SoundSpectrum Update!

[jerohm]

(my environment, i7-4930K & NVidia 780GPU)

although I ended up reverting back to Win7, GF seemed to activate/run under Win10 without issue. Fraps and the Cyberlink video editing utilities were a different story, but I DO believe Win10 and GF play nice.

Since Win10 merely upgrades over your current situation, I suspect there are a lot of situations, that never could be thoroughly tested. I have half a mind to try the Win10 upgrade again, over a virgin Win7 install, but my OTHER half, tells me to leave well enough alone.


luck

[BTT]

Hello All

You might like to know that their is available right now 300Mbs of updates for W10. Some time this month (August) I have been told Microsoft are releasing Service Pack 1 for W10.

The experts (not me) say you should create an image of your current set up BEFORE upgrading to W10.

The same experts tell me that if you upgraded to W10 and for whatever reason want to revert back to your previous operating system you MUST do so within 10 DAYS or W10 will block you from doing so.

[ozbeats]

Hello All

You might like to know that their is available right now 300Mbs of updates for W10. Some time this month (August) I have been told Microsoft are releasing Service Pack 1 for W10.

Windows 10 KB3081424 (SP1) for x64 bit systems was released last week.... the KB may be a different number on Windows 10 32-bit.
Another larger update is due in September as well, as far as I know, also a 'Redstone' update is being finalized in the next few months / think it arrives early next year.

The experts (not me) say you should create an image of your current set up BEFORE upgrading to W10.

The same experts tell me that if you upgraded to W10 and for whatever reason want to revert back to your previous operating system you MUST do so within 10 DAYS or W10 will block you from doing so.

Actually, the option to revert back to Windows 8/8.1/7 is made available from the Modern SETTINGS interface - (directly below Windows Update) for up to 31 days...
Unless you manually delete the older Windows installation using the Disk Cleanup utility. (The roll-back option will disappear from the Settings interface)
(Disk Cleanup is the ONLY way to remove previous Windows installations without corrupting the system)

Of course GF, Aeon and Whitecap all work well in Windows 10 for me... (although each visualizer requires a reinstall even if you upgrade from Windows 8, etc)
I've upgraded to Windows 10 Pro 64-bit with a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD for the Main C: Drive and earlier this year I bought the Asus Strix GTX970 GPU which supports full DirectX 12 and DirectX 12.1

Thanks

Alf

[bpoo]

I upgraded my 64-bit Windows 8.1 computer to Windows 10 on the release date from a DVD ISO image. I have automatic Windows Updates turned on which already installed KB3074678, KB3074686, KB3074683, KB2538243, KB3081424. Windows 8/8.1 was a disaster for the user IMO and I definitely don't want to revert to it. Windows 10 is a vast improvement fixing issues not just with the user interface but fixing basic functionality like searching and network configuration.

I can install platinum versions successfully using a Windows 7 computer using the same router and network.

Tabulating my installation experience so far:
Win 7 trial SUCCESS
Win 7 platinum SUCCESS
Win 10 trial SUCCESS
Win 10 platinum FAIL

I'm guessing a low-level network protocol API may have changed in Win 10 that the code in the installer uses to connect to the Soundspectrum license server. Or something bizarre is going on with my computer. But this the only software so far I've had any issues with.

(Forum admin please move this to another thread if you like; I was just replying to the comments in this thread regarding Win 10 installation).

[bpoo]

While I turn off Windows Defender and Windows Firewall when trying to install G-Force and Aeon, I also added the G-Force and Aeon installation executables to the exclusion list for Windows Firewall. But they only show up as "5.4.2" and "3.7.3" not as G-Force or Aeon. Not sure if it's becuase of how it's parsing the name of the executable filename or looking for metadata in the executable to determine this. All other software has the name of the software listed.

[bpoo]

Here's a screenshot of the window that pops up during installation of G-Force and Aeon platinum versions on my Windows 10 computer (actual license key X'ed out):

[BTT]

Hello bpoo

I have today Tuesday 11 August 2.20am UK time sent an email to Frank at the SoundSpectrum support dept asking him to view your posts, and hopefully resolve this problem for you.

[FreyTheater]

@FreyTheater
Which version did you install and if a licensed version did you need to do anything in particular to allow the connection to the license server?

I installed Windows 10 Home 64bit on my main PC here at home first, but I didn't do a standard upgrade, I used the Windows 10 install disc I created from the iso download and did a "clean" install of Windows 10 (Save Nothing), because my Windows 7 was getting pretty bogged down with crap and was due for a fresh re-install anyway.

After installing the Windows 10 and getting all the updates available, I installed my 4.3.2 Platinum version of G-Force with my 3 year old license code with no issues at all, it went right through with no errors. After confirming that worked fine, I decided to purchase the 5.4.2 Platinum, uninstalled the 4.3.2 manually and installed the 5.4.2, again with no issues. This PC is an i5 3570K with 16GB ram, an older NVidia GeForce GTS 250 video card, and a Gigabit Ethernet connection.

