Complete Failure of Corel Technical SupportThe attached transcripts show the complete and utter failure of CorelGraphics Suite X3 technical support. There seems to be a problemreading and understanding the English language.I have attempted to resolve this by email, and by talking with "theonly John in Technical Support" who says that he can't do anythingabout the failure of free technical support, but If I want to pay . ..I will send hard copies of this to Kevin Thornton, Senior VicePresident for Sales & Marketing, and to David C. Dobson, CEO sincethey do not seem to have any accessible email addresses.It's time to toss out Corel on all my systems and get AdobeIllustrator instead. In the meantime, it's also time for Corel to firesome of their incompetent technical support representatives.Jim WinerFirebird-JMW_REMOVE_@Comcast_DELETE_.netDear Jeremy,Please refer this matter to your supervisor. I feel that your answersare unresponsive as indicated below.>Response (Jeremy) 04/18/2008 01:42 AM>Dear Mr/ Ms WinerApparently you are unaware that "Jim" is a male name. Apparently youdid not grow up in the United States.>Please refer to this link for the error 1606>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315352From my 4/17 answer:"Your suggestion that I try removing Corel Graphics Suite X3 manuallywith faqid=759671&p resulted in error 1606. Attempting to fix 1606according to the instructions in your KB article resulted in nothing."To recover, I had to reload my system from backups made on 4/12."I followed the instructions your web site suggested for error 1606 andit hosed my entire system. I recovered the system from backup. I nolonger have need of solving the 1606 problem and I stated it prettyclearly, but you seem to have missed it.>A file of that size will only bounce back because>our email system does not support big attachments.Here's what I sent. Compare that to what you responded:"I have the following files available if you tell me how to send themto you."Application Event Log.evt from before install to after fail"System Event Log.evt from before install to after fail"MSI6a3c.LOG MS Installer log"MSI42986.LOG MS Installer log"1306a3e.mst Corel data base"carm1.log Corel failure report"MSI6a3c.LOG MS Installer log is 11 MB. The others are short."How should I send them to you?"In short, I told you that one file was long, but that the others wereshort. These files might be useful, but instead of telling me how tosend them to you, you decided that because one file was too big, nonewere valuable? In particular, the CARM.LOG file gives completeinformation on what the program was doing at the time of failure andit is fairly short.>I noticed that you are using an Nvidia Video adapter.>Sometimes conflicts with this video card's drivers may>arise between the software.I mentioned to you on 4/16, Item 2b, that I have the latest availableNvidia drivers installed. Did you miss this?>Computers with dual core processors and newer nVidia GeForce Graphic >cards could conflict with certain versions of Corel Draw. The problem >lies with the video driver version that is currently installed.>>To resolve this problem download and install the latest driver offered >from nVidia. See the following nVidia web pages for more information >and to obtain the latest driver.<additional information from you telling me how to get the latestNvidia drivers omitted>>This solution was designed for Paint Shop Pro but may also>apply with Corel Draw.Paint Shop Pro X runs fine on this machine.>Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.>>Kind regards,>>Jeremy>Corel Customer SupportPlease refer this matter to your supervisor. I feel that your answersare unresponsive as indicated above. If you reply unresponsivelyagain, I will find it necessary to post this discussion in everyavailable public forum, and will start sending copies to executives atCorel.Thank you.Jim Winer Response (Jeremy) 04/18/2008 01:42 AM Dear Mr/ Ms WinerThank you very much for your e-mail.Please refer to this link for the error 1606http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315352A file of that size will only bounce back because our email systemdoes not support big attachments.I noticed that you are using an Nvidia Video adapter.Sometimes conflicts with this video card's drivers may arise betweenthe software.Computers with dual core processors and newer nVidia GeForce Graphiccards could conflict with certain versions of Corel Draw. The problemlies with the video driver version that is currently installed.To resolve this problem download and install the latest driver offeredfrom nVidia. See the following nVidia web pages for more informationand to obtain the latest driver.Driver download and information - NOTE: Make sure to download the newdriver to your Windows Desktop (or location of your choice, makingsure that you know where to locate the downloaded file) before youremove the existing driver.Click the following link.http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.aspChoose Graphics Driver in the START HERE list.In the second list/box, choose your specific video card. For