bad problems...please help

I don't know what happened. In the morning I was using Ventura 8 . In the evening when I tried to open it I got an error:

 

And then:

 

I tried a complete uninstall and a reinstall but no joy.

I had been having some problems with Ventura 8...this is on a Windows XP machine sp 2  (or 3... as witnessed by my previous posts here. So I reinstalled Ventura 8 in another directory. And it worked for about three days although it complained about missing a cpl file.

Then last night...

I am at a complete loss. I need this program to finish my project but can't figure out how to restore it.

  • I'm not sure how much help this will be, but perhaps it will get you pointed in the right direction. The Smart Heap Library is a Windows component. Under WinXP SP2, some users had issues with similar kinds of crashes (MEM BAD POINTER) when *closing* V10. There was a temporary patch and the problem was fixed in SP3.

    Recently, someone had a problem similar to yours with V10 -- where it crashed upon *opening* V10. My guess is that a patch or recently installed program updated the Smart Heap Library with an incompatible version.

    I would try to use System Restore (under Accessories|System Tools) to roll back the computer to a point before the crashes occurred.

    Then, pay careful attention to what patches/programs you install and check V8 after each one to try to identify the culprit so you can keep it off your machine.

    If you figure out what it is, please let us know so we can pass the word around.
    •  

      And if you didn't try a cold boot of the Computer, try that. Things have sorted themselves out for me at times, with 2 or even 3 cold boots.

      In each boot I think Windows tries to repair itself.

      Which you could try a repair procedure on Windows using your original disk... then reinstall Ventura.

      Devil  the 'dd'

      • The only thing I did to change my computer between the time I was able to open Ventura and when it stopped crashing was to set a password for my login. I had installed XP originally so that I wouldn't have to type a password everytime I booted up the machine. But while trying to set up a network be tween this computer and an new Win 7 computer I was prompted for a username and password. so i set one up.

        I have rolled the system back several days...well beyond the point where I created the password...but that does not seem to have helped. And I still have to log in when I start the computer.

        • Below is the FAQ article on the XP SP2 issue. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but the cause is apparently similar. Perhaps one of the suggested solutions will work. (Make sure you're able to undo anything you do if it doesn't help.)

          MS fixed this issue in WinXP SP3. If you are not running SP3, this may still be of interest.

          Aug. 7, 2006 Update: Ann Droppers reported that Microsoft has issued a hotfix for this problem. You may obtain details and the hotfix here:

          http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;910466

          More details on the problem and previous fixes are given below.

          Courtesy of Abe Hendin
          -------------------------------------------------------------
          You may experience a MEM_BAD_POINTER error from SmartHeap Library on closing Ventura 10 after installing Windows XP SP2, *IF* you have (1) complex script (right-to-left) support or (2) Asian language support installed. Other things may also trigger the problem, but these are the most common.[You can find these items under Control Panel|Regional and Language Options|Languages.] On some systems, the entire system becomes unresponsive after the error, and a reboot is necessary.

          [Note: Internet reports suggest that these problems exist with some other apps as well.]

          The error is apparently due to a bug in Microsoft's XP SP2 Uniscribe DLL (usp10.dll), version 1.0420.2600.2180, which ships with XP SP2. (See http://www.microquill.com/kb/xpsp2bug.html for details.) This page, as of 11/9/2004, mentions an updated SmartHeap Library DLL (SHW32.DLL) that suppresses the error message *IF* it results from the bug in the XP SP2 version of
          the Uniscribe DLL. It also points out that the error itself is fairly benign and provides instructions on how to obtain the updated SHW32.DLL.

          I can report that the updated SHW32.DLL suppresses the error on my system, and prevents the system lockup. Contact Microquill directly at sp2@microquill.com for the updated SHW32.DLL.

          Whether this new DLL will affect the other occasional MEM_BAD_POINTER errors that crop up, I cannot say.


