Visual Install Pack 8.1_2.1+NT - Feedback Thread

Phoenixx

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Feedback for Visual Install Pack 8.1_2.1+NT
 
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:appl::appl::appl:
A huge thank you in the name of all future users who will never know how many troubles :scratchchin:they are avoiding by using your VIP.
You are the VIP*.:yes2::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:







*(very important person)
 
Thank you, Phoenixx!

Yesterday I noticed that the Visual Basic Scripts are at version number 3.29. As you write 'Installs the needed Visual Basic Scripts (Version 3.27+)' I'm not sure, which version is implemented. The + after the version number let's one think, it's the last version after 3.27. Is it?

What means +NT in your version numbering?
 
Many thanks for update,Phoenixx. :thumleft:
 
Thank you, Phoenixx!

Yesterday I noticed that the Visual Basic Scripts are at version number 3.29. As you write 'Installs the needed Visual Basic Scripts (Version 3.27+)' I'm not sure, which version is implemented. The + after the version number let's one think, it's the last version after 3.27. Is it?

What means +NT in your version numbering?

@Phoenixx: No response? Don't you talk to me anymore?
 
Just out of curiosity I made a complete, total uninstall-reinstall of VP, VPM & VPMan.It took me about twenty minutes to get everything working!:yes2::mrgreen::mrgreen:

THanks, Phoenixx & Fartian!:yourock:
 
What means +NT in your version numbering?
NanoTech?

Yesterday I noticed that the Visual Basic Scripts are at version number 3.29. The + after the version number let's one think, it's the last version after 3.27. Is it?
No, its 3.27 plus a couple not normally included in the standalone package.

Seems like someone forgot to post a note about the update here, which means i had no way of knowing a new version exists. Frankly this gets very frustrating, (not to mention annoying), because if the updates were important i had to make another build now only because i didnt know whats current. And why is that? Because two people only care about using a forumname that has never been theirs no matter if that means loosing any members. Well, so much for appreciation then i guess. If i didnt know that the VIP is mostly used by newcomers and people not related to this fine so called 'community' i would quit the whole damn thing on the spot,...
 
I just only wanted to let you know about the 3.29 version of the scripts in case you are not aware about and I wanted exactly to know about the VIP content. That's all.

I didn't want to start another discussion about com and org and what else, but only try to give information how to possibly improve the VIP. In case you don't want any of this information as soon as I get notice from and as far as I think about the VIP, please let me know and I don't bother you anymore with that.
 
Your efforts are greatly appreciated Phoenixx!!!

I've put together a DVD for a few friends who aren't computer savvy, and without your installer, I'd have had to set everything up for them. As it is, they run your installer, drag and drop the Tables and Roms, and they're away!!!

Thanks heaps...
 
Phoenixx, the next time you update the VIP, include this .dll.

It goes into the main "Pinball" folder where the VPinball.exe is, unzipped.

That's a fix for using two versions of VP (namely 8 and 9) at once.

The McD
 

Attachments

  • msvcr71.zip
    176.9 KB · Views: 705
@The McD - so this is so VP8 and VP9 can be tried out without changing each other's settings, is that right?

Cheers.
 
According to Microsoft, msvcr71.dll is a core part of Microsofts Visual C++ 7.1 / 2003.

It is needed by various applications and controls GUI related things like dropdown menus, buttons, scrollbars, mouse events, etc.

Exactly what good should that file do with regards to VP?

And particularly with regards to the two version thing? (Which i still dont quite understand.)

Somehow i fail to see it, and personally i dont have any problem running VP8 and VP9 executables from within one folder without this file being present in it.

More details please...
 
Yeah, I was wondering if I could just rename the VP9 executable and put it in my VP8 Pinball dir, and run both versions as necessary.
 
I re-installed using your newest VIP. Then I put VP9.0.2 into the Pinball folder and tried to run it.

That's what I did. Then I got the error that I need that DLL. That error has been duplicated, the reason is still unknown.

So there's something that needs that DLL. What it is? Dunno.

Just a suggestion, actually. Now that I read about the 4th thread asking about that DLL...

The McD
 
I see.

The problem is that Vista (no matter what flavour) doesnt install that file, which means sooner or later (depending on what games and apps somebody uses) that error might have cropped up anyway. The net is full of examples, google it and see for yourself. That means it has nothing to do with VP in particular as it is merely a core component needed by progs and apps that were compiled with older versions of Visual C++. And that clearly falls under the 'Operation System Maintenance' category, which is why i wont include the file in the VIP. Besides, i dont know if redistributing a MS System DLL without authorisation is even permitted. Probably not.

I do thank you for the suggestion though, only with decent user feedback i can make the VIP better.
 
Besides, i dont know if redistributing a MS System DLL without authorisation is even permitted. Probably not.

Maybe this will help?

"An application should use and redistribute msvcr71.dll, and it should avoid placing a copy or using an existing copy of msvcr71.dll in the system directory. Instead, the application should keep a copy of msvcr71.dll in its application directory with the program executable."
I think it'd be okay to include a copy in the installer.
 


Maybe this will help?

I think it'd be okay to include a copy in the installer.
Ah,...i just see you edited your second line,...was about to say that if that quote is true (source?) then it should actually not be a legal problem to redistribute the file.

Anyhow, i still dont think it is a good idea in a 'Stick with the Essentials' kind of way. I cant possibly include all system files anyone might ever be missing, (for whatever reason), if i begin to do that then i might end up distributing half the operation system with the application. (Yes, its an exaggeration, but you know what i mean.) And thats not good program distribution practice in my opinion, like DirectX and .NET and other OS related stuff this should be taken care of by the user on a systemwide level (and consciously) since it affects a wide variety of applications. My advice is to download it and stick it in the Windows\System folder, every application that needs it ought to find it there.
 
Yes, I agree with you there. It's probably best to let people download msvcr71.dll if necessary rather than distributing it.

You can't anticipate all the world's problems in advance :)
 
I would have included it on the spot if it were a file that is exclusively tied to VP or VPM. But since it is not i really think it is in a users best interest to fix that on a systemwide level so they dont run into that same problem again as soon as any other application needs that file.



Sometimes i dont understand Microsoft at all. They know perfectly well that many older apps need certain older files, yet they stop including them with their newer OSes despite the fact that there doesnt seem to be any good reason at all to do so. Result: The error-message-tormented user has to get them elsewhere, (after just shelling out 100+ bucks for the latest 'NextGen OS'), and in the end these files are on the system anyway. Now why couldnt they just have included them themselves? Why does a user that payed a lot of money for their OS have to get crucial core components from 3rd parties and integrate them in the system themselves? A similar case is older DirectX libraries,...i lost count how many DLLs starting with 'd3dx9_xx' (where xx is a number) i had to download only to get some of my stuff to work. If i were a OS critic i would say Vista is an incomplete Operation System. The sad thing is once the missing files are present everything runs just fine, which means if they had just put a little more effort into backwards-compatibility assurance there wouldnt be too much to complain about. That is what makes me understand these omissions even less,...
 
I read the post yesterday and wondered what's the connection to VP/VPM. I agree, the file doesn't belong into the VIP
 
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