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IT WORKED. All I had to do was open the command prompt as an administrator and then enable the service using sc config secdrv start= auto now it works exactly like it should. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Now I can start transferring files from my little computer to my big one. YAY!

I am seriously starting to think that Win 7 simply will not run any program that wasn't specifically designed for 64 bit OS. That's all I got which makes no sense since my 32bit Version of 18 does work. Maybe it's a difference in the size of the OS's. Just for S&Gs I dug out an old program that I knew worked with Win 95 and tried installing it. It wouldn't even attempt it, even after I tried running the installer in Win 95 Compatibility mode. I know there were 64 bit versions of Win XP out there but I didn't have one back in the day. Guess that's where I am right now, kind of stuck. Guess I will have to hope my laptop (currently running my AM2005) will last another five or six months until I can scrape together some extra funds for a full license of AM18, course by then 18 will be 19, etc. Thank you to everyone for all of their suggestions *sighs and lets shoulders droop*

Ok so I've managed to get my trial version of 18 working. Had to uninstall and reinstall and follow the instructions again. This time it worked. But it only lasts for 10 days so I still need to get one of the other versions working. Hoping the complete uninstall I did for all of the AM versions will work...not optimistic but it's worth a shot.

Attached is a screen of the directory. I'm pretty sure that it's all how it's supposed to look Have now uninstalled every Update going back over a year. Haven't uninstalled the Security Updates though. Not sure if those matter or if any update could be the problem. In any event, I've only had this machine for two years so I am halfway through and still no luck

The CD doesn't even spin up on any of the versions, even after I went to the FTP site.

(Moderator update: A work-around for this problem has been found. See post # 26) SO I'm sure that there is a place for this topic but I don't have time to go hunting. Here's my problem: So applied for the AM 18 trial version, downloaded it and followed all the instructions and it is telling me that I need an activation code??? I sent a message to support to see if I can get that resolved. In the interim and because I just did some serious upgrades to my machine, I thought I would try to get one of my older versions to work. When I say older I mean v11,12, or 13. Umm yeah, no matter what I effin do, they won't run. Even when I go through the "compatibility troubleshooter" they still don't work. Yeah I know they were designed for 32 bit OS's and my Win 7 is 64 but you'd think that the compatibility wizard would take all that stuff into account....apparently not. The only difference between between my v11 and 12 not working and my v13, is when I go to start up v13 it says "Program can not open because MFC72.dll is missing. V12 and 11 says that you must login as an admimistrator. Um yeah, It's my computer and my account is an administrator account....doesn't make sense. <_> Anyway, since I can't afford the version of 18 that I want (the full non-subscription license) and don't really have the extra 80.00 for the one year license, I was kind of hoping that there would be someone out there who can help me get one of these effin older versions running on my computer. MY v11.1b I ran on my Win XP Desktop back in the day, yet it won't run with the compatibility set to Win XP SP 2, or SP3. V12.0n which does work on my Laptop (Win Vista), won't work with a Win Vista Compatibility setting. WTF??? For info's sake this was my computer: 3.4ghz Intel Core i3 4gb RAM 2gb Integrated Graphics Video Memory. This is my computer now: 3.4ghz Intel Core i3, 8 GB Ram, 2GB EVGA (NVidia) gt730 Graphics Card. All versions running Win 7 SP1 64 Bit OS I know I am missing something, I just hope someone can tell me what it is. I was able to install v11.1 using a compatibility setting so it should run bu it doesn't. Like I said, none of the other versions run either. Is this a case of the same program conflicting with different versions of itself? Do I need to uninstall one or more versions and try that way? What am I missing (other than the obvious that it just won't work, EVER)? Thanks in advance Ken

I apologize for not introducing myself in the beginning. My name is Ken and I have been using AM since I bought the program back in 96, could have been '97. Not sure anymore. The entire breadth of the 90s is kind of a blur for me. It was like 499, or something like that when I bought it. I am a huge Star Wars fan, mainly from the tech perspective, though. I've been building models since I was twelve. For me, AM allows me to build virtually any kind of model that I want. Given my interests I'll let you all guess what those models are. Despite being primarily a character animator, it's surprisingly good at mechanical animation as well. AM's ease of use is AWESOME. Almost everything I know about the program I figured out. Most of it is right there. I'll write more as days pass. I have to leave for work now. Everyone have a great day and I want to thank everyone who has replied to me thus far.

