9.76 Help...

[Crumbles]

So, I was upgrading 9.70 to the latest 9.76 tonight on my media center (vista 64-bit) and when I run the installer, the language box pops up, I hit OK, then it comes up with the following error...

Um... what? Help!

Thanks in advance.

[bkenobi]

Post your log.txt file.

[Crumbles]

Where is that located? --- Also, you are aware this is for an INSTALL, not a problem with the program running (which I think is what the log file is for.)

Post your log.txt file.

[Crumbles]

OK, I think I found the log.txt file. And, as I thought, it doesn't log anything from the install. As you can see, it just is a log from the last time it actually ran:

16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  GameEx: Version 9.70: Starting Log
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Operating System Platform: Win32NT
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Operating System Name: Windows Vista
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Operating System Version: 6.0.6001
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Vista Aero NOT running
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Initializing Vista volume control
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Checking for versions of .net Framework installed
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  .net Framework 2.0 Installed
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz, 4027MB
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  2.4Ghz - 4 Cores or CPU's
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Running Randomize()
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Loading PlugIns
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Checking for applications to Launch On Startup
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Running Misc startup tasks
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Setting Menu types
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Opening Configuration File
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Getting Configuration Values
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Using Theme: Default - Media Center
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Checking for alternate Image Directory for Theme: Default - Media Center
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Using Images from theme: Default - Media Center V1\MEDIA\
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Launching HideOS.exe
16:54:06.2  11/29/2008:  Initialising Video/MNG DLL's
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  GameEx will check for media insertion (may affect performance)
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Hiding Taskbar
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Is Media Center running?
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Media Center is running
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Checking/Creating LCD Registry values
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Check Media Center Exit/Start Mode
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Media Center Mode 2
16:54:06.3  11/29/2008:  Closing Media Center
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Video previews on. Warning: Only recommended on modern systems
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Snap Delay set to: 2
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Get other settings
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Set: Find emulator artwork on best match basis
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Start work for Form
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Getting Original Screen Size
16:54:06.6  11/29/2008:  Opening Database Connection
16:54:06.7  11/29/2008:  Initializing Component
16:54:06.7  11/29/2008:  Retrieving resolution setting
16:54:06.7  11/29/2008:  Initialising Windows Media Player Component
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  MAME Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  MAME EXE file is: Mame32.exe
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  ROM Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\roms
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Catver.ini is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\GameEx\DATA\catver.ini
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  controls.ini is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\GameEx\data\controls.ini
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  History.dat is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\GameEx\DATA\history.dat
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  nplayers.ini is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\GameEx\DATA\nplayers.ini
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  MAMEinfo.dat is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\GameEx\DATA\mameinfo.dat
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Loading Controls.ini map file
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Snap Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\snap
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  AVI Snap Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\avisnap
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Flyer Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\flyers
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Cabinet Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\cabinets
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Title Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\titles
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  PCB Path: Not Found
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Artwork Preview Path: Not Found
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Panel Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\cpanel
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Manual Path: Not Found
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Icon Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\icons
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Marquee Path is: E:\Emulators\Mame32\marquees
