Object Desktop 2009 Official Support Thread

Post your thoughts, questions, issues with Object Desktop 2009 here.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 by Zargon | Discussion: Object Desktop

When Object Desktop 2009 is released, this is where the known issues will be posted.  Please post your findings here as well.  Thank you!

Notes and Known Issues: (all issues are being worked on at this time)

Theme Manager 3.0 (Published at 11am)

  • Aero Midnight theme included as a .suite file for Object Desktop customers.
  • My Desktop / Save My Desktop: Dreams, skins and cursors sometimes do apply when saved as part of a suite.  Please apply through the Applications tab as a workaround at this time.
  • Applications / Cursors: Sometimes cursors take two applies before applying.
  • My Desktop / Create New Theme: The Download URL function is not working at this time.
  • Please update SoundPackager before applying sounds through Theme Manager 3.0.
  • Users will need to open SoundPackager one time to have sound packages show up in Theme Manager 3.0.
  • Fixed - On systems that do not have MyColors installed, an error about the StardockWeather.ocx file not being registered will display when applying weather gadgets.
  • The Aero Midnight skin does not extract and apply 100% of the time on faster hardware.

Deskscapes 2.5 (with XP support published at 1pm)

  • With a Dream file applied dragging and dropping icons from the desktop to a folder does not work at this time.
  • Please visit this web site to review video card requirement details.  In short, AGP Video cards are not supported at this time.  Future driver updates from NVIDIA/ATI will add support later this year.  At that time only AGP 8x will be supported (4x/2x/1x bus speeds are not adequate to support dream functionality at low CPU).
  • The Watercolor Dream may exhibit some distortion on Windows XP.

Bootskin Pro 1.0 (published at 6:30pm)

  • There is a new WinCustomize gallery for Windows Vista bootskins.  Boot skins created for XP will not work with Bootskin Pro.
  • Bootskin Pro allows users to create boot skins for Windows Vista, so boot skins created for XP can be re-generated and uploaded to WinCustomize.
  • Bootskin Pro Create boot skin tab will attempt to read your Object Desktop Ultimate serial from the registry.  If the serial number field is blank, paste in your Object Desktop Ultimate serial number to create a boot skin.
  • There may be an issue with .bootskin file associations on some systems.

WindowBlinds 6.3 (published on 11/18/2008)

  • Windows Vista 64-bit users may need to reboot after install if skins do not apply correctly.
339 Reply 252 Referrals
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BeLGaRaTh67
Reply #241 Monday, November 24, 2008 9:39 AM

a dickinso
reply 15
The new version of theme manager will not apply skin or widgets on suites or my colour themes on my computer operating Windows Vista. It works correctly on my computer operating Windows XP. I also have a problem with bootskin pro for vista. It will not apply a bootscreen, I recieve the error of there was an error applying _____ eg: aquamaine. Has any experienced the same problem or have any ideas?

yes, unless you are a yank you cannot use bootskin pro


jason4587
Reply #242 Monday, November 24, 2008 5:15 PM
Hi Zargon and all. I just wanted to followup with my earlier problem and let you know that it has been resolved. There was a new push of Impulse that solved my issue. THank you for your attention here. Jason

PuterDudeJim
Reply #243 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 2:33 AM
What codecs do I need? Where do I get them? The Dynamic dreams work fine, the others tell me I need a codec. HELP!!!!

PuterDudeJim
Reply #244 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 2:34 AM

How do I tell if my graphics card is AGP 4x   or 8x?


starkers
Reply #245 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 2:52 AM

How do I tell if my graphics card is AGP 4x or 8x?

It should tell you in the mobo owners manual under graphic display whether you have 4x or 8x... failing that, go to Administrative tools> Computer Management> Device manager> scroll down the list to Display Adapters> expand entry and right click on card entry> Properties... in the window under the 'General' tab at 'Location' it should tell you whether your card is PCIe or AGP @ 4x or 8x.

I hope this helps.


PuterDudeJim
Reply #246 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:17 PM

It does not tell me 4x or 8x. Actually, it says it's a PCI.


TheMasterBaron
Reply #247 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 5:30 PM

How do I tell if my graphics card is AGP 4x or 8x?

 

You can try and install Nvidia's Monitoring tool


canmandeco
Reply #248 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:16 PM

FX5200 is AGP 8X.   GeForce FX 5200 - Tech Specs 


PuterDudeJim
Reply #249 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:44 PM

canmandeco
reply 23
FX5200 is AGP 8X.   GeForce FX 5200 - Tech Specs 

Then why does my Device Manager say PCI?