I then installed Windows 10 Home on my MSI All-In-One PC, doing a straight upgrade from Windows 8.1. I used the Windows 10 ISO disc I made, but all the additional OS files were downloaded across Wi-Fi to this PC, rather than through a direct Ethernet connection. I installed G-Force 5.4.2 from scratch on the Windows 10, and did not have any install issues on this PC either. It is also an i5 system, with 8GB ram and built-in Intel motherboard video.

Finally, I put Windows 10 Home on my HTPC in my theater rack. I did a fresh install of Windows 7 on the hard drive first; I still had Windows XP on that system, so I purchased a Windows 7 COA off eBay for $15 and installed my retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium on it. I installed G-Force 5.4.2 Platinum on it, and decided I was going to leave my HTPC on Windows 7 for the time being, since it's an older Dell system I wasn't sure if all the hardware would handle the upgrade. But, WINDOWS UPDATE offered up a recommended download of Windows 10, so what the hey, I figured I'd test out a direct upgrade installed through Windows Update. One thing to note was G-Force 5.4.2 Platinum did not carry over successfully with the upgrade from 7 to 10, and required a re-install from scratch onto Windows 10. Once again though, no install issues on that PC, which is an old Dell OptiPlex 755 with a Q6600 quad-core processor, 4GB ram, NVidia GeForce 610 video card, and Gigabit Ethernet connection.

THEN, no sooner did I have this all up and running on my HTPC, I ended up purchasing a Transcend 256GB SSD drive for the system, because the original 80GB SATA drive for the OS was running very slow and bogging down the system. Using the cloning software that came with the SSD, I cloned everything over to it perfectly, including the Windows 10 and the G-Force. The SATA ports on the Dell 755 are only SATA I, and the SSD is SATA III, but even running on a downgraded bus, it's still about 4.5 times faster than the original 80GB SATA drive.

So yeah, I was busy doing quite a few upgrades on my PCs here at home over the last two weeks, experimenting with multiple installs of Windows 10 Home 64bit and both G-Force Platinum 4.3.2 and 5.4.2, and an SSD, with no problems getting any of them to install and operate. There must be something else going on with bpoo's computer that's causing issues with the G-Force license install on Windows 10...

[bpoo]

Thanks FreyTheater for the detailed information. Indeed you have been busy! Seems you've covered many of the bases with respect to Win 10 installations of G-Force. I will try uninstalling the trial version first to see if that makes a difference. My computer running Windows 10 Home is an HP Pavilion laptop, 64-bit, i3-4000M, 2.4GHz, 4Gb. About a month ago I did a clean install of Windows 8 for this computer from the recovery partition. Then Windows 10 was an upgrade installation.

My router is a an ASUS 802,11ac aka AC750. It's got some bells and whistles - I've mostly turned off - that could affect low-level network connectivity. I've disabled the router's built-in firewall, not using VPN, not using IPv6. I am using the OpenDNS server for DNS lookup. Some features like Denial of Service and b/g protection mode are enabled. I'll start disabling some of its features next to see if that makes a difference. I've tried both WiFi and direct wired Ethernet connection to the router. I've also tried changing the G-Force installer to run in Windows 7 compatibility mode and to run as administrator. Still no change.

It may be a red herring, but just the version number showing up on the Windows Firewall exception list is likely because the Product Name property isn't set on the G-Force executable:



Well I hope this problem isn't only unique to my computer. How embarrassing that would be! But it certainly seems like I have a different configuration (hw/sw?) that's causing my issue.

Thanks again for your reply - I'll get to the bottom of this soon I hope!

[BTT]

Hello bpoo

First a big thank you to Troy (FreyTheater) for taking the time and trouble to give such a detailed reply. Thanks Troy.

bpoo, it is always recommended to uninstall any previous version of G-Force including doing a search for all files and folders before installing a newer version. I don't know if this is the cause of the problem you are experiencing or not. You could try turning off your Firewall just for registration purposes, in addition do you have Bonjour installed? I do not work for SoundSpectrum (I live in the UK) and volunteer my services for free as I love G-Force so much. I did send an email to SoundSpectrum as mentioned in my other post and am a little disappointed they have not responded. If no response is forthcoming in the next few hours all I can do is send them another email, which I will do.

[bpoo]

Hi BTT,

Thanks for your assistance I do appreciate it. Ive always been a fan of G-Force and its uncanny ability to match just the right visuals to any music. Other than Angry Birds I dont buy much software. But the soundspectrum products have always impressed me and its developers and staff have earned our support. How boring listenihg to music on the computer would be if Bars and Waves were our only Visualization choice!

I sent support an email on August 2, and Frank responded recommending I ensure antivirus and firewalls are disabled and to set User Account Control to least restrictive setting. I replied on August 4th confirming I had. I had not heard anything more so I checked the forums. I appended to the support ticket to inform Frank Ive posted to this thread to see what other users' experiences have been installing on Windows 10.

The next obvious thing I tried last night was to connect directly to my cable modem, bypassing my router completely. Internet connection established fine but still could not connect to license server with "all shields lowered."

