WOW! I am shocked that what I know has not been mentioned here...
Perhaps what helped me will help you guys...
I have Windows 7 Ultimate x64
the rest is not important aside from meeting the minimum specs of every application
My first purchase was DGS Bonanza(Dark Game Studio), I immediately ran into compile issues in DBPro as well as running issues for app's the likes of Tree Magik and Plant Life... (which by the way, I managed to fix plant life and tree magik by means of the following as well as initially running in single monitor mode... however it tends to work in dual monitor mode now... which I can not explain as of yet lol)
For some people turning off/disabling *desktop composition* is useful as well as *visual themes*... including for apps you create. (if you do not know how to do this already... try right clicking your EXE for your app and clicking properties then having a look in the "Compatability" tab under "Settings")
However the greatest resolution I found was based within windows itself...
People misunderstand windows 7 and therefore it gets bad publicity... please read the following without criticism...
Windows 7 has been re-engineered to be more secure for the casual user... that being Bob who likes to check his email in the evening and Lucy who likes to MSN chat with her kids while away from home... in both examples were talking about people with minimal knowledge of using a computer... say motherboard to them and ... HUH? what?
Ok principle aside there have been some modifications which interfere with those of us who know our way around the HIGH STREETS of BIT and BTYE...
Before you continue reading ensure you are an Administrator User, Limited Users can not perform the following.
Fix 1 - Anti-Virus Apps
I run Windows Live Security Essentials... it does me wonders and before you criticise... I used it when you had to pay for it, when it was called OneCare... and whatever you say... it works wonders for me, and it does great too. It has great features and is highly usable unlike... the alternatives which have menu upon menu of not easy to understand BS... sorry I shall try to hold in my french lol...
The following is for WLSE users as I do not use any of the other apps, you will have to just attempt to recreate the same solutions in your security apps.
In WLSE look for the SETTINGS tab and select "EXCLUDED FILES AND LOCATIONS" then click "BROWSE" you want to add the default location of TGC products which for me was just the one folder, however you can do the same for however many apps you like... for example 3DWS has its own install location within program folders, and remember some install into the (x86) program files and some install in the normal 64 bit folder (3DWS installs into the x86), so be sure to add any you feel needed... for me I just added "C:\Program Files (x86)\The Game Creators" and click "OK" in the browse window and then just click "Add", thats all for the exclude from live scan process, this will stop your protection system from interrupting with your compiles. (Some of the items that come with DGS... do get installed into the default Program Files folder... specially that Benge sprites pack (Animated Sprites) from the TGC store.
If the above does not solve your problems then add Fix 2 to your to do list...
Fix 2. - DEP exclusion...
Data Execution Prevention... DEP... in other words, this disallows applications from accessing system memory easily and therefore restricting your application to launch/run and expand into the system memory... a lot like a virus does in order to escape the clutches of your protection software... (obviously more to this than meets the eye but just telling you that for a reference...)
Right in order to disable DEP for specific folders and EXEcutables... read on...
First click start, then right click "Computer" then click "Properties" this opens up a basic system overview... from here you should have a banner on the left with various options under the title of "Control Panel Home" (obviously if your using a French version of windows... this might be different lol) below it you should see an option for "Advanced System Settings" click it, and if you still have UAC (User Access Control) enabled... click continue..., then you should see a window pop up titled "System Properties" and already be on the "Advaced Tab" if not for whatever reason, click the tab called "Advanced" and then inside the first lined out box with the title "Performance" click "Settings" (if your still confused which one to click... just click the top one) ... now you will be presented with the "Performance Options" dialogue window... click the tab titled "Data Execution Prevention" now... you will see 2 radio selection boxes below some text telling you what the section is for... and the top one should be pre-selected... select the second option titled "Turn on DEP for all programs and services-Except those I select:" now the add button should turn itself on so that you can select it.... do so... as you should see the list above it is empty...
