What is going on with this weird software ??

from Stardock Forums

I bought Fences 2 in 2016.
I've never updated it because there was never an issue until now.
It won't do a thing I tell it to, and I'm on the verge of uninstalling it as it's become a liability.

All my desktop icons are gone. I have to right-click and go to view > show desktop icons to make them appear again.
While I'm at it, I have to click view > align icons to grid, because they're all over the place.
The fences I made on the desktop aren't there, and the icons that were in those fences are visible, but not hidden behind the rolled up Fences that I made. If I restart my PC ( windows 11 ) it will revert those changes and I'll have to do that again.

Sometimes the Fences show up, whenever they feel like it. This is not what I paid for, and therefore not acceptable. Contractually, this product is not performing the way it was sold to me.

Please advise. 

fences
9,586 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. You're using very old version of Fences which has develop a lot since 2016. I think it is best for you to move on to a latest version so you have better compatibility with today Windows version.

Thank you.
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

The reply I expected. I won't be upgrading. I don't see how much such a simple grogram could have evolved, and judging by the spec I've read, I see no justifiable reason to upgrade to a version that does exactly what the version I bought "should" be doing. I refuse to buy the same program twice when the current version does nothing different. No. I'll be uninstalling it, and never buying stardock software again. 

Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Sorry to hear that. But, I do think you can still use Fences 2 without issue if you stay with Windows 7, just don't upgrade your Windows 7 to recent version. If you move to upgrade your system to Windows 11, than you should expect some part of your old software need to be update or upgrade to make it work properly with Windows 11. Also, Windows 11 has evolved and change a lot since it was introduced.

Refer here and see how much Fences has change: https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/history.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

I'm already on windows 11. Fences is gone. I uninstalled it, because it's garbage now. 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

As basj mentions, you changed OSes which has a considerably different explorer shell than the one Fences 2 was designed for. 

Fences 2 has no idea about the changes that were made and understandably Stardock are not updating v2 for Windows 11 when it didn't even exist at any point when Fences 2 was sold.  This is not a fault with Fences 2 as it works as intended on the OS it was intended for and it is now 8 years ago that you purchased it for an entirely different OS.

Since then there has been v3, v4 and v5.

 

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Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I think it's unfair to expect outdated software intended for an older operating system to perform as well or as good as it did on a newer OS such as Windows 11. But sometimes emotion gets the best of us, and we react. I get that. If you choose not to use or update Fences, cool. But the option was there to keep Fences version 2, but using it on a backup PC using Windows 10, which it was designed for. Some software will not always be compatible with newer operating systems, due to the many coding changes, and so on. It's not Stardock's fault that Microsoft is always fiddling around with Windows, which makes it necessary for Stardock to modify and update their various applications. 

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

secondmouse02 I'm sorry you feel this way, but if the program is not worth it to you then it's not worth it to update for you, and we understand.

As others have shared, there have been many updates to Windows since then, and many compatibility updates have been made. Version 2 in 2016 has issues in Windows 11 here in 2024, a lot of work has been put in to update it to perform as it does today on modern operating systems.

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Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

and each time, you capitalized on what is essentially the same program. What was £10 is now, 8 years later, £30....for the same program. I read the spec for Fences 4 on the Ashampoo site and it's the same spec as Fences 2, with nothing new added, so why is it now £30 ?? Things depreciate, so it should be £5, not £30.
Anyway, I'm done with Fences, and done with Stardock. I won't be replying to this again, so please save your breath. 

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The same can be said for other Stardock software. Windowblinds a good example, A theme created in W7 will not work right on a W10 or W11 machine.

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting secondmouse02, reply 8

and each time, you capitalized on what is essentially the same program.

Same program, different program version, different operating system version.

Capabilities/features have been added to Fences since 2016 and Fences 2.

Even I am not running Fences 2 on this machine...and it's still Windows 7.  I'm on 3.1.3.3

The most significant improvements to the generations of Fences is direct conformity with Microsoft's OS which has had significant changes to the Shell in particular over each iteration since Windows 7.

Programs which MUST interface directly with the OS as functionality enhancements cannot stay unchanged WHEN the OS changes.

You "might" be able to get an old program like Paintshop Pro 6 [1999 copyright] to work on Windows 11 [it does] but not a Shell Enhancement....;)