example,if you have a Geforce 6150LE, choose GeForce 6 Series. To determineyour specific video card model, open Display Properties from theControl Panel. Click On Settings tab. You will see the specific videocard model listed under the Display field.In the third list/box, choose the version of Windows you are using.Typically this will be the Windows XP/2000Click the Go! button.Click one of the download buttons to begin the download (PrimaryDownload Site should be fine). Make sure to choose to save the file.We recommend saving the file to your desktop.The Driver page will also have the following in the left pane, theseare of interest and should be viewed:Important! see Driver Installation Hints (Nvidias installinstructions).Products Supported (a list of supported video cards).At the bottom of this page click the Release Notes (vXX.XX) link fordetailed information on the latest driver.When updating video card drivers, uninstalling your current driversbefore installing new drivers is a critical step.Driver Un-installation instructions.Click the following link.http://www.nvidia.com/object/driver_installation_hints.htmlNOTE: in addition to Nvidia's supplied instructions from the abovelink, make sure you do the following:Download the new drivers installation file, saving it to your compuerbefore removing your existing driver. See the links below fordownloads. We recommend saving the driver to your computer Desktop (ora download location of your choice).In Add or Remove Programs NVIDIA Drivers will be listed. Left click onChange/Remove and the Remove NVIDIA Components window will appear.Choose to Remove only the following option.Place a checkmark in NVIDIA Display Driver (this will only remove thedisplay driver and not other drivers).After removing the existing driver, restart the computer.The Windows Hardware Wizard will install a generic windows driver torun your video card. After this your screen resolution will be set tothe default 800 x 600.Double click on the installation file you downloaded from Nvidia andchoose Run to install the latest software for your video card.This solution was designed for Paint Shop Pro but may also apply withCorel Draw.Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.Kind regards,JeremyCorel Customer Support Customer (James Winer) 04/17/2008 08:15 PM Hello Jeremy,I have the following files available if you tell me how to send themto you.Application Event Log.evt from before install to after failSystem Event Log.evt from before install to after failMSI6a3c.LOG MS Installer logMSI42986.LOG MS Installer log1306a3e.mst Corel data basecarm1.log Corel failure reportMSI6a3c.LOG MS Installer log is 11 MB. The others are short.How should I send them to you?Thanks.Jim Winer Customer (James Winer) 04/17/2008 04:41 PM Hey Jeremy,Your suggestion that I try removing Corel Graphics Suite X3 manuallywith faqid=759671&p resulted in error 1606. Attempting to fix 1606according to the instructions in your KB article resulted in nothing.To recover, I had to reload my system from backups made on 4/12.So now I'm back to having CorelDRAW installed and it won't write to afile.Do you any other suggestions?If you will notice, I have already tried almost everything yourequested, and did it twice since you asked for it after I had alreadydone it, so I tried it again.It would be nice if you would review the information I have alreadyprovided before making another suggestion.If it would be any use, I can provide the MS Installer logs (I canuninstall and reinstall again to get them) since I have them turned on-- I just don't know how to make sense of any of the data.Thank you.Jim Winer Response (Jeremy) 04/16/2008 11:25 PM Dear Mr/ Ms WinerThank you very much for your e-mail.If the given solutions failed to correct the problem, try a cleanreinstall.Title: Manually Removing CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3 from SystemsRunning Windows® 2000 or XPURL:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=759671&p_created=001149780398Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.Kind regards,JeremyCorel Customer Support Customer (James Winer) 04/16/2008 11:25 AM Thank you for your response.1. I have already tried resetting the workspace to factory default.This had no effect on the problem. (Damaged or Corrupt Workspace inCorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3, faqid=758989&p)2. I have already tried the following: (Troubleshooting CorelDRAW®Stability and Performance Issues on Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or XP,faqid=753659&p)a. Logged in as administrator.b. Most current video drivers.c. Minimum number of fonts.d. Delete temporary files.e. Default printer = networked HP8150 worked fine on CorelDRAW fromthe old machine. Latest driver.f. Virtual memory: real memory is 4GB, virtual memory is 2GB.g. XP themes: running classic windows with all interface cycle wastersturned off.h. Other peripherals: all drivers latest version.i. All patches up to date.j. Scan for viruses: Latest version of Zone Alarm Security Suite saysno viruses or spy ware. Latest version of Spybot says no spy