Yes Bonjour is running on my Windows 10 computer. Should I try running the G-force installation without Bonjour running?

I had installed Softskies trial which Ived just now uninstalled. I will try reinstalling G-force Platinum later tonight.

Thanks!

[BTT]

Hello bpoo

Yes, definitely uninstall Bonjour and try to register again. I don't know what it is about Bonjour but it has caused many a problem in the past. I don't think the problem is with your ISP, but I have read that some W10 users are having problems with their Windows accounts. Have a read of the topic at the link I have sent to your mailbox.

[bpoo]

Hi BTT,

Thanks for the pointer to the tech site. I'm learning a lot about Windows 10! I uninstalled Bonjour, but it didn't seem to help. I've run various Troubleshooters, but no problems were found. A google search revealed some cases of issues with running software on Windows 10 not being able to create instances of network adapter connections (VirtualBox and Vagrant) but I don't know if they are related. https://github.com/mitchellh/vagrant/issues/6068

Along the same strategy of stopping Bonjour from running, I took the Dave Bowman 2001: A Space Odyssey approach of terminating processes one at a time from Task Manager relating to networking and messaging. This I hoped would allow the soundspectrum installers to proceed sans conflicting/competing network/messaging processes or else cause my computer to start singing "Daisy, daisy...".

I was able to install Aeon Platinum on my Windows 10 computer after I stopped the processes below. But when I immediately thereafter tried to install Gforce Platinum, it did not work. After tinkering on Windows 10 for a couple of nights, I was apparently able to connect to the license server, but it consistently then would indicate invalid license key. I then discovered I could no longer install on my Windows 7 computer with the same invalid license key message.

I have not heard from support except for the one reply August 4th. I just now sent support another email with the following info:

I've spent about 25 hours trying to understand why my Windows 10 installation of Gforce Platinum and Aeon Platinum are not working. I've been able to get past the error indicating unable to connect to soundspectrum license server by stopping processes instances of "COM Surrogate" and "Host Process for Windows Tasks". A new instance of COM Surrogate is created when I run your installers. The other instances appear to conflict in some way.

After entering the license key I get a pop up message in a gray window that says "Verifying License Key..." but then it indicates I've entered an invalid license key.

I went back to my Windows 7 machine, and it now also says invalid license key for both GForce and Aeon. Are my license keys still valid and is your license server running properly?

I'm able to download each of the platinum versions, but now I can't get past the license key validation step even on Windows 7. I have installed GForce Platinum previously on Windows 7 a few days ago, but not Aeon Platinum on Windows 7.

[BTT]

Hello bpoo

In a nutshell either the problem is with W10 or your licence codes have expired. I have asked one of our experienced users who I know has successfully installed both Aeon and G-Force on W10 to offer any help he can. I have also sent SS another email asking for their input.

If you go back to the tech site I sent you to there are reports posted in the past 24 hours by several people that W10 is blocking many games pre 2005, worth a read.

[bpoo]

I just bought the licenses 2 weeks ago, so I hope they haven't expired With all the testing I've been doing and pinging the server each time I try to install they might have been disabled which is why I need support to check that.

I'll have a look at that site again. Peeling back the layers of the onion of Windows 10 is revealing some potentially significant flaws. Some were identified by Windows Insider users, but MS didn't fix them before official release. May take a while for the dust to settle.

I had also tried installing both with my microsoft account (my usual way to log into Windows 10) and also created a local account and tried to install, but saw no difference in behavior. Someone had reported that using a local account allowed networking to other computers on their local network, but when logging in using a microsoft account they coudn't. I also moved the installation executables into a folder directly under the C:\ drive to try to avoid user-specific folder permission issues.

Here's a sequence of screenshots of my installation steps. I connect directly to my cable modem via ethernet. I turn off Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, Windows SmartScreen, and User Account Control.

l launch either Aeon_373_Platinum.exe or G-Force_542_Platinum.exe. I type or cut-and-paste the correct license key (not XXXXX), hit "Next" and get the following:



I then go into Task Manager and terminate "Host Process for Windows Tasks" and any "COM Surrogate" instances. I again hit "Next" with the license key still in the field and get this:



Then after a few seconds:



After the seventh time hitting "Next" with the license key in the field:



To confirm the network connection is actually in-the-loop after killing those windows processes, if after I get the "You did not enter a valid license code" message I physically remove the ethernet cable from my computer (Wifi is off), and then hit "Next", I then get "A connection to the SoundSpectrum license code validation server could not be established" message. If I then plug the Ethernet cable back into the computer and wait a few seconds and hit "Next", I get the "Verifying license code, please wait" which takes a bit longer to disappear before then again getting the ""You did not enter a valid license code" message. It probably takes longer since the host adapter hasn't completed its reconnection and whatever function the G-force installer has called to establish a connection takes longer to return. But this to me is evidence that it is actually making some sort of network connection (though the data may be in an unexpected format or the return codes may not be what the installer expects).