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Loading Custom Emulators
16:54:06.8  11/29/2008:  Loading Emulator 2: Nintendo SNES games
16:54:07.0  11/29/2008:  Using Version 3 Themes Animations
16:54:07.0  11/29/2008:  Using General Font: Trebuchet MS
16:54:07.0  11/29/2008:  Using Title Font: Trebuchet MS
16:54:07.0  11/29/2008:  Waiting for Media Center to close
16:54:17.8  11/29/2008:  Initialising DirectDraw
16:54:17.8  11/29/2008:  Creating DirectDraw Device
16:54:17.8  11/29/2008:  Using Device: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
16:54:18.3  11/29/2008:  1992mb video memory available
16:54:18.3  11/29/2008:  Setting Resolution to 1920x1080 32 bit color
16:54:18.3  11/29/2008:  Creating DirectDraw Surfaces
16:54:18.3  11/29/2008:  Creating Primary Surface - Full Screen Mode
16:54:18.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Back Buffer
16:54:18.4  11/29/2008:  Loading graphic Surfaces
16:54:18.5  11/29/2008:  Display is running at: 1920x1080 32bit color, 30hz
16:54:18.5  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Flags
16:54:18.5  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Misc and Dialogs
16:54:18.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Volume
16:54:18.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Arrows
16:54:18.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces GameEXlogo Text
16:54:18.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Toolbar
16:54:18.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Backgrounds
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Toolbar Controls
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces GameEx Logo
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surface Unselected
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Home & Exit
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Snaps
16:54:19.4  11/29/2008:  Creating Surfaces Menu and List Bars
16:54:19.5  11/29/2008:  Creating Fonts
16:54:19.5  11/29/2008:  Creating Game Font
16:54:19.6  11/29/2008:  Creating Game Font Faded
16:54:19.7  11/29/2008:  Creating Title Font
16:54:19.7  11/29/2008:  Restoring Title Font From Cache
16:54:19.9  11/29/2008:  Creating Font Black
16:54:20.1  11/29/2008:  Creating Font Black Small
16:54:20.2  11/29/2008:  Fonts Created Succesfully
16:54:20.2  11/29/2008:  1877mb video memory left available
16:54:20.3  11/29/2008:  Creating instance of global keyboard hook
16:54:43.3  11/29/2008:  Attempting to load game list
16:54:43.3  11/29/2008:  Text/Language: English
16:54:43.3  11/29/2008:  Applying Language/Text
16:54:43.3  11/29/2008:  Initialising Bass Audio Library
16:54:43.4  11/29/2008:  MAME CMD options: -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo
16:54:43.4  11/29/2008:  Loading last used Game List
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Setting Music Volume
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Creating DirectSound Device
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Trying: Primary Sound Driver
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Loading Sound Files
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  DirectSound Device Created Successfully
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Creating ICONS
16:54:43.5  11/29/2008:  Recreating ICONS
16:54:43.8  11/29/2008:  Initialising DirectInput for Gamepad support
16:54:43.9  11/29/2008:  Using Device Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2
16:54:43.9  11/29/2008:  Using Device Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2
16:54:43.9  11/29/2008:  Initializing MCE Remote
16:54:44.0  11/29/2008:  Playing intro sound file
16:54:44.1  11/29/2008:  Initialization OK! Starting GameEx!
16:54:44.1  11/29/2008:  Testing Main Loop Once: Processing Frame
16:54:44.4  11/29/2008:  Testing Main Loop Once: Main Loop ran successfully
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Custom Background: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Custom Background Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Snap Path: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Snap Path Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 1: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 1 Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 2: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 2 Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 3: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Custom Art Path 3 Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Control Panel Path: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Control Panel Path Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Instructions Path: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Instructions Path Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Database: [Console] Nintendo SNES
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Title Snap Path: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Title Snap Path Does not exist
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Box Art Path: E:\Emulators\ZSNES\boxart
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Cart Art Path: E:\Emulators\ZSNES\cartart
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Validating: Emulator_2: Manual Path: 
16:54:58.3  11/29/2008:  Warning: Emulator_2: Manual Path Does not exist
16:54:58.4  11/29/2008:  Loading OfflineList Dat File for emulator: 2
16:54:58.4  11/29/2008:  Cannot Find Offline List Dat File
16:54:58.5  11/29/2008:  Not Restoring Emulator from Cache
16:54:58.7  11/29/2008:  Not Restoring Emulator Database From Cache
16:55:01.5  11/29/2008:  Running: cmd.exe /c E: E:\Emulators\Mame32\Mame32.exe aerofgt -rompath E:\Emulators\Mame32\roms -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo -bezel -artwork_directory artworkgameex
16:56:04.2  11/29/2008:  Exiting GameEx!
16:56:04.2  11/29/2008:  Saving Settings
16:56:05.2  11/29/2008:  Disposing Plugins
16:56:05.2  11/29/2008:  Closing database connection
16:56:05.2  11/29/2008:  Checking for applications to Launch On Exit
16:56:05.2  11/29/2008:  Launching Media Center