Worth it to upgrade? For the past few years I have been using a CD (Yes, I said CD) linked version of AM 12 on my laptop. On paper, my laptop had all the requirements to run AM 16 and 17. It never worked, for one reason or another. I am suspecting that it had something to do with the integrated graphics. I can't be sure. Fast forward. I now have a desktop. I've always been satisfied with the program's performance on a desktop versus laptop. Laptop performance is fine until the model becomes too detailed for the processor to handle it. I have some models with over 30,000 patches. Viewling them in any kind of real-time environment on my laptop is about as fun as watching paint dry and almost as slow. I've seen the system requirements for v18. It seems, on paper, to run on my machine. Rather than pay for something that I might never be able to use. I thought it best to get some "expert" opinions. I am providing the official system props from my machine along with the improvements I intend to make to it. I will leave it to you to tell me whether it would be worth it to pay for the upgrade. Just for some background, the last desktop I ran this program on, was the best my money and credit would allow ($2000+ stripped down to just hardware) It was a Dell with Win XP. My current desktop has integrated graphics as well. Any help is appreciated. OS: Win 7 Processor: Intel Core i3@3.40 GHz Installed Memory: 4.00GB Intel HD Integrated Graphics (no video memory listed) Forgot to mention the one big upgrade I am planning: a 2GB NVIdia Card. Also considering an expansion to 8GB of RAM if necessary.

It's been awhile since I have been able to devote any time to anything. I have a REALLY crazy work schedule. Just to give an update, I have managed to get my old CD working. That's a plus. I have to open the drive, close it, and while autorun is trying to recognize it, double click my program icon. It's a pain, but it works. I am okay with that. Don't ask me how I did it, I just did it and it works. Eventually, I will be buying a new machine that is built to my specs and for what I plan to do with it. Funds are still tight right now. I want to thank everyone who responded. I did read them and they were enlightening. Hopefully, I won't be having this issue in the future. Thank you again. BTW, can anyone point me to a place where I can create realistic beacon lights (i.e., like the ones you see on planes, boats, bridges, and towers)?

On paper they should work fine, perhaps a little clunky, but still run. I'm not quite sure. This being laptop and all, I figured it was the integrated graphics. I have been told that cause some serious problems with programs that suck up a lot of video memory. Maybe an external graphics module would (do they make those?). Basically the short of it is that I don't really know. I load the program, it starts up, the interface comes up and I can even draw. I just can't do anything else. I can't open the project workspace, I can't close the libraries pane, I can't change the layout at all without the program closing. It's been so long since I tried either one of them I can't even remember the error messages, if I got them at all. My licenses for both have expired anyway. I was told to upgrade to this and upgrade to that, and still didn't work. I got discouraged and stopped trying. I was able to get this to work for a little bit longer so I didn't bother to keep those licenses current. Believe me, if there was a way I could go in and tell the program that it doesn't need a disc anymore, I would do it. As I understand it, I'd have to have some knowledge of programming. I don't. I'd probably mess it up.

The answer to your question is rather confusing to me. On paper (processor speed, ram, disc space, even video memory) V16 and v17 should run on this machine. I've tried both of them. They both give me the same response. The program loads the model interface comes up. I open a new file, save a new file, or do ANYTHING to change what is actually on the screen, the program closes or freezes. I always just chalked it up to integrated graphics (laptops and all) MY computer is an HP Pavilion dv4-1465dx Entertainment Notebook. 2.1 ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4.00 gb ram, I forgot the Video memory but I know it's the minimum system requirement for at least v16.

