Problem Running HTR2 on WinXP Home?

[Rick]

I need some help.

HTR has a new user that is using WinXP Home.

He got HTR2 installed on his computer and apparently had a lot of problems getting it installed.

Apparently he got it running for a short period of time.

Now when he tries to run HTR2 he get the error message that it is not a 32win compatible file.

I have never run into this before.

Has anyone else had this problem and knows the solution?

Thanks

[Snagaltooth]

I have run into the same problem. I had to download the .exe file to my C: drive and then "run" the file from there. If I run the file from the web site I get the same message.

I'm not sure if it's XP or ServPack 2 that causes it. Hope this helps.

[Donnie]

I was gonna ask if he had tried to uninstall and then re-install as well....sometimes the download becomes corrupt and Snagaltooth's point of saving the to the hard drive first then installing from there could be very valid due to the firewall built into XP Home and Sp-2.

[Rick]

I sent him the individual files to make sure they were on his computer.

Of course I don't know for sure that he followed the instructions I gave him, but he says when he tries to run HTR2.exe he gets the error message that the program was not 32win compatible.

As a test I removed the VB6 dll from system32 and when I tried running HTR2.exe I got the message that the dll was there.

I will be checking the web to see if I can find something similar.

[Rick]

I have searched the web and this is about all I have been able to find on the problem:

Question:

Not a valid Win32 application.

Additional information:

Often this error message will be similar to the below error message.

C:\Program Files\myprogram\program.exe is not a valid Win32 application.

Cause:

This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.

File is corrupt, bad, or missing.
File is not designed for your version of Windows.
File is a virus, worm, or other malware file.
Hardware incompatibility.

[Donnie]

so thru deduction, it isn't numbers 2,3, or 4. Which leaves us with number 1. Redownload. Reinstall. Be sure to uninstall the application thru the control panel, NOT by deleting out the HTR2.exe file.

[tbrown]

Not sure if I can attach this, but I'll give it a try......it is about errors with 16 bit programs, but mayb some of the fixes might be applicable here, too.

OK, it worked as a text file, but not as an HTM file, so it is not real neat, but maybe there is something in there that will help.

[AwolAtHTR]

hi Tbrown,

thanks for that posting about 16Bit MS-DOS programs.

I suspected but never was sure that MicroSoft is still using the
DOS with HIGH memory and the UMB=UpperMemoryBlock.

I THINK the new HTR2 program is strictly WINDOWS based
so, this would be an interesting detour from the problem
but, not likely affect the solution

aaah, BUT, maybe this is how the users' system is corrupted
and, after doing all the '..create control files to start Wdw XP..'
just maybe it will fix the problem'

looking forward to reading about the resolution

[km]

The user Rick refers to had problems only after he tried to upgrade to the newest version. The demo installed and ran fine. This individual was not very computer literate.

HTR2 is written in the XP SV2 platform. The issue is the MS .exe security function that prevents an .exe in local memory (RAM or cache) from being overridden by another of the same name.

One way to overcome this is to RUN (not SAVE) the updated HTR2.exe.

1) Click on the upgraded version (HTR2.exe) and select RUN.

2) If the date at the top is the most recent (currently "Aug 2005") then exit the program.

3) Now click the HTR2.exe again and select SAVE. SAVE IN: C:\htr folder.

4) Everything will work now.

The secret is to get the upgraded version into local memory so Windows XP won't mistake as a foreign invader.

If all else fails for some users, you can run HTR2.exe directly from the Internet. Click on the file name (HTR2.exe) and the program loads on-line. Change the drive and folder to C:\htr and everything will work as usual. MS is gearing all software developers in this direction anyway. They want all apps to be "leased" off the INternet with only the data files saved on local drives. This way they garner a % of every usage instead of selling the software one time.