Hello everyone, hope all is well for you guys...

I have been having serious problems with Poser, it crashes way too often, and most times for no reason (I suppose thats always the case?). It will crash when I load a texture, when I run a script, if I select a body part, when I load a saved scene file, if I add light presets, if I switch to the render room or material room, and even just from being idle. Its to the point where I cant even use it, zero reliability =(

This system uses Windows Home Premium (64bit?!?) with service pack 2.

I usually dont fret over an install, but Ive been upgrading Poser, so Im concerned over the entire process... Initially I had Poser 5, upgraded to Poser 7, and finally to Poser Pro 2010.

Should I completely uninstall ALL Poser installs and start with 5, then 7, then 2010?

Also I would like to know if by updating Windows does that have any affect on how Poser reacts? Ive been using Poser for eons without issue, and while I may have been somewhat absent as of late and my Poser use is not to heavy, I dont "think" Ive made any serious changes to my system to cause such a dramatic loss of reliability.

Any help, advice, or suggestions would be immensely appreciated. I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but without my Poser working smoothly, its been dreadful and impossible...

Why would you want to install Poser 5 and 7? 

Which version of windows? 

Poser shouldn't be unstable like that. Poser Pro 2010 was very, very stable for me.

I'm thinking (though I am not even close to being very knowledgeable about such things) that It's possible that an update to Windows has changed some drivers (like video drivers) somewhere. Or you've having issues with Flash/Adobe Air. Or possible IE, which I believe Poser uses for its embedded library.

Standard advice is to make sure your video drivers are updated, make sure your plugins (like Flash) are updated, don't install content runtimes into Program Files (just the bare bones main one that is automatically placed with the Poser executable when you install Poser), and make sure you've installed all the relevant service releases for your version of Poser.

I can't help but I can assure you that it is definitely NOT normal to be having all those crashes.

Love esther

PS I"m on a mac but i have PC friends and none of them have crashes like that.

There have been a lot of changes in recent years so it would probably be best to load the latest version of Poser you have.  If you are a making products for the market and you want to test compatibility you can install the earlier versions required.

Yes Windows updates can affect Poser, a recent example was when an update installed Internet Explorer 11 and many lost their library.  There was a later fix but it does prove the point.  Due to the graphic nature of Poser it can also get funny over what drivers are being used but the video card.

You do not describe your hardware but only the Pro versions of Poser will run in the 64bit environment.  All the other versions will run 32bit with the memory limitations that brings.

I am running the Game Dev version of Poser and before that Poser Pro 2014.  I have found it stable in Windows 7 ultimate, although I did have a few crashes when I tried changes with the render preview running.  That will not be an issue for you and it seems to be fixed in the latest update.  Which raises another point, you might want to download the latest Service Release for the version you choose to use. 

The only current SR for PP2010 is 1.1 which may not address the IE11 problem.  However, this is library related issues, not overall software functionality.  Worth taking a look at the IE version anyway.  Check if any automatic changes had occurred on your operating system around the time you started experiencing problems.  You may need to roll back the updates.

I have PoserPro 2012 AND IE 11 and have not had any problems....yet. I do use the external library tho (Air) which might be why I'm not having a problem. I seem to remember it was the embedded library that was causing all the grief. Try what everyone says, especially moriador's suggestion....do NOT install the content runtimes that you use to the program folder (the Poser folder inside Program Files or Program Files (x86)). If you use any OS after Vista you'll have a problem with Poser and UAC if you do. Your content runtimes should be outside of these folders, like in the Documents folder.

Laurie

 If your existing Poser 5 and 7 folders where the program is and maybe content if before Vista still exist it is easy to just copy the folder to an external hard drive/flash stick.  After that just run the program from the new location and as long as the computer is capable of running Poser you should have no problems.  I have my Poser 5 & 6 on a flash drive and can plug it into almost any computer and run the program with no issues.  You might want to see if you can find a clean computer  and try to see if your versions of Poser crash on it.  If not then there is probably something wrong on your system.  If they do then you will want to reinstall that version of Poser as probably the program has been corrupted.

I ran Poser 7 under vista and after turning OFF uac had no problems with it.

The later versions of Poser should give you the option of installing content to  another folder to avoid the security issues.

The very latest video drivr may not be a good idea, I stay with an older version because it is more stable for my system.

You should treat the latest version as a new instal , you dont need to upgrade from Poser 5.

The only current SR for PP2010 is 1.1 which may not address the IE11 problem.  However, this is library related issues, not overall software functionality.  Worth taking a look at the IE version anyway.  Check if any automatic changes had occurred on your operating system around the time you started experiencing problems.  You may need to roll back the updates.

Poser 8 and PP2010 are incompatible with IE 11.  There is a tool from MS to prevent its automatic installation by Windows Update, and I believe it will remove it if it has been installed... http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40722

Just want to chime in about the crashes.  It's not normal or common for Poser to crash like that.

Thank you all for the input, I will try to explain a little better... My apologies for not being the best technical type person...

Poser has been on this system for years without issues such as this. I dont use Poser that much but enuff that Id have seen this behavior before, and its pretty recent stuff. I also use other programs, and none of them are having issues. I updated my video drivers not that long ago, so I do do the maintenance bit.

When I first noticed it, I did re-install the "upgrade" of 2010 from 7, using the same zip i downloaded from content paradise when I picked it up. So I am left to wonder if I screwed things up worse, hence the belief that maybe by installing 5, then 7, then 2010 would work.

I have Windows do its "update thing", often enuff, so i wouldnt know where else to look as far any more checking that everything is up to date =(

My video card (internal i believe?!?) is an ATI Radeon HD 3200, system specs AMD Phenom 9650 Quad Core Processor 2.3 GHz, 8GB Ram... I dont "think' its my system specs, as I have been using Poser for a long time and never had it crash like this, and so often too...

And again, thank you...

The versions are totally seperate, so they will coexist peacefully.  However, you will need to install the latest Service Releases and Content updates for each if you have reinstalled them from scratch...

http://my.smithmicro.com/poser-pro-2010-updates.html

When I first noticed it, I did re-install the "upgrade" of 2010 from 7, using the same zip i downloaded from content paradise when I picked it up. So I am left to wonder if I screwed things up worse, hence the belief that maybe by installing 5, then 7, then 2010 would work.

The Poser that you download when you upgrade is full version. It's only an "upgrade" in the sense that you have to have paid for a prior version to get the cheaper upgrade price. But you don't have to have installed a prior version. So there's no need to install earlier versions. Or to reinstall them. However, I just looked at my old Poser Pro 2010 downloads. There are actually THREE zips to install. One is the Poser software. One is the Poser content. And the last is the Legacy content. You don't have to install the Legacy content if you don't want to (It has figures and stuff from Poser 2, 3 4,5 and so on). But IF my memory is correct, you DO have to install at least some of the basic content or the software cannot even properly open the initial scene. I think that may be your problem.

Edit: The PDF installation instructions in the first ZIP say:

Windows Users:  Once you’ve downloaded the PoserPro2010installer, PoserPro2010Content and LegacyContent .zip archives, right-click each archive and choose “Open”.

 Select and drag the “Poser Pro 2010 Installation Setup” folder from each archive's window to the Desktop, or to a location of your choice. If Windows prompts you to merge the folders, do so; this will place the Content installers in the correct location.

  You may now install Poser Pro 2010 by double-clicking the “StartHere.exe” found in Poser Installation Setup. Click “Install Poser Pro 2010” from the installation wizard shown here. 

Do I need to or should I uninstall 2010 first?!? I dont have to go crazy and do a complete wipeout do I??? I just want to be sure....

Thanks for the help...