A little background: A long time ago I bought version 11. I used it for quite awhile until my machine died. I tried using it on my Vista laptop and it didn't work. I got an upgrade patch from here to version 12 which did work. I used that for a long time. Then my laptop's disc drive started developing problems. At first I thought it was the disc as it was all scratched up. After much time, frustration aggravation and troubleshooting, I have since discovered that the drive itself was going bad and is now plain done in. I bought an external to run the cd. Here's my problem: I know the drive is good, I know it will read the disc. I was able to uninstall the program and then reinstall it from that drive figuring that it would change the location of where the program would look for the CD but it didn't. It keeps saying "Cannot Locate Animation Master CD. Insert the correct cd and try again" I've disabled my other drive, it shouldn't even look there I guess it is. still. More aggravation it seems. I have asked support over and over again if there is a version that doesn't require a disc and will work on this machine (offering to pay for it) and have come up short. I already know that 16 and 17 won't work on this machine. If they don't I know 18 won't. My question is how do I get this program to look for my CD in my new drive and not the old one. This is really starting to get on my last nerve. I don't have the money to buy a new machine to run the latest version of the program or I would. Any help would be appreciated. Have to go to work now.

That explains that problem but now a new one has reared it's ugly head because I think perhaps I have some grphics issues because when I tried to import one of my old model files into 17s "project 1" it loaded but the import directory stayed up and I couldn't do anything with the imported model. everything just froze up and then it stopped working again....same issue or a different one. This is getting aggravating. Pretty much everything I have done so far has caused it to crash aside from drawing a simple square in a new model. If I close the Library, Community, and Prop Panes, the entire screen freezes and it stops working. That's probably a Refresh prob which I don't know I can do anything about. This machine has integrated graphics on it. It's the only one I have. My big machine died. All I have left of it is the drive (attached to this machine via external USB). I have no idea what the Video Memory is on this machine. I just tried to open a project file. I managed to get it to open by going through Win Explorer and selecting "Open With" and it loaded. everything was there. I was able Save As but when I tried to open the project workspace, Animation Master stopped working.. Back to two hours of trying to get my v11 CD to read....

It will not let me go to any directory other than the one it automatically opens. If I go the pull down list to select a different directory or over to the left for my quick links, the screen fades and I get "Animation Master is not responding" Then "windows is checking for a solution to the problem" etc. Could I be missing a driver or have a registry file that's gotten bamboozled? BTW I am using Vista Home Pro, it came with the machine...

I just downloaded and activated v17.0 subscription and the program opened and would let me draw lines, etc but when I tried to open an existing project file from a previous version (v11.0) instead of opening a file from the directory it automatically went to, the program stalled and then crashed. This is the same problem I had with v16.0 last year and never did figure out what was wrong so I went back to my v 11.0 (run as v12.0 with a downloaded patch file from the ftp site awhile back). Unfortunately that option is becoming increasingly difficult as the CD has gotten all scratched up and the Disc repair I tried didn't work. Needless to say, half the time it doesn't even show a disc in the drive. But that is another problem altogether. So I guess I am stuck with this. I am using an HP dv4, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1ghz, 4g RAM. Theoretically, I have the minimum processing power and the RAM, but this is a laptop so maybe I am just screwed in that regard. Any suggestions would be helpful even if they are the ones I don't want to hear...like "your machine won't run it because..." Thanks in advance for any help

If you can believe it, it took me nearly 6 months to build the truck, cut it up and make it change. I actually had to do it one half of the vehicle at a time. The process was rather involved. First, I built the truck which was just a shell and some tires. Then I literally had to add bones, and animate as I was adding them to ensure that everything worked. That was after I storyboarded the sequence. Every single movement was hand inputted using the numerical position values with the position editor so that it all happened at exactly the precise interval. It was a total PAIN, but the end result was actually better than I had hoped and planned. It wasn't as dynamic as I would have liked, but then I don't have a rendering farm to handle the kind of stuff I'd like to do.

