180" LINK_DATE="08/04/2004 07:56:36" UPTO_LINK_DATE="08/04/2004 07:56:36" VER_LANGUAGE="English (United States) [0x409]" />

</EXE>

</DATABASE>

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well:

 

1) try the avast on boot scan

 

2) go run > msconfig > startup (tab)

and check there, if you have WinTools it will 99% certainly be there, just under a misleading name, look at the directory and unless you (a) need it or (b) know what it is and want it... disable it.

for example, i dont want quick time (qttask) or roxio (DirectCD) or DSentry running, so i can safely disable them....

beware though, you could disable system critical programs from running, so make sure you know what you are doing (ask me if you're not sure)

 

check through your running proccesses using that proccess viewer i mentionded earlier.

 

any virus or malware running on your computer WILL be listed there... under a convincing name.

e.g. explore.exe is the GRAYBIRD.G virus.... explorer.exe is a windows proccess! so it can get quite confusing!

so use this site:

http://www.processlibrary.com/

i love it, a list of 99% of all proccess ever seen, its great, just make sure you type the name in VERY accurately!

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Appcompat.txt file was i thought just a generaly log, i personally cant gain anything from that, maybe someone else can, but i cant!

 

as a general log i dont think it tells you the problem - at least, it is just about your system and is nothing specific to your problem.

 

just a thing - (im not accusing you of anything but) illegal copies of programs can cause the program to crash.

 

for example, when i experiment different programs making back-up copies of my OWN games (for my use, therefore it is a legal copy) if i select the wrong type of protection or whatever, then, when i run the program, as it has not been 'copied' properly, depending on the protection, sometimes the program will just crash.

badly copied illegal CDs will often cause the game to crash, this is the protection kicking in.

(reminder not to do anything illegal like copying games from or for others!)

 

what are your system spec.... esp. just wondered if your graphics card supports the game and if your system can handle new games.

 

do these things and see where you get to... post here and i'll reply accordingly.

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Hi,

Well I have looked just about everywhere, and i am almost positive that i do not have WinTools (i have been through a lot of the removal guides as well).

 

I doubt the games are at fault because have tried running it on another computer and they seem fine (they even ran on my computer prior to my clean install, at that stage i was running XP with SP2).

 

My Specs Are:

 

AMD Athlon XP 2000+ @ 1.68 GHz

256MB DDR PCI 2100

Geforce MX400 64MB

 

I know the graphics card seems old but even some old games encounter the same problem, which makes me think it is software related.

 

So it seems I have hit a brick wall

:mad:

 

PS: Thanks for the site.....just what i was looking for :)

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try updating the driver for your graphics card (probably available from the manufacturers website) if not try a google seach for them.

 

i'll remind you again that illegal copies (which were badly or not properly copied) can often result in the program crashing - when CD security kicks in like that (commonly) it does one of two things: (1) crashes the game or (2) asks you to insert correct CD. so this could be your problem.

 

i have the update to your graphics card (GeForce MX 420 64MB) from what ive heard about the 440 (upgrade to mine - twice upgrade to you) the 420 is the best out of the three of them.

 

although if you were spending a bit of money you could easily get one which out smarts them all!

 

what have you tried so far? has it worked?

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