I got disgusted with Vue and shelved it a year ago because of all the stability problems. But a week ago I decided to give it another try with all the new patches that are out. But, lo and behold, it's still just as unstable as before. It still locks and crashes at random. So is it time to flush this program, or is there something else I can try?

It is a little vague what you discribe. How about some more details? The standard answer in such a case is always "switch off OpenGL" ! Maybe you do a little reserch here in the backroom for example about compatible graphic cards etc.

Right! What about telling us your actual BUILD number and the exact version of Vue?? Hmmm?

It craps out randomly. Is that vague enough for you? Switching off OpenGL is nice, but I've read that people with systems all across the spectrum, from high to low end, have had serious stability problems. Why should I have to switch off a feature that I paid for with my purchase of the program? The build is 4.2, latest patch, bla bla, yada yada.

I think best is to give up - in your case. You ask for propositions what you can change but say a very loud "no" to the proposed things - and dont give more details about your system so that we can understand better. Maybe you wonder a little about the masses of great images in the gallery. All from people that uses the total anoying unstable package. I wish you very good luck with another package that suits better to your needs. BTW @g-f-x: "liar" is not the type of words i really like to see here - but thats only my pov. I am only a simple user as most others that enjoy the gentleness of this place.

I knew I wasn't going to get a reasonable answer on this piece of crap . . . pity.

Pity you don't seem interested in any solutions. At least not enough to be helpful with the kind of information that others need to maybe help you. But here's one. Are you using a combo CD-DVD drive to install it with? Or one of the older pre-16x CD drives? Vue has anti-piracy measures built into it. One of which is a final stabilization run that must occur from the CD (at a guess, I would say it is on a hidden offset layer). Older combo drives and old CD drives can and do have firmware issues, and in the case of the older CD drives, the actual tracking mechanism simply is not able to split scan between tracks. If that finalization does not occur, you will get consistent crashing to the desktop.

Well, that's probably it then. I am using a DVD-CD combo drive, but it's pretty new (purchased in 2003). That's something I never would have thought of. Thanks.

Hope it helps! Keep in mind as well, that just because it was purchased in 2003 doesn't mean it was manufactured then. There are 'Uncle Kim Specials' at the local CompUSA that are 'dated' 2004, but if you look at the actual drive itself, the date can vary from 1999 to 2003. Another thing that relates to that is just what mode the IDE controller is set for. Anything above mode4 is the 'Ultra' data speeds, and there isn't a CDDVD drive out there that can provide that kind of throughput. If the buffer inside the drive itself isn't big enough, or not the best (which you are better off presuming, unless it one of the big name, big $$$ drives), you will get dropped data. A possible workaround for the drive itself is to go into the BIOS and set the mode to mode 4 on whatever IDE controller it is on. That -may- slow things down enough to allow a stable install. If nothing else, it doesn't cost a thing except the 30 seconds to change the setting.

It's not an 'Uncle Sai Chong' special. It's actually a reputable brand. But anyway, I checked the BIOS, and it's running PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so any more suggestions? The system is WinXP SP1, Intel mainboard, P4 3.0 Ghz, Ati 9800 Pro. Rock solid in all other programs.

We have similiar machine and I still have problem with VUE4 PRO. I understand you perfectly. I think it is ATI's crap. I am saving up money for monster Nvidia with dual Opteron.

You might want to check the available drivers for the ATI card; any way you slice it, both ATI and Nvidia produce -gaming- cards, and both tweak their drivers to provide better gaming performance in benchmarks. That can play the merry hob with graphics programs, as they don't push polygons and lightsources around in the same way. Nvidia was the demon of Vue4, for example. One set of drivers let you run, another set led to crash after crash, none of them really ever allowed OpenGL to run properly. Other ideas. That is a P4. You might want to disable HyperThreading and see if that is interfering with the installation or stability. HT is still pretty much a 'new' thing, as there is low use of it comparatively, so the inevitable bugs and conflicts are still falling out. VuePro is HT aware, but that still doesn't mean it might not be interfering. Since you are running XP, try turning -off- all the stupid little dancing puppies and other eye candy. That can get into a fight for control with other graphics programs, and those tied into the OS tightest generally win the fight. Outside of that, I'd have to know a lot more about the actual system and configuration...

True . . . but frankly I don't think it has anything to do with the system. I've read the same horror stories from people with systems all across the board. The ironic thing is that a guy I know simply downloaded a hacked Vue from a P2P network, and it works perfectly. On the other hand, I spent my hard earned money on this thing, and it doesn't work for crap. Oh well......live and learn.