I’m hoping there are some Windows 10 experts here who can help solve a mystery. Radar Contact v4 - previously payware - is now freeware and is available via a link on that forum here in AvSim.

Many have successfully installed it but one user cannot get it to run despite many suggestions. Out of interest I installed it on my own Win 10 computer and it was fine.

But on the other chap’s computer it opens briefly and then closes. The splash screen is not seen so something is either terminating it or it is closing on its own as something is missing. But if something is missing why aren’t all users affected?

He has tried launching it in Safe Mode, with UAC turned off, with A/V disabled but still it won’t run. He has downloaded the file a second time but still no joy.

It requires VB run-time files but not until a flight plan is selected. It should just open to the main interface but doesn’t. There is nothing shown in Event Viewer either. It’s a total mystery.

Are there any utilities that can monitor what happens when it is launched that might give a clue why it fails to run?

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I’m hoping there are some Windows 10 experts here who can help solve a mystery. Radar Contact v4 - previously payware - is now freeware and is available via a link on that forum here in AvSim.

Many have successfully installed it but one user cannot get it to run despite many suggestions. Out of interest I installed it on my own Win 10 computer and it was fine.

But on the other chap’s computer it opens briefly and then closes. The splash screen is not seen so something is either terminating it or it is closing on its own as something is missing. But if something is missing why aren’t all users affected?

He has tried launching it in Safe Mode, with UAC turned off, with A/V disabled but still it won’t run. He has downloaded the file a second time but still no joy.

It requires VB run-time files but not until a flight plan is selected. It should just open to the main interface but doesn’t. There is nothing shown in Event Viewer either. It’s a total mystery.

Are there any utilities that can monitor what happens when it is launched that might give a clue why it fails to run?

If the program was built in VB, it would likely require the VB runtimes be installed even to open the user interface. The installed runtimes must match the version of VB that was used to create the software. There are four possible versions, but all are readily available, and it should be possible to install all four. It is kind of like the requirement to have the proper version of the MSVC libraries for programs written in C or C++, where multiple versions can coexist with no problem.

Many VB programs also make use of OCX objects which also need to be properly registered on the system.

This site below has more information, plus download links for the various VBRUN libraries.

https://www.karenware.com/powertools/runtimes

Thanks Jim. I'm curious as to whether I have VB run-time files already installed on a professionally-built PC. How do I check as RC4 ran fine from the installer with no further intervention from me.

The chap on the RC forum thread was also able to get RC4 to run on another Win 10 PC but not his own. He couldn't see any obvious differences.

I forget where the runtime files reside. It might be in the /System32 folder. Quite possible that the builder of your PC included them as part of your build, since a lot of software over the years was created in Visual Basic.

I believe the installer for RC should have installed the proper runtimes, but that process may not have completed properly on a new Win 10 system, depending on the computer’s security settings or folder permissions.

My advice would be for the user having the issue to download and run the stand-alone Microsoft installers for all 4 VB runtime versions that exist. They can all be installed simultaneously with no problem, and will not interfere with any other software on the computer. It would at least eliminate the possible lack of the correct runtime as the cause of the problem - though the issue might be caused by something else.

Thank you Jim, that's really helpful. I'll direct him to your posts.

1 hour ago, JRBarrett said:

I forget where the runtime files reside. It might be in the /System32 folder. Quite possible that the builder of your PC included them as part of your build, since a lot of software over the years was created in Visual Basic.

I believe the installer for RC should have installed the proper runtimes, but that process may not have completed properly on a new Win 10 system, depending on the computer’s security settings or folder permissions.

My advice would be for the user having the issue to download and run the stand-alone Microsoft installers for all 4 VB runtime versions that exist. They can all be installed simultaneously with no problem, and will not interfere with any other software on the computer. It would at least eliminate the possible lack of the correct runtime as the cause of the problem - though the issue might be caused by something else.

Hello. I'm the chap with the issue. Thanks for helping out.

I was able to install the VB5 runtime, but it didn't allow me to run the exe. For good measure, I installed the VB6 on that link too, but it didn't help.

I cannot install the 3 and 4, Windows tells me that it won't run on Windows 10. (A cursory internet search suggests that it is 16 bit applications that can't run on a 64bit OS, not sure how true that is).

Edit: So, I also ran the exe through Windbg to try and find my error. It appears to be excepting in a function call in msvbvm60.dll -> Through kernel32.dll. (Float Inexact Result) 

So I believe that is one of the VB6 dlls. But I have installed, and reinstalled that so many times. 

 

@SkyyStorm, which folder does msvbvm60.dll  reside in? Have you tried SysWow64 as well as System32? And it would then need registering of course.

Both, and both registered. 

Try this...Remove the software that you were trying to install to begin with, then rerun the VBA Runtime installation. After  running the installation, search and make sure that MSVBVM60.DLL is installed. If not, I believe you can download it from Microsoft website in the tech support downloads area. Then, go back and re-install the original application.

If that does not work, you may need to find yourself a registry cleaner, clean up the Registry, and try again. MSVBM60.dll is often flagged when you have a corrupted registry file.

 

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by GACSavannah

9 hours ago, GACSavannah said:

Try this...Remove the software that you were trying to install to begin with, then rerun the VBA Runtime installation. After  running the installation, search and make sure that MSVBVM60.DLL is installed. If not, I believe you can download it from Microsoft website in the tech support downloads area. Then, go back and re-install the original application.

If that does not work, you may need to find yourself a registry cleaner, clean up the Registry, and try again. MSVBM60.dll is often flagged when you have a corrupted registry file.

 

Okay, I'll try. Can you recommend a safe registry cleaner?

Hi,

CCleaner :

free version :

https://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button

9 minutes ago, pasterke said:

Hi,

CCleaner :

free version :

https://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button

Okay, thank you, will try that tonight.

12 hours ago, SkyyStorm said:

Edit: So, I also ran the exe through Windbg to try and find my error. It appears to be excepting in a function call in msvbvm60.dll -> Through kernel32.dll. (Float Inexact Result) 

So I believe that is one of the VB6 dlls. But I have installed, and reinstalled that so many times. 

 

Just a note, I debugged the exe on my work computer (where it runs fine), and got the same error as I got on the home computer, so the error is caused by the debugger itself, and is not the error causing the termination of the application on my home computer. So please ignore that in the analysis, it is a faulty conclusion.

@SkyyStorm, out of interest after you bootup your PC have a look in Event Viewer. How many Warnings or Errors are listed? Anything that might suggest a problem with the OS?

Might it be worth running a repair of 10?

Not really anything of note. I suppose I can try a repair, but I'm scared of breaking my windows. =P