Zugg Software :: View topic

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

I got a new Dell yesterday. Came preloaded with Vista Home Premium. Zmud worked fine on it last night and today totally died. I'm getting the error message that is stickied in the Zmud forum.

I came here looking for a fix, as I've used Zmud for 8 years or so and love it. Plus I have played on one particular mud for a lot of years and have tons of saved files, including password aliases required for some rooms in the mud itself.

Since there seems to be no fix I downloaded Cmud. Installing hangs up at Execute: "C:\Program Files\CMUD\CMUD.Exe" /REGSERVER every time. I have removed all traces of Zmud (That I know of and that search found). I have clicked on the install icon using the "run as admin" option. Even though I am the admin and logged in as such. And it still hangs up at that spot. I left all the default install options as is as well.

What I get during install is:

CMUD has stopped working

The details are:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: CMUD.exe
Application Version: 1.34.0.0
Application Timestamp: 2a425e19
Fault Module Name: StackHash_266e
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
Exception Code: c0000096
Exception Offset: 01fc3650
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 266e
Additional Information 2: 5cfd16e22ad6affa8b41de75896c3505
Additional Information 3: 2c3d
Additional Information 4: b8aab6ff2f98af234a89606e7233fa07

I am a hopeless technical noob so if there is still Zmud in the registry I would not know where to look or what to change (Or even how to get there *sheepish grin*).

Any and all help would be appreciated. I love Zmud and miss my little mud person! :P

And while I can see it now listed on the programs menu, it won't run. Not with a normal left click or using a right click and running as admin. Both just instantly get a Windows pop up saying "Cmud has stopped working" and the details are basically the same as what I show above.

Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:47 am

Well, that's the second person reporting this. Guess I need to did more into why Vista is doing this on some systems. I had heard rumors that there were problems with OEM versions of Vista (HP, Dell, etc), but Dell is usually better than this. Also, Chiara has a Dell laptop running Vista, and doesn't get any problem like this at all. I should probably look into the Delphi 2007 source code and see if they are registering COM servers any differently than the Delphi 7 used for CMUD.

zMUD and CMUD do not share any files or registry entries, so it really shouldn't matter if all traces of zMUD was removed. But yes, you will have a lot of trouble trying to get zMUD to work in Vista...stick with CMUD.

Actually, I'm curious...Jocosa, could you try downloading the 1.33 version of CMUD at http://www.zuggsoft.com/files/cmudinstall133.exe and see if that works any better. Be sure to install it using the Admin account. This will tell me if it's related to the corrupted library problem when I went from 1.33 to 1.34. And I wasn't seeing any reports like this for v1.33.

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Should I uninstall the newer version I have first? And I will do it as soon as I find out and get right back to you. I had to resort to using Portal tonight to get my mud fix and I need ZMUD, or now CMUD, back! :)

Wizard Joined: 25 Mar 2003 Posts: 1113 Location: USA

You should definitely uninstall 1.34 before installing 1.33, making sure all traces of 1.34 are gone from drive and registry. I recommend running the installer as admin, just to be safe, though Vista seems pretty intelligent about knowing when a program is an install wizard and giving it the right privileges.

I had no troubles getting zMUD to work on my Vista Home Premium, Zugg. I installed it without a hitch, set the shortcut to run it as admin, and it's been pretty good to me ever since. I run zMUD and CMUD side-by-side all the time, too. Makes my life easier when I can MUD in one and code in the other without them getting upset. Smile

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

I did delete it all last night. Aside from registry stuff. As I mentioned in original post, not sure how to get into it or what to look for or where.

I ran the installer originally as Admin and it tosses up the same error thing and stops in exact same spot. After uninstalling both Zmud and Cmud and then searching for left over bits, I downloaded the last version of Cmud last night. And even when I click on the install icon and tell it to run as Admin, the same thing happens. It tosses up the exact same message. "CMUD has stopped working" at the registry part of installation. Zmud has always run great for me, for several years. And ran great on my last Dell but that was running XP. The new Dell came with Vista so am stuck with it.