I have an Intel Mobile Express Series chipset. Thanks for the options. Yes, I did send Windows back to stone age already. I'll try the other ones. I'll see if that works. My money says that the 32 bit will probably work. Call it years of buying stuff and thinking that I have the hardware to run it only to find out that I don't. I know the 32 bit version doesn't suck up as many resources as the 64 bit version can. I have Photoshop CS4 on this machine and can run the 64 bit exe just fine. Then that is just photo editting. AM is slightly more than that. I'll have to try all that other stuff after work. It's gonna be a LONG day at work. Thanks Finally got a chance to try these suggestions... I installed the 32 bit version on my machine. I changed the real time driver to Direct3Dv8 and now it works. It seems strange that the 64 bit version didn't give me the Direct 3D option. Guess my machine is one of those half and half deals. It's probably due to the integrated graphics thingy. Mind you, it's clunky and slow but it works. That's all I care about. I figure the slow part has to do with the fact that one of my models is nearly 6mb in size with over 300 bones, and some pretty advanced color settings. (Reflectivity, glass work, LOTS of moving parts, etc.) Um, yeah, I don't do anything half way. I'd post a movie of it in action, but it's too big...for my wireless aircard to handle. It had a hard enough time downloading the installers. Eventually, I'll be back on cable or some other DSL service and I'll upload my crude but totally cool transforming firetruck. It's missing hands cause I suck at making realistic hands whether they're robotic or human...other wise it's a complete and mostly believable transition from vehicle to truck....that's what I use AM for. got a youtube link if you want to see it... Thanks for all your help....I'm sure I'll be around again with more questions as I play around with v16... I have Intel Mobile Express Series Chipset 4. I didn't download my drivers from Intel, or Microsoft I downloaded the latest ones from HP, my machine's manufacturer. Once i installed the 32 bit version, found an option for Direct3D, which I set it to. Aside from the slowness, it hasn't crashed.

I have an Intel Mobile Express Series chipset. Thanks for the options. Yes, I did send Windows back to stone age already. I'll try the other ones. I'll see if that works. My money says that the 32 bit will probably work. Call it years of buying stuff and thinking that I have the hardware to run it only to find out that I don't. I know the 32 bit version doesn't suck up as many resources as the 64 bit version can. I have Photoshop CS4 on this machine and can run the 64 bit exe just fine. Then that is just photo editting. AM is slightly more than that. I'll have to try all that other stuff after work. It's gonna be a LONG day at work. Thanks

I just now had the time to try this out. I work an on call job and it's been pretty freakish. I downloaded and opened this file, and it loaded. Since I've now uninstalled and reinstalled AM, after saving the master0.lic file and putting it back in, it still does the same thing. I am using SP2, with the latest graphics drivers available for my machine. To date, I've tried adjusting the display settings, turned everything off in "selective startup", and completely uninstalled my antivirus software. Yeah, I know that's risky, but they were out of date anyway. The only thing I haven't done is to do a defrag and registry sweep. I am not so sure that will solve the problem. I used and installed my previous versions on machines that had never been defragged or had their registries cleaned up and they worked just fine, minus the occasional program crash because i had too much stuff running at once. The only things I have running on this computer right now are basic windows utilities. I may have to accept the fact that for whatever reason it just won't run on this machine That sucks but it is what it is. I don't have the ability to make a video of the program going down in flames, or I'd make one. The short of it is, that anytime you try to do something whether it's opening a file, changing the project window, closing panels like the libraries and community panels, changing model viewing modes, etc. It stops working. It does it when I try to make a new model. I can never get past the generic project phase to find out if anything else won't work. Just noticed this while I was going through my programs. As you can see every program except AM 16 is showing a program size. Is that normal? It seems to me that the program didn't install properly. It installed but not enough for Windows to recognize it as being fully installed. Is that even possible? I installed it from an exe that I downloaded from my subscription link. I assumed that it didn't matter whether I installed it directly from the Hash Store or a downloaded file. does it?

I just now had the time to try this out. I work an on call job and it's been pretty freakish. I downloaded and opened this file, and it loaded. Since I've now uninstalled and reinstalled AM, after saving the master0.lic file and putting it back in, it still does the same thing. I am using SP2, with the latest graphics drivers available for my machine. To date, I've tried adjusting the display settings, turned everything off in "selective startup", and completely uninstalled my antivirus software. Yeah, I know that's risky, but they were out of date anyway. The only thing I haven't done is to do a defrag and registry sweep. I am not so sure that will solve the problem. I used and installed my previous versions on machines that had never been defragged or had their registries cleaned up and they worked just fine, minus the occasional program crash because i had too much stuff running at once. The only things I have running on this computer right now are basic windows utilities. I may have to accept the fact that for whatever reason it just won't run on this machine That sucks but it is what it is. I don't have the ability to make a video of the program going down in flames, or I'd make one. The short of it is, that anytime you try to do something whether it's opening a file, changing the project window, closing panels like the libraries and community panels, changing model viewing modes, etc. It stops working. It does it when I try to make a new model. I can never get past the generic project phase to find out if anything else won't work.

