VSM will not start up

[koyli]

I originally posted this question in the VSM forum, but I have had no replies so I am posting it here as well.

I have two problems with VSM simulator.

Firstly, after working normally since it was installed two months ago, the simulator now will not start up. After clicking on the icon it goes through the motions of loading but just as the window is about to open a message box from Windows opens saying the program is not responding and promptly shuts it down.

I have uninstalled and then reinstalled it twice but the program still will not start.

I have installed the simulator in Linux Mint under Wine and this loads and runs fine, but here is my second problem. I cannot get the power and ground terminals to appear on the grid. Instead, I get a rectangular box with the title SUB?

Can anyone help me with either, or better still, both these issues please.

 

[hippy]

There should be no reason PICAXE VSM just stops working so have you changed anything since it last ran, installed or had any upgrades installed since then ? It would be worth checking your anti-virus software in case that has flagged it as a false positive.

Can you provide details of its exact behaviour, what screens and messages it shows, and what it shows when it terminates. Does the VSM licence Manager run, and what does that show ?

 

[koyli]

Nothing has been installed or removed prior to the fault.

AVG has never had an issue with the program and the only change is the usual Windows updates, which have not affected anything else on the computer.

I have no restore points dating to before the program`s failure to start, so I cannot do a system restore to see if that will cure the problem.

The startup details are as I said in my first post. When I click on the icon the program starts to load but just as the window is about to open it greys out and a Windows message box appears with this message.

ISIS.EXE has stopped working
A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.
Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.

Close program


The VSM licence manager does run and it shows the licence installed correctly.

 

[hippy]

Not really a useful error message in the circumstances. I am usually tempted to re-install the OS from scratch when this sort of thing happens; install the software which now has issues first then keep an eye out for what breaks it. But that can make for a lot of effort.

It would be worth double-checking the anti-virus, that it hasn't silently removed or quarantined something VSM relies upon.

We do not produce the VSM software ourselves, only provide the PICAXE simulation parts and have a licensing agreement so it is cheaper for PICAXE users than it would otherwise be. It might be worth contacting Labcenter to see if they can offer any assistance or help with diagnosing what the issue may be -

www.labcenter.com

 

[ZOR]

Are you talking about AVG antivirus? Couple of weeks ago my code editor would not work, it tried to start and then closed. Hippy suggested I look into the quarantine folder and I found AVG had put bits in there. I removed and reinstalled AVG and the Editor V5 and it all is working again. Might be nothing to do with your problem but as you mentioned AVG thought I would tell you my problem

 

[koyli]

We do not produce the VSM software ourselves, only provide the PICAXE simulation parts and have a licensing agreement so it is cheaper for PICAXE users than it would otherwise be. It might be worth contacting Labcenter to see if they can offer any assistance or help with diagnosing what the issue may be -

www.labcenter.com

I would not call £50 cheap!

It`s not good when two seperate installs of the same software have two different problems making both unuseable.

 

[Buzby]

I would not call £50 cheap!

£50 is a lot cheaper than the other Labcenter offerings : http://www.labcenter.com/ordering/cprices.cfm

 

[hippy]

It`s not good when two seperate installs of the same software have two different problems making both unuseable.

Absolutely, but it has not been determined that the problem is with the VSM software itself. If anti-virus has removed some essential files or a Windows update has adversely changed something it would not really be fair to blame the VSM software for that.

For the Linux case I am not overly familiar with VSM so cannot tell what the issue is with that. If you can detail the steps required to reproduce the outcome you get I am more than happy to test those steps and see if the outcome is the same for me.

 

[koyli]

Here is the Windows event viewer log which may help in diagnosing the problem.

I cannot understand any of it.


<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
- <System>
* <Provider Name="Application Error" />
* <EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
* <Level>2</Level>
* <Task>100</Task>
* <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
* <TimeCreated SystemTime="2015-08-18T07:51:28.000000000Z" />
* <EventRecordID>63786</EventRecordID>
* <Channel>Application</Channel>
* <Computer>Deltic</Computer>
* <Security />
* </System>
- <EventData>
* <Data>ISIS.EXE</Data>
* <Data>7.10.0.12325</Data>
* <Data>00000000</Data>
* <Data>ISIS.EXE</Data>
* <Data>7.10.0.12325</Data>
* <Data>00000000</Data>
* <Data>c0000005</Data>
* <Data>000d419a</Data>
* <Data>1540</Data>
* <Data>01d0d98aad027050</Data>
* <Data>C:\Program Files (x86)\Revolution Education\PICAXE VSM\BIN\ISIS.EXE</Data>
* <Data>C:\Program Files (x86)\Revolution Education\PICAXE VSM\BIN\ISIS.EXE</Data>
* <Data>ee70a71f-457d-11e5-9aba-f46d04e32190</Data>
* </EventData>
* </Event>

 

[hippy]

It doesn't mean a lot to me either unfortunately.

Does viewing the event in Event Viewer provide any additional or more readable information as to what the fault may be or why ? Details relating to the event may be held elsewhere outside that record and may only be available on your PC.

 

[koyli]

Here is the error report in a slightly different format.

Description
A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.
Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Revolution Education\PICAXE VSM\BIN\ISIS.EXE

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: AppHangB1
Application Name: ISIS.EXE
Application Version: 7.10.0.12325
Application Timestamp: 00000000
Hang Signature: 8709
Hang Type: 0
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 2057
Additional Hang Signature 1: 8709facf72e19590860c509302c909ce
Additional Hang Signature 2: 3734
Additional Hang Signature 3: 37343e2e8350b6f1558c8cd429e7ffff
Additional Hang Signature 4: 8709
Additional Hang Signature 5: 8709facf72e19590860c509302c909ce
Additional Hang Signature 6: 3734
Additional Hang Signature 7: 37343e2e8350b6f1558c8cd429e7ffff

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 2752349281


Does this help?

I have searched for AppHangB1 and there is a Microsoft fix for it, but it would not download so I could not use it.

I have scanned for viruses and other threats and also scanned the registry with CCleaner and although some errors were found it has made no difference to the loading of VSM.

Do you think upgrading to Windows 10 will fix it, or will the error remain?

It is for this very reason that I gave up using Windows on a daily basis years ago and swapped to Linux.

The fault with VSM running on Linux Mint 17 under Wine is it does not place a power or ground terminal on the grid when picked from the left hand panel. Instead, after much clicking with the mouse, a rectangle appears which can be resized with the title SUB?

If this can be cured I will not have to use the Windows installed version.

 

[hippy]

The event log may help someone at Labcenter; they may be able to say what the signatures and ID mean.

As for the power and ground terminals; they work for me on Windows. Select "Terminals Mode" in the toolbar, selecting POWER, GROUND etc in the left pane, then clicking on the grid drops the expected symbol. Perhaps someone more familiar with VSM could advise.

Upgrading to Windows 10 may fix things, but I honestly don't know. A clean install might be better as you would have a clean starting sheet and as it worked before it should work again. I would not normally recommend an OS upgrade as a fix for something which was working but has stopped working. Take a full backup of all your data first if you do.