And I need ZMUD back darnit!! Losing years and years of saved aliases, triggers and highlites really hurts. *mutter* And Portal (Which I resorted to last night) is no where near as easy to use and the help files are a pain in the ass and cannot be searched by topic like Zmud can. And for the life of me, cannot figure out in Portal how to have 3 windows open to be in 3 muds, at same time. Which kills me having to pick just one at a time. It may be a "paid" feature but not even seeing it mentioned in the help files on the website.

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:19 am

OK, let's try something really drastic. Try downloading the old 1.24 version of CMUD at http://www.zuggsoft.com/cmud124.exe It has a lot of bugs, but it's the last version that I released before I "fixed" some of the Vista registry stuff. I'd be interested in knowing if it has the same problem.

Again, be sure to right-click on the installer file that you download and select "Run as Admin". Be sure to keep the default file settings for the program files and data files (Vista is pickier about file locations), and select the Run option from the final install screen to run it the first time. Report back on what happens. The 1.24 installer doesn't do the REGSERVER stuff in the installer, so it will help to know if this makes any difference when you actually run the program.

I certainly don't want you to suffer with Portal (yuck) so hopefully we can figure out what's causing this problem so that I can fix it in the next version of CMUD (assuming it's not some bug in Vista that we need to wait on Microsoft for).

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

*laugh* The link gets me:

Not Found
The requested URL /cmud124.exe was not found on this server.

Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.zuggsoft.com Port 80

And seriously, I need your program back. Used Portal again tonight and ZMUD runs circles around it. It's a pain in the ass. Restricts me to one mud at a time. Forces me to close Portal when I leave a Mud, reopen Portal, and then log in elsewhere. It's clunky and annoying.

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:40 pm

http://www.zuggsoft.com/files/cmud124.exe :)

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Oh good, it wasn't me for once. :P And thanks! Will grab when I get home from work tonight. :)

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Ok, just tried. Downloaded to desktop. Right clicked to install as Admin. It actually did the whole install this time, no hang up at the reg part. So at this point I was getting excited. I let it run on finish like you said and damnit.. no go. Up popped the damned windows box stating that "CMUD has stopped working". Details give this:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: CMUD.exe
Application Version: 1.24.0.0
Application Timestamp: 2a425e19
Fault Module Name: StackHash_266e
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
Exception Code: c0000096
Exception Offset: 01f33b29
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 266e
Additional Information 2: 5cfd16e22ad6affa8b41de75896c3505
Additional Information 3: 751e
Additional Information 4: 7e0c1fba70b7d532bb558b05ddba5cc7

I honestly appreciate all your effort in this. I loathe Portal by now. And it's only been two days of use.

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:31 am

Well, that's bad then. The 1.24 version doesn't do the REGSERVER in the installer. Instead, it is done when you first run CMUD.EXE. Since the installer is running as Admin, when you run CMUD at the end of the installer, Vista also runs it as Admin.

Once again, this comes down to the fact that your Vista system is not letting CMUD write to the system registry. All CMUD is trying to do is write some registry entries that allows Windows to call CMUD.EXE as a COM server. This is a very common task, and I can't image how it's not working on your system. All I can think of is that there is some obscure security setting somewhere in your Vista system that is set not to allow this. Or maybe you have some sort of other security software running on top of Vista that is blocking this.

The other possibility is that Vista doesn't like the copy protection system used in CMUD for some reason. The copy protection system is responsible for un-encrypting CMUD to let Windows run it. It's possible that either your anti-virus software, or some other security software is preventing CMUD from running. All I can suggest is that you try disabling some of the other software that is running on your system. OEM computers (like HP, Dell, etc) are notorious for having all sorts of other software running, such as McAfee, etc. It's possible that one of these other programs is interfering with the copy protection.

There was a known problem with AOL and Computer Associates PestControl several months ago, but both of these programs were updated to fix it. So you might want to make sure that all of your security and virus software are fully up-to-date.

That's all I can think of. The copy protection is really the only thing in common between 1.24, 1.33, and 1.34.

Wizard Joined: 15 Jan 2002 Posts: 1644 Location: USA

[shot in dark] Two things to try [/shot in dark]

Click Start, then Run, and type the following:
%systemroot%\system32\msiexec.exe /regserver

And then try the install, (you might have to use an admin command prompt for this) If that doesn't work try this;

It's possible your "Windows Live OneCare Firewall" has blocked cmud somehow, this would keep it from registering.