How do I handle the lack of resources problem? I went in and adjusted the paging file size to what the system recommended, which was more that what was allocated and that didn't help. It's still crashing. I get "animation master has stopped working" and then it closes. grrrr... Win 7 will have to wait, this was my one big purchase for the month. Thought this would be an answer to my not having my v11 cd anymore (I'm sure I still have it somewhere, I just can't find it) I probably should have looked at the system requirements before I bought the subscription version of the program, but I am wondering exactly what version of windows it was written for. If it specifically says Windows Vista SP2, then the upgrade I am dowloading should solve the problem. If it was written for Win 7, I am screwed. If it was written for Vista without any service packs, i don't know that upgrading will help. Chances are the files and drivers the program is looking for may not in the location it's looking for them in. Just annoyed rambling on my part. Sorry If the problem is resources, what can I do? According to the manufacturer, this computer has 4GB of ram, and 1.7GB of Video memory. I noticed that AM can use up to 190 gb of RAM on a 64 bit system. The question is, is that what it's looking for? Is that why even the smallest action causes it to stop working? If so, will the 32 bit version run on this computer?

It may have been v10, but I am pretty sure that it was v11. The patch upgraded me to V12 but still ran on my computer using my old CD, that I can't find. I contacted support and they directed me to an ftp site with a link in the e-mail response. I installed it and it allowed it to run on my computer. Before that patch, it wouldn't even install. I tried it. It told me "please insert 64 bit installer" or something like that. I attached a screen example of just one of the simple things that cause the program to stop working...

How do I handle the lack of resources problem? I went in and adjusted the paging file size to what the system recommended, which was more that what was allocated and that didn't help. It's still crashing. I get "animation master has stopped working" and then it closes. grrrr... Win 7 will have to wait, this was my one big purchase for the month. Thought this would be an answer to my not having my v11 cd anymore (I'm sure I still have it somewhere, I just can't find it) I probably should have looked at the system requirements before I bought the subscription version of the program, but I am wondering exactly what version of windows it was written for. If it specifically says Windows Vista SP2, then the upgrade I am dowloading should solve the problem. If it was written for Win 7, I am screwed. If it was written for Vista without any service packs, i don't know that upgrading will help. Chances are the files and drivers the program is looking for may not in the location it's looking for them in. Just annoyed rambling on my part. Sorry

I doubt that is the trouble (They did get installed into separate folders for V12 and V16, right?) I have V9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 installed and they all seem to run. I'm doubtful about that too but it's easy to test. Copy some models (and any bitmaps or other assets they need) to your regular drive and see what happens. Definitely, even aside from A:M. Tested the files directly from the main computer's hard drive. It still crashes when I try to do simple things. I read a previous post about checking to verify if I actually have a 64 bit version of Win Vista. I do. I started to wonder if the files themselves are the problem. They were all created with version 11, on an XP computer. I got a patch from tech support that allowed my V11 cd to run on Vista, and it worked just fine. I had to switch desktop themes, but it did work. I was wondering since they were all created using a 32 bit version, if that is the actual problem. Maybe the computer itself is trying to interpret between the two versions. Then I thought about it. I've tried using a blank Project1 and starting a completely new model from scratch and it still crashes. I guess I'll know more when I get the SP2 installed. Seeing as how I am having these problems, I am not really confident that it will fix them. I could be wrong. Sometimes, you just have that feeling in your gut, you know.

Yes I get the message "Animation Master has stopped working" I have the latest graphics drivers installed, but that hasn't helped. we'll see if SP2 does the trick... I was wondering if there is a program conflict. I have v16 and v12 on this computer. I can't use 12 because I lost my cd but it's still on here. I am also running an external HD that has XP on it, but that's where all my model files are. Just wondering if that could be the problem. Still gonna try the SP2 upgrade though.