ClearView Bug Report

[rckowal]

I'm using Vs. 4.77. It has been working really well. However, I discovered a bug in my O/S which is causing a minor problem with CV.

I have the System Mechanic Pro Vs. 60; O/S maintenence utility installed. http://www.iolo.com/
It automatically starts up & runs in the background when the O/S gets cluttered, needs defragging, etc.

When it did it's cleanup today; it corrupted some thing in ClearView. Now when I click on the CV desk top icon - which normally loads it - it starts a CV installation wizard. I found that I could work around this bug by using the Clearview.cmd file. I sent a shortcut for it to the desk top so I can start it from there.

Stefan, maybe you can tell us how to restore the CV icon (in the event this happens to others) so it will start CV as it should.

Best regards

[skirtz]

I'm using Vs. 4.77. It has been working really well. However, I discovered a bug in my O/S which is causing a minor problem with CV.

I have the System Mechanic Pro Vs. 60; O/S maintenence utility installed. http://www.iolo.com/
It automatically starts up & runs in the background when the O/S gets cluttered, needs defragging, etc.

When it did it's cleanup today; it corrupted some thing in ClearView. Now when I click on the CV desk top icon - which normally loads it - it starts a CV installation wizard. I found that I could work around this bug by using the Clearview.cmd file. I sent a shortcut for it to the desk top so I can start it from there.

Stefan, maybe you can tell us how to restore the CV icon (in the event this happens to others) so it will start CV as it should.

Best regards

ClearView uses standard Windows installer. Somehow, your "cleanup" program deletes ClearView files that Windows knows are installed during the ClearView installation. Then, Windows asks to repare ClearView, because it thinks the program is broken (and it could be, because ClearView files are deleted). I personally think that "cleanup" programs are more trouble that help. There is nothing that I can do. I would suggest to make sure the "cleanup" program cleans (whatever that means) but not deletes program files. To fix your problem, you should reinstall ClearView (it will do repair).

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[rckowal]

Until this bug came along, I thought System Mechanic was doing a pretty good job. To my knowledge, it never seemed to delete/damage any thing on my O/S. Reinstallation does work to restore things to normal but it's a bit of a pain in the butt to have to do so every few days.

As long as this thread is opened, please tell me how I can change the CV wallpaper that is presented as it's loading. I'm an airplane person so I would prefer airplane wallpaper rather than helis. Since you have a menu option for both types of models, perhaps such an option could be made available during future updates.

ClearView uses standard Windows installer. Somehow, your "cleanup" program deletes ClearView files that Windows knows are installed during the ClearView installation. Then, Windows asks to repare ClearView, because it thinks the program is broken (and it could be, because ClearView files are deleted). I personally think that "cleanup" programs are more trouble that help. There is nothing that I can do. I would suggest to make sure the "cleanup" program cleans (whatever that means) but not deletes program files. To fix your problem, you should reinstall ClearView (it will do repair).

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[skirtz]

Well, I think this is System Mechanic bug and not ClearView bug. There is no good reason why it deletes ClearView files. Any program can fail if some of it's files are deleted. Regarding the opening screen, there is no option to change it. Historically, ClearView started as rc helicopter simulator, so this explains the heli in the intro screen. I am going to improve the program loading, so this may change.

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[Helos36]

I think I know what the problem is...In CV some of the models have backup files in the directory...they are labled ***.bak...if the program he is using is looking for and deleting the .bak files that is where the problem lies. When CV is installed..there is a list of files that it makes sure all files are installed. These are all the files associated with each and every model/landscape. If one of the installed files are missing, then Windows installer assumes there is a problem and wants you to reinstall the program. There should be an option in the program that he is using to cleanup his disk to not look for and delete .bak files. I work on computers for a living and most of the time these so called cleanup programs are a pain in the butt...

Ken

[skirtz]

Ken,

You are genius! Looks to me this is exactly the problem. The "cleanup" program in question is undeniably wrong in deleting .bak files. After all, for any program, files with .bak are used to restore the original file, so it is a bad idea to delete them.
Regardless, I will probably change the file extension in next ClearView version to avoid this ever happening again. Many thanks to rckoval for pointing the problem and to Ken for finding the root of the problem. May be I should open ClearView forum after all.

