Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=898029

Ok, so Poser and Roxio and Symantec and AOl and yada yada like to overwrite the standard ms dll's and sys' with their own tweaked codes. This is a practice that needs to stop. Stay with a standardized protocol. (not that I think MS should be the standard, but until someone else comes along to set an industry spec, we are stuck with M$). So, what happens when program x of the future has version 5.00.3.xxx of this file and it overwrites when loaded? We all get hosed again. I remember some years ago when Norton 95 came out and AOL 3 I think. Tons of problems. I called Norton, they pointed the finger at AOL. Back then, Steve Chase was personally available so I called him, he pointed at Norton. I set up a conference call to both and they agreed to rewrite both programs. It was a dcom file issue as I recall. You know, this really sux. Just go standard and if you need something special, write your own dll/sys and don't overwrite the existing ones!!!!!

I think, but do not quote me, that XP seems to have application system stuff in different folders. I have not needed to go into XP for a while. :0) I have always thought that MS allowing software to overwrite system files is the leading contributor to "Microsoft OS/Application Instability". It would probably solve a lot more problems if the OS would keep software system files separate from OS system files. For example, in the case of P5: c:windowssystemposer5

That's why I run Linux :) . If your interested, check out Mandrake 9.0 - free, and comes with almost everything you'll ever need. Very, very, very stable. The only problem is finding specialized software designed to run in it - software companies are starting to recognize Linux though. Until then, I dual boot so I can use my graphics programs.

curious labs & standards? they don't even know how to spell it!

yep Cyber XP trys it's best to protect the system files by installing any program specific ones to a seperate folder, far as I know it's the only version of windows that does it.

Standards: that's asking a lot, isn't it? Pretty soon we'll be asking for a standardized, fully exportable and importable, cross-application and cross-platform file format...

Does System File Protection in win 2k stop poser 5 overwriting files or what? I mean, it should do. I can't even overwrite a corrupted Outlook Express .dll to get the damned mail running! mac