          Additional notes from Darrel Eppler
          -------------------------------------------------------------
          Various programs use usp10.dll, and if you search for it, you'll probably find various versions of it in various folders on your hard drive. Some programs require a particular version of the DLL, so their setup program places the appropriate version in their own program folder. Other programs may not be as particular about which version of it they use, so they use the version found in the \Windows\System32 folder.

          Ventura 10 uses usp10.dll, but the Ventura 10 setup program doesn't put a copy of it in the Ventura Programs folder. To control which version of the DLL Ventura uses, you need to copy the appropriate version of usp10.dll into the Ventura Programs folder.

          I copied the usp10.dll used by MS Office 2003 to the Ventura Programs folder, and the error message no longer appears. Here's how to do it:

          1. Quit all MS applications and Ventura.

          2. Find the version of usp10.dll used by MS Office, as follows:
          a. Office 2002/XP (Office10): C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office10\usp10.dll
          b. Office 2003 (Office11): C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office11\usp10.dll

          (I used usp10.dll version 1.471.4063.0, 422,912, Feb 5, 2004, 2:42 pm from Word 2003.)

          3. Copy the appropriate usp10.dll to the Ventura 10 program directory:
          C:\Program Files\Corel\Ventura 10\Programs

          4. Close all windows.

          5. Start Ventura 10, then close it. Hopefully the MEM_BAD_POINTER error message won't appear!
          • Many thanks to everyone offering advice. I just checked...I do have XP Sp3. So from the sounds of it there's no help there.

            The only thing I changed in my system between the time VP8 worked and the time it didn't was that I created a password for logging into the computer. I was having some problems with a network I was trying to establish between a new Windows 7 x64 system and this Xp sp3 system. The Xp system was demanding that the Win 7 user provide a username and a password to access the files on the XP system. Since I had originally installed Xp such that I didn't a password to log in I had to create one.

            Now the Win 7 system won't recognize the Xp system as part of the network (although the XP system sees the Win 7 system) , Ventura has quit running and re-installing doesn't help and now I have to wait around for the password prompt at start up.

            (sigh)

            I really need Ventura. What's to do, what's to do?

            • I have managed to get Ventura 8 back up and running...for now. Don't ask me how I did it...I have no idea. Running a registry cleaner several times and disabling AVG before install may have helped.

              However, I am getting an error message that worries me:

               

              One of the things that bothers me is that Ventura is not installed in E:\Ventura any more. It is in E:\Corel\ventura8. Why is it looking for a file in the old directory?

              Anyone have any ideas about how to correct this? Get rid of the error message?

              Second issue...it seems my version is now 8.429. What patches or service packs do i need to get back up to the latest version. Corel's website lists what is available but it is a bit confusing--there is a lot of them and sometimes one later patch will include the updates for previous patches.

              • Glad you got it working. I know how frustrating this stuff can be!

                The good news is that I can help you solve both your remaining issues.

                First the CPL file. That's the path for the default color palette stored in your user setings. To fix it:

                1. Locate all copies of VENTURA.INI in the folders within C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Corel\Ventura8\Ventura8\. (Hint: There should be one in each of the folders in that location.)

                2. Open each one in Notepad and search for "coreldrw.cpl"

                3. Correct the path.

                4. Save each file.


                Second, the patches. The only one you need is SP2. The SP2 patch will update you to V8.559. You can download the English patch at:

                ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/Ventura/Ventura8/CV8SP2EN.EXE

                All versions may be found at:

                ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/Ventura/Ventura8/
                • Eric,

                   

                  I looked in C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Corel\Ventura8\Ventura8\...there are several top level folders--administrator, all users, user, default user. I checked every one of them. some had Corel under Application data some did not. Only User had Corel and Ventura8 as a subfolder. All the subfolders in Ventura8\Ventura8 had a ventura.ini. None of the ventura.ini contained coreldrw.cpl.

                  I then did a system wide search for ventura.ini...the only ones that XP came up with were in E:\corel\Ventura. None of those contained coreldrw.cpl.

                  Can I live with this error message? Or is there another way to find it?

                  I DL'd the update...can I install it without finding coreldrw.cpl?

                  any other suggestion?