deskcapes 3

DeskScapes 3 is currently in beta and is only availible to Object Desktop and DeskScape 2 subscribers.

If you are running Vista you really don't want the beta to this... This beta version has rebooted my machine (Vista Ultimate) while I was reading the news for no appearant reasons.  Go to open a program and the system is in total Freeze Mode.  Stay with the version you have until this verson is ready for every day use.  I'd not refer to this version just yet as a beta version, perhaps Alpha.  Kewl extras that come with it... but Bigger problems as well.

I installed it twice, two weeks or so apart, after reading in the forum (Carguy) about the extra features and effects you can add to the dreams... I had to reinstall it to see these features, but again Total Freeze, Reboot out of the blue, no fun just yet.  And it can be a bugger to get back to the state you were in before hand.

Kewl new features, but not quite ready for regular joe user.

I am sorry you have had problems, but it sounds like the issues you have encountered are hardware specific issues.

Thanks for the info, i'll just wait for it to go out of beta..

-  Neil Banfield, I am sorry you have had problems, but it sounds like the issues you have encountered are hardware specific issues. 

I'm not sure how you came about with this answer that I have  a Hardware Issue... Deskcapes would work fine right after a reboot and I could use programs, but out of the Blue the Computer would Freeze or Reboot.  The dreams would all work correctly, the special effects would also work correctly, but than without worning the computer would Freeze or Reboot.  I don't see how you can deduct that I have a Hardware Issue.  Are you a newbie or a programmer wanting to say something? 

Personally I like the new features of the Beta (I'll call it Alpha ready, not Beta ready) version, but until the Large Bumps are removed I'll be staying with the version I have installed for a bit.

Also again.. I have no Hardware Issue, but you might.  I've been working with computers since 1983/84, I have a few Certs under my belt, it's not a hardware issue, but the BETA VERSION software issue.  Perhaps more tweaking is needed for this version to be released as a Beta.

You may have noticed a lack of other reports of anything similar in the forums.  I believe the issue is with either your video drivers, or your video hardware is overheating due to the extra work it is performing while running a dream.

A user mode application cannot cause a machine to BSOD or hard lock or reboot without there being an underlying issue.

Peggy2 ...Neil is a programmer, and as with many situations such as yours...if there is a specific scarcity of reports regarding an issue such as yours then it is quite reasonable to expect that the program itself is not the cause but that something 'specific' to your system is the cause, perhaps only exaccerbated and thus noticed whilst running the program.

Hardware is a quite legitimate and viable source of fault-generation and should not be dismissed...;)

BTW...."out of the blue" suggests something failing over time...if it does not occur on program start.

Heat is a good choice...;)

BTW  Since I removed the Beta from my system last week I've had no problems.  None.  Nada.  What was happening was after I installed the Beta version, when I'd go to click on something that's when it would freeze or reboot. 

I'm just taking a shot in the dark here but are you a programmer on this beta version?

So again, I've had no issues since I removed the beta or should I say Alpha version of ver 3.  I've not rebooted since 207.36 hours ago or 8 days ago and that was when I uninstalled Ver 3, so.... there  goes the heat issue out the door.  I run a server on my computer for my web site which is on 24/7...  No issues with my machine.

Respectfully that won't be the case.  If you have removed a 'load' on your GPU and/or CPU [which will always result in temperature gain] and see no more issues/BSODs then your removal of the ensuing heat 'cause' can still point to heat being the issue.

Again, when a problem is possibly unique to one individual's setup then it must first be assumed it is the individual's setup that is at fault - first.

If and when several people demonstrate the same issue, or better still the issue is replicated in-house and at will, then blame may be able to be attributed elsewhere.

On the 'recent' release of Stardock's Impulse program...I discovered [to my joy] that it would install in my machine....but would not run. [this was a pre-release beta]...quite a dramatic 'failing'...which was subsequently found to NOT be a specific issue with the program at all...but it was MY system that had a 'quirk'....one of the "normal/default" system fonts was NOT original to the OS...but was a third-party one...that omitted such variations as 'bold' and 'italic'.

Something as weird/obscure as that caused the program to fail....so a slight change was made to the proggy to ignore such oddities...and all was fine.

Now, back to your issue....even discounting hardware/heat, there's still a potential plethora of conflicting programs/settings/drivers that you may have lucked upon, and with any 'graphic-intensive/related' program the first thing to suspect is graphics/drivers [just as with games].

Remember with problem-solving, the removal of the program showing subsequent stability only points to the program as symptomatic, not [necessarily] as the cause...;)

Bla bla bla... I'm not even going to go there.  I've been working with computer since 1984 (bought my first in 1982) in the Dos world, I know software, I know programers.  Software issues can go a long long way.  Beta Alpha who know's who cares... I was just putting in my two cents worth, if you are trying to argue about an issue with Beta/Alpha ware bla bla bla to the programer.  You want people to work with your beta program but you don't want to know the issues the end users are having is that what it's all about? 

I've beta tested for Corel and Microsoft in the past and in all cases they want to know about the issues, every issue as a matter of fact, if you can repeat the issue over and over and what the steps were that lid up to the problem and what the fix was.  I've never had an issue with pointing out problems and what the issues were on my machine...  What I will do is this, one I will not download another beta from wincustomize, two I won't leave any other messages on your board, and three... when my subscription runs out I won't renew either. 

You young puppies want beta testers for free, but can't take on an issue when faced with it, no instead argue the problem to be on one's system and it's gotta be... it can't be something with our program heaven for bid!  Last you'll hear of this from me.  Problem fixed.

I used to love downloading and creating dreams here... but since last Christmas it's been a real downer.