To disable:
1. Open Windows OneCare by double-clicking its icon in the notification area of the taskbar.
2. On the left side of the window, under Other Tasks, click View or Change Settings
3. In the Windows Live OneCare Settings dialog box, click the Firewall tab.
4. Move the Security Level slider all the way down to the Off position.
5. Click Apply
6. Test Cmud install
6. See cmud runs
Be sure to turn it back on when you are done and test cmud again.

Or add the installer and possible the cmud.exe file to the allow list.
1. Click Advanced Settings.
2. Click the Add button.
3. Browse to the executable file (.exe) for and then click Open.
4. The file should now appear in the program list and should be set to Allow. If it isn't, set it to Allow and then click OK.

Keep us posted

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Thank you so much for offering some hope! I'm beyond desperate now. :P I will try those in a minute, but first a stupid question.... In XP I would just click on "start" and the "run" option was on the right hand side of the menu box, near bottom. With Vista clicking on start opens the menu box like normal and the left side is programs and right side has everything but "run". It's not there. I tried a left click in case Vista moved it, but.. nope. Any idea where Vista hides it? I've seen a few suggestions that start off at run, but without run in plain sight I am hosed. :P

Wizard Joined: 15 Jan 2002 Posts: 1644 Location: USA

I am not sure in vista I think its to the right of the search box on the bottom when you open the start menu

but you should be able to hit the "windows" key + R to get to run

the "windows" key is usually between ctrl and alt on the left side of the keyboard and looks the the microsoft wavy flag logo

To get an administrator command prompt
goto start -> Accessories -> right click on command prompt and run as admin (or whatever its called in Vista)

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Thank you, yet again. And for explaining in small words a computer maroon can understand! :)

May not get chance to try tonight, but as soon as I get off work tomorrow I am going to try both. And cross all parts that one works. Will update with the results as soon as I know.

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

I tried "%systemroot%\system32\msiexec.exe /regserver" and then installing. Again, same stupid message from Vista "CMUD has stopped working".

Windows Firewall was disabled as the Dell came with McAfee pre-loaded. I went in and disabled that as well. I don't see an actual option to close it down but it will let me shut if off for 60 minutes. Which I did. I'm at a total loss. Portal just gets more obnoxious the longer I use it and I loathe it. Have no idea what to try now to get my Dell Inspiron 530/Vista and CMUD to all just get along or if maybe an old old version of Zmud would work instead.

Thanks again for all your suggestions though, I really appreciate it.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:12 am

From what I remember about my horrible McAfee experience on Chiara's Dell Vista laptop is that you can't really "disable" it. It's always there in the background doing stuff, even if you tell it to turn off. And I had a really hard time getting rid of it all (I use the AVG anti-virus software).

Does anyone know how he can boot his Vista system into "safe" mode, which might turn off stuff like McAfee. I'm still convinced that it's the copy protection system that your computer is having trouble with. There is a newer version of the Armadillo copy protection software that I'll be using in the next month or so, but I don't see anything in it's release notes related to this kind of problem.

zMUD isn't going to be any better. It uses the same copy protection as CMUD, and once you get past the copy protection problem, zMUD will still crash on Vista.

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:44 am

He can try disabling or stopping the McAffee service, but I'm not sure how to do that in Vista. Confused

Beginner Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

clean boot can disable everything but MS stuff.
Step 1: Perform a clean boot
Note If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from following these steps. We strongly recommend that you do not use the System Configuration utility to modify the advanced boot options on the computer unless a Microsoft support engineer directs you to do this. Doing this may make the computer unusable.
a. Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrator rights.
b. Click Start Start button , type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to start the System Configuration Utility.

User Account Control permission If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
c. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the Load startup items check box. (The Use Original Boot.ini check box is unavailable.)
d. On the Services tab, click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then click Disable all.

Note Following this step lets Microsoft services continue to run. These services include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, Error Reporting, and other services. If you disable these services, you may permanently delete all restore points. Do not do this if you want to use the System Restore utility together with existing restore points.
e. Click OK, and then click Restart.

Beginner Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 17

Just wanted to say thanks for the time you are giving this. I appreciate it. :)

And I'm a she. :P