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[Helos36]

Also these ***.bak files are created when anyone modifies the model in ac3d. By Default ac3d creates a *.bak file, (so you can go back to the original file if needed), unless you change it in the options menu of ac3d. So this being said..what has happened is that the models that I have created and that are included in CV as part of the program may have the ***.bak files already there from when I origionally created and tweaked the models. To eliminate this from happening Stefan must go through each and every model that is distributed in CV and delete the ***.bak files before he creates the installation file for clearview for distribution.

Ken

[skirtz]

Thanks Ken for remainding me for them too.

Stefan

[shizack]

As long as this thread is opened, please tell me how I can change the CV wallpaper that is presented as it's loading. I'm an airplane person so I would prefer airplane wallpaper rather than helis. Since you have a menu option for both types of models, perhaps such an option could be made available during future updates.

I know how, but I don't know if telling others how to do it may violate some kind of license term (reverse-engineering a copyrighted picture, or something). If Stefan says it's OK, I'll tell (or he may). Stefan, if you want me to delete this post and pic, I will.

This is what I use:

[rckowal]

It looks like Ken has identified the culprit. System Mechanic does in fact delete temp .bak files. I have contacted Iola to get their recommendations on how to reset it so it doesn't.

Stefan, IMHO opening a ClearView forum is probably one of the best things you could do for it's current & future users. A forum would very nicely complement your already great support. From my experience, when ever I have a software issue; the first place I go to seek advice is a forum specializing in it. Many software companies have public forums right on their web sites. RC Groups.com is also an excellent forum for this purpose.

Although it doesn't apply in the case of support you provide for CV; I have learned to do this because so much technical support is very slow, not helpful for newbies, inaccurate or just plain unavailable. User to user advice is much more friendly and often deals with subjects that are not even supported by software marketers.

Best regards

Ken,

You are genius! Looks to me this is exactly the problem. The "cleanup" program in question is undeniably wrong in deleting .bak files. After all, for any program, files with .bak are used to restore the original file, so it is a bad idea to delete them.
Regardless, I will probably change the file extension in next ClearView version to avoid this ever happening again. Many thanks to rckoval for pointing the problem and to Ken for finding the root of the problem. May be I should open ClearView forum after all.

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[Malc C]

My 2p worth here...

.bak is the most commonly used extention for backing up a file before a new one is copied in its place. I don't think that its the clean up software that's got an issue, nor really a clearview bug. The issue is that clearview uses the .BAK file format for its installation files, and this cleanup software recognises that as a file to delete. If clearview needs these files and they are actually required rather than temp files then maybe a different file extention should be used. - Just an observation

[pilesofspam]

I heartily agree about opening a CV forum. I've got an occasional CV related question or request, but I often find that I learn valuable things just by browsing users posts here. Occasionally, I can even offer some help.


It looks like Ken has identified the culprit. System Mechanic does in fact delete temp .bak files. I have contacted Iola to get their recommendations on how to reset it so it doesn't.

Stefan, IMHO opening a ClearView forum is probably one of the best things you could do for it's current & future users. A forum would very nicely complement your already great support. From my experience, when ever I have a software issue; the first place I go to seek advice is a forum specializing in it. Many software companies have public forums right on their web sites. RC Groups.com is also an excellent forum for this purpose.

Although it doesn't apply in the case of support you provide for CV; I have learned to do this because so much technical support is very slow, not helpful for newbies, inaccurate or just plain unavailable. User to user advice is much more friendly and often deals with subjects that are not even supported by software marketers.

Best regards

[skirtz]

....
Stefan, IMHO opening a ClearView forum is probably one of the best things you could do for it's current & future users. A forum would very nicely complement your already great support. From my experience, when ever I have a software issue; the first place I go to seek advice is a forum specializing in it. Many software companies have public forums right on their web sites. RC Groups.com is also an excellent forum for this purpose.
....


rckoval,

I like hanging out in this forum, but here it is a dedicated CV forum:
http://clearviewrc.com/forum/index.php
You are wellcome to join.

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[rckowal]

Good move Stefan. I just joined.

I'm not knowledgable about the subject, but if you like hanging out on this forum why didn't you just start a sub forum here?

Regards

rckoval,

I like hanging out in this forum, but here it is a dedicated CV forum:
http://clearviewrc.com/forum/index.php
You are wellcome to join.

Stefan
http://rcflightsim.com

[rckowal]

Stefan,

With the help of System Mechanic Tech Support, I've confirmed that the problem is centered around the .bak file.

After setting S.M. preferences to protect .bak files I ran a test. This time C.V. desktop icon was not deleted.

Best regards

[skirtz]

Thanks!

Stefan