This time you can only select EXEcutables unlike the security app... this only affects the EXEcutables you choose it for. simply locate every EXE you make use of from the TGC applications, such as cs.exe for cartography shop, 3Dworldstudio.exe for 3DWS... and of course... DarkBasic Professional Compiler and Launcher as well as Tree Magik and Plant Life and the rest... remember to include the compilers and all associated EXEcutables related to the apps you create if needed and the applications you make use of that have launch problems... I made some really old games run using this method... now simply click "Apply" and you might be asked to restart your pc once this is done...
Now if you still are having issues... there is Fix 3... the "Coup d'état" haha again with the french thing... just being humurous lol and no your not doing anything illegal here just... causing yourself some risk... only perform Fix 3 if you are comfortable with it...
Fix 3 - the Coup d'état (A.K.A. Disable UAC - oooohhh nooo!)
Ok now before someone jumps up and says... "dont touch that mouse"... consider this... Everytime you click "OK", and then are presented with a silly screen that simply tells you the name of the application you are running... (or maybe not running), (starting/Launching) and are asked to either "Continue" or "Cancel"... keep this in mind... "Did I launch this app?... ok let me put it this way... to disable UAC is to open the flood gates to your fromt door... essentially turning your beautiful Windows 7 into an haha "Un-Protected" Windows XP..., what this means is... if you feel you can not make judgement calls to not run "dodgy" applications or are Bob or Lucy... please do not continue reading and ... well just pray that Fix 1 and 2 helped you...
Ok, and now for the confident people out there... ensure before you continue that you have a very good FIREWALL built into your ROUTER or MODEM, or anything else... and ensure you have good faith in your Anti-Virus...
First, click start>then left click your avatar image (the picture for your logon profile) this should bring you to your User Account window.
If the above is hard to understand then do the following...
click start > left click Control Panel > click User Accounts and Family Safety *in green text* (if not in default view click User Accounts) > click User Accounts *in green text*)
Now whichever route you took, you should be at the User Account window, with your user name in a box to the right of the window (with your logon avatar/image) showing whether you are an administrator or Limited-User (hopefully it says Administrator if not please gain access to an Administrator account... the same calls for any of the mentioned in this post) now in the middle below where it says in blue "Make changes to your user account there should be at least 4 items with the UAC emblem shield the last one being called "Change User Account Control settings" it might or should ask you to click continue, do so... you will be presented with a new window which should have a slider to the left side with a selector around 3/4th the way up, or at the top I can not remember which but it highlights the 3/4 marker on mine and is default... run the slider to the bottom which says "Never Notify me when:" this setting disables UAC apparrently... then finally click "OK" at the bottom and it might ask for the final farewell Continue button lol, and maybe even a restart of system... once you restart, you should have complete freedom and never see another damn continue and screen blackout again... good riddens lol... however remember, the same goes for virusses if ever... just do not go to dodgy web-sites and stick with the ones you know best... for me I am perfectly fine, I know my Task manager back to front and I know the applications I have running, if not... unlike xp, on Windows 7 you can locate the location of a running process which is a very handy feature indeed
... so hope this helps, I did post something similar to various threads across the forum, maybe 2, but I think this extensive post is much needed here.
Before I forget... one last additional, not exactly a fix but a reminder... if making networked applications ensure that you allow it through your firewall and also setup ports on your ROUTER correctly in order for it to work correctly... (sometimes when you try launching a network applications it pops up a window saying would you like to allow this program through your firewall, if its your network app, then just click yes or allow) if your using a HOST application... its best practice to have A STATIC IP... fish around for this if you dont have a clue, or perhaps call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and ask them if you either have it or if they provide it... (you may be charged extra)
I hope this helped you guys, and for those who removed DGS, get it back on and then do the above, happy game making
(oh and again before I forget, on some apps like 3DWS and Cartography Shop, you still get the Wrong Thread error, just ignore it)
EDITS - were just minor typos corrected
NEW EDIT -
I NEARLY FORGOT TO ADD =
if your running Windows 7 x64(bit) remember to use the 64bit edition of explorer to browse the net its much faster and safer, and when you need to see a flash video or web-site, just copy the url into the normal explorer or another browser and simple... 64bit browser is ace to prevent wierd stuff running by default.
ADDITION EDIT - { forgot I used hyphens here
}
Turns out I did mention Visual Themes and Desktop Composition... some people just dont read >.<