[bkenobi]

Oh, I didn't realize this was an error you encountered DURING the install. I thought this was after you installed and were running GameEx.

[Crumbles]

Oh, I didn't realize this was an error you encountered DURING the install. I thought this was after you installed and were running GameEx.

lol, ok, cool... so... uh... help!

[bkenobi]

The only thing I can really suggest is try downloading it again. It's complaining that one of the image files is not there. I don't know how to get it if it's not there though. This might be something Tom will have to take a look at if a re-download doesn't fix it.

[Crumbles]

The only thing I can really suggest is try downloading it again. It's complaining that one of the image files is not there. I don't know how to get it if it's not there though. This might be something Tom will have to take a look at if a re-download doesn't fix it.

I downloaded the file again. Same problem. And this time I checked. The file it's looking for is there. I'm logged in as an Admin.... what is going on?

[Crumbles]

Well, if anyone cares, I figured it out.

For some reason my anti-virus was screwing me. I'm running Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 and when I disabled it and ran it again it worked fine. No clue why this install would be any different than the others, or why Kaspersky was somehow blocking that temp directory, but all is well again.

Figured I'd post the solution in case anyone runs into this issue in the future.

Thanks for any help offered.

[Tempest]

We care! Thanks for posting the solution....

[bkenobi]

That's the second problem today related to that specific AV program. Did Tom contract a virus or is that AV program really picky and reporting false positives? Btw, I recommend Avast! anti virus if you want to try a different one. It's free and includes free automatic updates to keep you up to date. Just a thought.

Glad you got it fixed!

[Crumbles]

It's not detecting any false positive. I'm not sure what the issue is. I have Kaspersky on my PC and gameex install works just fine.

Kaspersky is way more advanced than Avast!, however, I recommend Avast! to people who don't want to pay for AV too.

I'll report the issue to Kaspersky and see what they say. They are quick to fix issues.

That's the second problem today related to that specific AV program. Did Tom contract a virus or is that AV program really picky and reporting false positives? Btw, I recommend Avast! anti virus if you want to try a different one. It's free and includes free automatic updates to keep you up to date. Just a thought.

Glad you got it fixed!

[bkenobi]

I didn't say Avast! was the best, but it is the best free AV that I know of. I'm not familiar with Kaspersky, but that doesn't mean anything. I was just surprised that the first time I did hear of it was twice in the same day in regards to problems with GameEx. That's all... Anyway, hopefully the AV developer can get the problem taken care of or else Tom can clean the virus off of his

[headkaze]

Of course they are false positives, many AntiVirus software uses heuristics detection meaning it uses rules to detect malicious code rather than signatures of known viruses. This will quite often detect software or components in software as viruses if they use an API or code that is often used in viruses such as a low level key hook.

BTW I'm a fan of ESET NOD32 and never had a problem with it and GameEx.

[Crumbles]

I'm not sure if you are saying my issue was a false positive. If so, let me say again that this isn't a false positive issue. This is something else. More like a bug with Kaspersky.

Of course they are false positives, many AntiVirus software uses heuristics detection meaning it uses rules to detect malicious code rather than signatures of known viruses. This will quite often detect software or components in software as viruses if they use an API or code that is often used in viruses such as a low level key hook.

BTW I'm a fan of ESET NOD32 and never had a problem with it and GameEx.

[bkenobi]

I don't know your experience level, so don't take this as belittling.

Basically a false positive is when the AV software determines that something is a threat when it isn't. The result could be a warning or just a blocked file depending on the settings in your program. I'm guessing that Kaspersky detected a virus-like signature in that file and blocked it (which is what you also said). My guess is that you either missed the warning or the warning didn't pop up due to a security level the software is set to.

Either way, I would personally consider the AV app blocking access to a non-virus file a false positive even without a warning message...

[Crumbles]

I'm the sr. network engineer for my company -- that's my experience level. Hence you should trust me that this isn't a false positive issue.

I don't know your experience level, so don't take this as belittling.

Basically a false positive is when the AV software determines that something is a threat when it isn't. The result could be a warning or just a blocked file depending on the settings in your program. I'm guessing that Kaspersky detected a virus-like signature in that file and blocked it (which is what you also said). My guess is that you either missed the warning or the warning didn't pop up due to a security level the software is set to.

Either way, I would personally consider the AV app blocking access to a non-virus file a false positive even without a warning message...

[bkenobi]

<steps behind the nearest wall> My mistake...

[greatflash]

BTW I'm a fan of ESET NOD32 and never had a problem with it and GameEx.

Regardless of "False positives" or "Bugs!" in the antivirus software, it matters not. The software is not working as intended and that I would class as a fault.

The easiest solution is to "Junk" it and use another.

And on this point I would agree with HK, NOD32 is the best. I have sung its praises many times here and will continue to do so. I have used this for many many years and have never had a problem with it and it also hogs next to no resources and never bugs the users. Like a good employee - it sits there quietly and gets on with it's job with perfection.

[Tempest]

I'm the sr. network engineer for my company too....

[Tom Speirs]

Yep Nod32 all the way. Im fully licensed for it on all my pc's and got the corp version.

PS: And I wrote GameEx, so there

lol.

[headkaze]

I'm the sr. network engineer for my company -- that's my experience level. Hence you should trust me that this isn't a false positive issue.

It doesn't mean you know anything about software engineering. Anyway your right about it technically not being a false positive because the error message is "runtime error". I believe it to be a security or file locking issue. Either way the software is not dealing with an error condition correctly so it would better fit into the category of software bug. The reason I called it a "false positive" in the first place was because I didn't want people to think this was a virus in GameEx. For the laymen I think it's a perfectly reasonable way to explain it mainly to avoid unnecessary panic.