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Colen
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Old October 23rd, 2009, 09:15 AM
If you're having problems running AB, try running it in as an administrator or in compatability mode. It ran on Windows 7 without any problems when I tested it, but depending on where you install it, you might need to run it in administrator mode for it to work.
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WildFerret
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Old November 2nd, 2009, 10:38 AM
I've ran it on Win7 Ultimate 32 bit for a little while now without issues. I just installed 64 bit and waiting for my licenses to be reset so I can test it under 64 bit.
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rob
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Old November 3rd, 2009, 04:23 PM
AB V3.2a works smoothly under 64-bit Windows 7. I've been running it for a couple weeks and there are no issues that I've stumbled across.
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felix
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Old March 3rd, 2010, 01:25 PM
But I've having issues with my AB 3.2 install under windows 7 x64.

I'll admit, it's probably mostly my fault. I installed it to the C:\Program Files (x86)\ArmyBuilder directory (as opposed to the default C:\Armybuilder). Rosters, and files will show up via the "Open" dialogue in their appropriate folders, but not if I look for them via the Explorer. The in-program update on the .exe it self (like when I went to 3.2c last week) will download but not actually run (because I'm not running as administrator). To get it to install, I have to run the install .exe file as admin, which installs the program - but then because I'm running as a different "user" the licensing is messed up. I can't delete game files from within the program (under "Tools / Delete Game System" because the files sit within the all holy Program Files) - I have to do it via explorer.

I've got work arounds going for most things - I set up a linked folder to my documents to save the rosters (mklink is a wonderful tool). Now that 3.2d is out I'm going to have to go through the hullabalu again and hope that it doesn't complain about the license re-activation.

Thoughts?
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rob
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Old March 7th, 2010, 01:30 PM
Ugh. You've fallen into a black hole of Windows trying to be "helpful" and simply confusing everything in the process. Let me see if I can adequately explain what's going on here....

The gotcha here is how Windows now works, and it's a well-known source of problems for many users like yourself. When you run in Admin mode, Windows provides proper access to the "Program Files" folder. When *not* In Admin mode, Windows virtualizes the "Program Files" folder. In other words, Windows automatically creates an alternate folder and *pretends* that it is the real "Program Files" folder.

To make matters more interesting, Windows will automatically run in Admin mode when installing software, even if you do not normally have Admin privileges on the user account. This means that Windows will install the software with Admin privileges to properly place it in the "Program Files" folder, but the next time you run the product, you won't have Admin privileges. If anything is reliant on content beneath the "Program Files" folder, it will be in one place when you install the product (the real folder) and a different place when you later run the product (the virtualized folder). Yes, Microsoft has caught *lots* of flak over this half-baked design decision, but it's what we're all stuck with.

One last bit of important information is that launching an application from one program automatically inherits the same privileges as the original program. Consider the implication. When you install a product, you're automatically running in Admin mode, whether you asked for it or not. If you then utilize the common option of launching the product via the installer when it completes, the first launch of the product is *also* running in Admin mode. When you later run the product separately, it now runs in non-Admin mode. This subtle issue has contributed to the confusion you're experiencing.

Based on all of this, your rosters live in two different locations, depending on whether you launched AB with Admin privileges. Similarly, your license key file gets stored in two different places, depending on whether you ran AB with Admin privileges. Remember, when you auto-launch AB via the installer, you're running it in Admin mode, but not otherwise.

At this point, it's no wonder that your head hurts and you think AB is broken. The real problem is that Windows is doing all this stuff behind the scenes without telling you. By automatically switching you in and out of Admin mode, it changes how Windows behaves, which gets both you and the product confused.

The primary reason why we encourage users to *not* install our products under the "Program Files" folder (the installer defaults to "C:\ArmyBuilderEx") is to help avoid this problem in the first place. Some users prefer to install everything under "Program Files", but that can lead to additional complications unless the user is familiar with subtle issues like I've outlined above.

So now the question is how to sort everything out and get AB working. The simplest solution is to just always run AB in Admin mode. This can be achieved by right-clicking on the shortcut icon you use to launch the product and selecting "Properties" from the menu that appears. On the menu, go to the Compatibility tab, click the "Run as Administrator" option, and then save the change. Thereafter, AB will always be launched with Admin privileges.

If you do this, all of the problems you've experienced will disappear, with one exception. Some of your saved saved rosters will not be visible due to Windows placing them in the virtualized "Program Files" folder. You may also have different versions of data files in the different locations. The good news is that you can retrieve those files easily. Windows will virtualize the "Program Files" folder into the location shown below. There will be a folder beneath this location that has the same name as the folder you used when installing the product, and the various files will be in folders beneath that. Copy your rosters and any other files out of that location.
C:\Users\loginname\AppData\Local\VirtualStore

Hopefully, the above explanations will enable you to both understand what's going on and get things resolved appropriately. If not, please let me know and I'll do my best to help further to get this sorted out for you.
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panther_king
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Old March 8th, 2010, 03:34 PM
I know it's not of much help, but I've been running AB3.2 on BOTH my machines, Win7 64 bit, with zero problems as far as operation and licensing goes.
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fejus
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Old March 17th, 2010, 06:37 AM
The data files could not be loaded due to the following errors:

Cannot create core run-time file: c:\program files (x86)\armybuilderex\Data\AB40k5\core.abz
--------------------------------------------------


should I just run as admin for this too?
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elvendarkness
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Old March 21st, 2010, 05:48 PM
I had some problems upgrading to Army Builder V3.2d at first. I tried downloading with my privious verision of Army Builder time and time again but the upgrade wouldn't take. It said it would automatically launch but it never did so I was stuck. The thing I did that worked was I simply visited the Lone Wolf site and downloaded and reinstalled Army Builder. All is working now...

Last edited by elvendarkness; March 21st, 2010 at 05:50 PM.
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rob
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Old March 22nd, 2010, 01:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by fejus View Post
The data files could not be loaded due to the following errors:

Cannot create core run-time file: c:\program files (x86)\armybuilderex\Data\AB40k5\core.abz
--------------------------------------------------


should I just run as admin for this too?
It's the exact same problem as discussed above. Unless you have Adminsitrator privileges, Windows will block operations on files beneath the "Program Files" folder. That includes compiling data files. So you need to run with Administrator privileges with AB installed beneath "Program Files".
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rob
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Old March 22nd, 2010, 01:54 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by elvendarkness View Post
I had some problems upgrading to Army Builder V3.2d at first. I tried downloading with my privious verision of Army Builder time and time again but the upgrade wouldn't take. It said it would automatically launch but it never did so I was stuck. The thing I did that worked was I simply visited the Lone Wolf site and downloaded and reinstalled Army Builder. All is working now...
That's due to a bug in earlier versions of AB and the way Windows works when you don't have Administrator privileges. This updating bug should now be fixed in the V3.2d release you have installed.
rob is offline   #20 Reply With Quote
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