ware.k. Application workspace reset.l. Corel memory setting: 25% = 1GBm. Backup options: auton. Reinstall the application: doesn't help.o. File: Sequence is as follows: New, draw square, save, fails.I have searched both the Microsoft knowledge base and the Corelknowledge base. The only thing applicable is the problem with ISUP notregistering correctly. I get two warnings in Application Event Logwhenever I start a Corel product.Detection of product '{1A15507A-8551-4626-915D-3D5FA095CC1B}', feature'_ISUS', component '{ACD935F6-53F3-469B-842F-2CE17B80840C}' failed.The resource 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\AutoUpdate\{1A15507A-8551-4626-915D-3D5FA095CC1B}\Interval' does notexist.Detection of product '{1A15507A-8551-4626-915D-3D5FA095CC1B}', feature'_ISUS' failed during request for component'{D2D7B4BF-6CCA-11D5-8B3F-00105A9846E9}'I also get error 1642 from MsInstall indicating thatProduct: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 - Update'{1C7E5871-8BCD-42D8-A0C2-B440A7AD7B63}' could not be installed. Errorcode 1642. Windows Installer can create logs to help troubleshootissues with installing software packages. Use the following link forinstructions on turning on logging support:http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=23127I have not yet turned on the logs.Nothing interesting in any of the other Event Logs.Thank you.Jim Winer Response (Jeremy) 04/16/2008 02:36 AM Dear Mr/ Ms WinerThank you very much for your e-mail.Try to reset the workspace as it must have gotten corrupted.Title: Damaged or Corrupt Workspace in CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3URL:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=758989&p_created=001136833127Likewise, you might as well check this out.Title: Troubleshooting CorelDRAW® Stability and Performance Issues onMicrosoft® Windows® 2000 or XPURL:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=753659&p_created=001068163834Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.Kind regards,JeremyCorel Customer Support Auto-Response (Jeremy) 04/16/2008 12:50 AM Title: 'Error 1304' or 'Error 1305' error message when you try toinstall your softwareLink:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=759260&p_created=1138746606Title: Why do I get a blank page when trying to activate a trialversion?Link:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=759509&p_created=1143063403Title: Release Notes For CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 Service Pack 2Link:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=760233&p_created=1169818542Title: Corel Graphics Suite X3 SP1 Full/Upgrade - Release NotesLink:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=759911&p_created=1152889172Title: Creating Transparent Bitmaps in CorelDRAW® and CorelPHOTO-PAINT®Link:http://support.corel.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=756152&p_created=1084823419 Customer (James Winer) 04/16/2008 12:50 AM I have just upgraded from an 800 MHz PIII to a Quad Q6600 2.4 gHz, andfrom Win2K SP4 to WinXP SP2. geForce 8800GT graphics card.I reinstalled Corel X3 from the original CDs and did the onlineupdates. SP1 does not install. SP2 installs even though it saysit needs SP1 first. However, the problem happens immediately evenwhen no SPs are installed. (I've been through this more than once.)Some of the Corel KB articles say there are problems with multi-coreand nVidia graphics cards. All drivers and updates to XP have beenapplied.When I open Corel Draw X3, everything works until I attempt to save orexport. Then I get the Corel A.R.M. failure report thing and nooutput. (This happens with 10.00 as well as 10.02.)I've already tried to repair with the original CDs.I've made sure permissions are okay and files are not read-only (whenusing an existing .CDR file).1. New (blank page).2. Put a square on it.3. Save - CARM again.So makes no difference whether old files or new.I have also tried Photo-Paint and the same thing happens, so it lookslike a common dll may be missing.Paint Shop Pro (also Corel, formerly Jasc) works. fine.There does not seem to be a problem with any other program.Nvidia drivers are the latest available.All Microsoft updates to XP have been applied.I have already completely uninstalled and reinstall.I've done a lot more experimenting, and its only the two Corelapplications, CorelDRAW and Corel Photo-Paint that have the problem,and it's the same problem -- no write to a file -- causes a programexception with the all zeros data in the Application Event Log.I have some strange symptoms of file locking when moving or erasingfiles over a gigabyte or so, but I don't think it's related.I'll go back to the KB at corel.com and see if I can't think up someother way to search for an appropriate article. I finally found onethat told me the InstallShield Update Program doesn't registercorrectly so you get error messages in the Application Event Log everytime, but they don't hurt anything. (Just annoying.)TIAJim
Feel free to give Adobe technical support a whirl. When you get thoroughly frustrated there feel free to return to this forum.