PuterDudeJim
Reply #250 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:29 PM

You can try and install Nvidia's Monitoring tool
Did that, it locked up my pC


canmandeco
Reply #251 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 8:16 PM

Then why does my Device Manager say PCI?
I have an AGP card, and my device manager says the same thing.  Try this:

Go to Start menu and select run.  type "dxdiag" in the run box and hit enter. 
When the DirectX Diagnostic tool opens go to the display tab and see if you have AGP Texture Acceleration enabled.  If you do then you must have an AGP card.  The chip type should also be displayed in that tab, my system has AGP listed there. 


PuterDudeJim
Reply #252 Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:19 PM
Windows XP Users
Minimum Requirements: Windows XP users must have a card supporting DirectX 9, 128 MB of graphics memory, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32-bit color.
Windows XP users must be running a PCIe (PCI Express) video card at this time (AGP 8x will be supported in December, see below.) Support for AGP cards should be available in December when updated drivers are released from the video card vendor(s). AGP 4x/2x will not be supported.

*Attention XP Users!
Do not apply a dream on Windows XP if your machine has an AGP graphics card. The drivers currently available at this time are not specifically tuned for optimal results. The video card manufacturers are testing an updated driver that will address this issue and expect to release driver(s) sometime in Decemeber of 2009. Stardock will post a link to the driver on this page once the update(s) are available.
Is this date accurate? This thread would lead one to believe it to be released this December. 2008

Neil Banfield
Reply #253 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 4:49 AM

I think thats a mistake.  The last I heard was Dec 2008.


Excalpius
Reply #254 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:37 AM

I'd be interested in learning what driver issue is causing the problem.  VLC can play desktop video on AGP cards and Milkdrop can play advanced procedural animation (Winamp music driven visualizations) on the desktop as well.  And both have open source code available for programmer exploration. 

Is it strictly an issue with High-Definition video via AGP?  Just curious.

Either way, I'm looking forward to testing the new version. 


mickeko
Reply #255 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 6:00 AM

Excalpius
reply 4
I'd be interested in learning what driver issue is causing the problem.  VLC can play desktop video on AGP cards and Milkdrop can play advanced procedural animation (Winamp music driven visualizations) on the desktop as well. 

Neither of them use hardware decoding of video.


Neil Banfield
Reply #256 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 8:56 AM

How many of those also work with transparency over them and also blend icons against the live video?


skyzyk
Reply #257 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:31 PM

Everything works fine here. Love the versatility of the new programs.


Excalpius
Reply #258 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 7:41 PM

How many of those also work with transparency over them and also blend icons against the live video?


The WinAmp milkdrop plugin handles transparency (when it exists) in XP, as tested with the ClearOne Winamp skin and WindowBlinds, and flawlessly with all transparency enabled applications in Vista.  My AGP 8x machine was the one I ran XP32 on when I used to do this.

In Vista, for example, I am using Winamp/Milkdrop on the desktop right now on my third monitor (adapter 2) at the same time that DeskScapes is playing Photo Dream on my monitors 1 and 2 (adapter 1).  I've tweaked the visualization to run on Pixel Shader 3 at 1680x1050, with all internal settings maximized, playing at 30 fps and reacting to the music playing in WinAmp, of course.  Here is a screenshot.



As far as Icons go, XP wouldn't antialias/blend the edges over the milkdrop background.

In Vista the icons flash on monitor 3 when "show desktop icons" is turned on in the visualization plugin, but I'm not sure if that is an issue with my unique setup (which also has Fences running, though I've hidden the icons in the screenshot).  They don't affect my monitor 1 & 2 (adapter 1) icons, etc.  Windows, gadgets, programs, etc. all behave as expected.

I haven't run XP in a while, but I do remember that VLC desktop wallpaper worked under XP.  I'm pretty sure WindowBlinds transparency did work with it as well. 

In Vista, VLC will turn off Aero acceleration in Vista to play in the background.  However, I have been able to play multiple instances of HD video simultaneously on this machine.  Though, if it's all software accelerated (as noted above) that might make sense.

I will try and boot into XP again later today and see if I can give you guys better answers on that front.

 

 


PuterDudeJim
Reply #259 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:31 PM

I think thats a mistake. The last I heard was Dec 2008.

I hope you are right.


ZubaZ
Reply #260 Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11:07 PM

Have I ever led you down teh wrong path?


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