Reporting An Interesting Thing

[HaroldB]

This is just a report, so that you guys hear about this

I have never bothered to set up a web site, so I send PTE shows to others either by sending them a CD, or by transmitting the file using AOL's instant messaging software. PTE shows are usually too large for email.

The other day, I was doing the latter, and I was also using the AIM Talk feature to talk to the person while the file was transmitted. As we were talking, the other person tried to run the EXE (created with PTE 4.11) they had just received (on their Win 98 system), but all they got was a black screen. This happened when they hit ESC and tried again, too.

It occurred to me to try to get out of the AIM Talk fucntion. When we did that, the PTE presentation worked flawlessly.

I don't know if this is repeatable, but I figured it was good to tell you guys about it.

Harold

[think(box)]

Harold, that is tough to explain but one thing worth a look is to use a utility to find out if Win98 was running out of GDI resources. A good free one to suggest is Cacheman 5.50 by Outer Technologies (free, click here). If your friend had lots of windows open (3 to 10) Win98 can run out of GDI resources, while WinXP will not.

Your friend can tune up the system and also have Cacheman stay "on top" while running the P2E slideshow to see free GDI resources percentage. If it hits nearly zero, then P2E and almost any other app will not start.

I suggest this because closing the AIM session may have freed just enough resources for P2E to operate successfully. It is something to try anyway, that is useful for other purposes regarding system memory and cache parameter optimization. They have a good wizard to advise you as you go.

OK, now here is my strange P2E failure to add to the list. For about one out of 5 to 10 starts of Windows, P2E shows of any type or vintage will not start (Win98SE). This is before I start any other applications at all. I get the small hourglass for a little while, and the task stays in the task list until I stop it. But there is no visual or audible evidence that the slideshow is running. A restart almost always fixes it.

Has anyone else experienced a similar failure? Thanks!