Is the first statement how you report beta issues?

So you're the one.....

Average experience hereabouts....(although I'm impessed you managed to get it in twice)

Neil is THE programmer for Windowblinds and Deskscapes

That's great, I'm Happy for you.  Kewl.  We won't bother you again.  Like I said I used to love coming to this site.  Used to.  Good bye.

I am sorry you feel like you can no longer contribute to the site.  We do value all bug reports and feedback.

When we get bug reports we look at them and make judgement calls based on the information provided.  Your bug report fits into the classic hardware / driver / OS fault category.  Isolated to a single user and causing full machine lockup or BSOD at random and not at initial apply.

This isn't to be taken as an insult or a suggestion that you don't know anything about computers, it is simply a case of the most logical explanation given the facts provided.  A modern Windows OS cannot have a BSOD without a fault in a kernel level bit of code, or some sort of device failure.  The worst thing a user mode app like Deskscapes should be able to cause is a crash of its own process (this isn't DOS or Windows 95 here).

The more advanced dreams will push your video hardware harder than it might typically be made to work.  This is also true if you enable the effects, especially the smear effect which will increase the load on the GPU by a factor of 10 over just having that effect disabled.  It is entirely possible the video hardware is simply overheating (heatsink coming loose or poorly performing fan), or a previously unnoticed incompatibility between the chipset drivers (more typically on AGP systems only) and the video card drivers shows up, or the additional power consumption pushes the PSU past its limits (less likely given the lower end video hardware you mentioned).

I may be wrong about your issue, but based on the information I have currently and the lack of any other reports I have to go with the most logical conclusion which is a machine specific issue.  Should more information come to light then this conclusion may change.

I won't worry about an Alpha/Beta software issue either... if the bugs don't bother you why should they bother me, it's not like I will be using it anyway.

GPU Overheating

I recently installed a 3-D screensaver (from another company) on my desktop machine. Normally it runs fine but after the screen saver started it was periodically freezing.

Opening the computer case reduced the problem so it was obviously heat related.  After replacing the passive heatshink on the graphics card with a fan there have no more problems.

GarryKoenig....yes...anyone who has played around with numerous computers....particularly in a hot environment [like me in Oz] will have had occasion to witness a system failure/lock up/BSOD due to heat.

Irrespective of what others might say, it's a common problem....hence all that effort to cool the darn things down...;)

Yikes.

Peggy2- I thought Neil's response was likely accurate and polite.  When he said "Hardware specific", the first thing that came to my mind was video drivers or a local configuration issue.  What came to yours?  Beta testing doesn't mean just giving them information when you have problems.  It means that if they suggest "Hardware issues" on your side, ask what you can do to help like upgrading drivers or turning off certain processes.  I too have worked on computers since the early 80's and have beta tested for programmers.  In my experience, problems like what you are experiencing usually come from driver issues, heat, micro cracks in the solder on circuit boards (from heat), and older AMD cpus.  Nobody needs snide comments and innuendos.  If you want to help, bring it on.  Otherwise go invest in some personality development classes.  jeez.

BTW, there's no such thing as "Freeze Mode".

-Rick

No3rdseat... r u looking for an argument?  If you'd like one you will certainly get one from me.  I've installed the ALPHA version of this software a couple of times... I have 0 Probelems with my computer if I do NOT have this Alpha version installed, but my computer will FREEZE totally if I install this Alpha version of DESKCAPES!  What part of that do you not understand?  This is a software issue, not a hardware issue, some programmers just don't like having issues pointed out.

BTW... Rick I was not going to write another note on this subject or any other but if you insist on barking up my tree, then yes I will point that out.  And my friend I used the word Freeze Mode as sort of a Pharse, because that is what happened, my system Froze.  You must be a young Puppy there Rick.  Perhaps you yourself need some more schooling Rick in computers son.

This will be my last post on this subject or any other on this site.  Say what you like, get the bugs worked out of this version, and it will be a good start.

Peggy2: It is a requirement of all users of these forums that they remain polite to other users.  Consider this a warning.

It is apparent that you are unable or unwilling to accept any viewpoints other than your own and seem to believe beta feedback only goes one way and so it is probably best if you disable the show prereleases option in Impulse.

As has been pointed out before, just because your system works without Deskscapes does not mean the issue when Deskscapes is running is always a Deskscapes issue.  Deskscapes pushes your 3d graphics chip much harder than a static desktop would and this can and will expose previously unnoticed problems.

You may have noticed a lack of any similar posts on this forum.  This should give you a hint that assuming we have a reasonably broad range of users using the beta here, that your issues are somewhat unusual.

Peggy2- I hope you find some peace in your life.

Desktops 3 won't display wallpaper full screen in Vista. It isn't even listed in the Vista programs. All that is available is to view wallpapers in the window. This is awful, please fix it or get the old version back. There was no mention this was a beta, I would not have paid for an upgrade if I had known. Regretfully,  metal1_99

In DeskScapes 3 choose your wallpaper and then go to the Background settings tab and choose the correct layout. You may need to choose stretch if the image is smaller than your desktop resolution.

Deskscapes 3 is not a beta.  It used to be but the release version was launched earlier this month.

Unlike Deskscapes 2, the UI does not appear in the wallpapers tab, but instead has its own window.  This can be opened via the startmenu link, or by right clicking the desktop and selecting Configure Deskscapes.

I am sorry, I was hasty to judge. The new Deskscapes has a learning curve to be dealt with. On Vista I am having success running it, on XP, the previews take forever to load. I have a fast pc and 1 1/2 Gigs of memory so something is not working as well as it could. Thanks