Dan
REF: Terremoto's post
How is doing what you suggest going to get Corel to then become a responsible company, catering to ALL the needs of its customers? It's not like they don't have the billions of dollars to afford hiring and training english-speaking people who actually know the products!!!
They have been and are currently failing miserably. I've asked on every one of their various "user" forums that I could find about a specific, simple, technical issue, but have never once received a reply (in over a 2 month period)! Corel representatives NEVER EVEN VISIT OR REPLY ON THOSE FORUMS!!!
Are you suggesting that Corel should follow the lead of other companies that fail miserably with their pitiful support?
Years ago, Corel did much better than it has lately. It's not the same Corel company that I remember from years ago.
Here's a link to everybody who seems to be getting their salaries without producing adequate results.
http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index.jsp?pgid=800269
I see you cannot download my image here so if you send me an email to "operations at pamspress.com" I will email you the image.
Flying x
Bob, you are a friggin' genious! You've done what I've been asking for. I just don't know exactly the steps you took in creating it.
I loaded your tff "Flying X" into my RotoPen, applied it to a background jpg in VS, removed the "trail" so that the only thing moving across the screen was the "X", added a little music ------ and it worked perfectly! I made a small test movie (.wmv).
Now, how did you do it? HA HA
dsignr said:You've done what I've been asking for.
The first thing to understand is that this is a bit of a screwup.
You create an image with a transparent background and export it from Photo-PAINT as a TIF and it says to merge the objects with the background but it does not merge the background. If you reopen the tiff file into Photo-PAINT you'll see that it's still transparent. This creates a transparent tif file whch is what you need so you're happy. As far as using it in Visual Studio pto Ultimate I'm at a loss as I only have Pro.
David Milisock said: it says to merge the objects with the background but it does not merge the background
In the sense it is now flat with an alpha channel to preserve transparency (one layer that is transparent). Working as designed as opposed to multi layers (objects)
bob said:Working as designed as opposed to multi layers (objects)
Except the nomenclature of the dialog is incorrect, it should say preserve transparency as Alpha channel. Corel dosen't really support transparency in a TIF file as a proper expot or save as option and I don't know why it may be a licensing thing.
You'll notice as a CPT or PSD file the transparent background is it's own object.
Does VisualStudio Pro Ultimate require a tif file for import?
I checked my version of Pro and it accepts PanitShop Pro, PSD, PNG as well as many others. I would try using a transparent PNG file.
David, the only reason I'm focusing on tif's is because the icons/images provided by default with the RotoPen tool are tif images (created by Photoshop). I've been trying to duplicate their default format so as not to get confused by using other types. They 'may' have other types to use, such as PNG, etc., but I'm sticking with the default TIF until I can create one of my own that works.
By the way, since I got his "Flying X" to work, I've been struggling to create a "Flying Circle," but nothing I do works. They either won't load into RotoPen, or else they still retain a rectangular background.
Maybe it's because my old version of CorelPaint doesn't have the options required to do what newer versions have, such as "Starting" a new drawing with a transparent background. Although my version does have "Channels", etc. Also, my version doesn't allow me to Export the image. When I try 'Export,' the program looks for a Watermark, and not finding one, it does nothing more after that. I've been using "Save As"... tif, but when doing that, it still merges the blue circle into the background (even though my background is the checkerboard (transparent) part of the image. I'm totally confused.
Yet, I'm encouraged very much that Bob has created one with a Corel product (assuming he didn't cheat by using Photoshop! BIG GRIN!!!!).
I'm still hoping there is a process I haven't tried yet with my old version of CorelPaint (version 7.467). Otherwise, I may be forced into spending money for an updated Corel SUITE. On SS, that's tough for me to manage.
David Milisock said:Except the nomenclature of the dialog is incorrect, it should say preserve transparency as Alpha channel
Yes, totally agree.
dsignr said:I'm encouraged very much that Bob has created one with a Corel product
I just emailed you the orig. cpt. Replace my text with your circle (add circle then delete my text object) when done save as tif and ok the merge. You can also re sample my cpt to any size.
David Milisock said: Does VisualStudio Pro Ultimate require a tif file for import? I checked my version of Pro and it accepts PanitShop Pro, PSD, PNG as well as many others. I would try using a transparent PNG file.
I am going to play with that stuff today. I never got deep into this program yet, just got it on a pre holiday sale. I really like it. Simple and fun to use. I am glad I saw this post it made me dive into it. Cool. It also looks like you can really extend this program with scripting. We shall see.