Cannot exit to desktop

Arahanto · 01-27-2010, 03:19 AM

is anyone else having problems exiting to the desktop after viewing MA3 in Windows 7 64-bit? if i run it then press esc to exit, it just goes blank like it's exiting only to get stuck there. the music is still playing and the pc is still running but the video just locks up. i do not believe this to be just with MA3. i had similar problems with other aquarium screensavers like 3D Fishtank and the ones from Smith Micro. i don't know what is responsible for this -- Win 7? 64 bit? Video card too new (Radeon 5850)? I have a Vista 32 bit laptop and there is no problem running anything. It's beautiful on my hd plasma but i can't run it like this. Any thought developers, Jim?

feldon34 · 01-27-2010, 06:50 AM

Ouch. What happens if you press SPACE and exit through the Settings panel? Can you exit by pressing Backspace?

Dale · 01-27-2010, 09:19 AM

Or what happens when you move the mouse (assuming you have "exit on mouse move" enabled)?

I have a W7-64 test system with MA3 that exits fine that way. The next time I boot up that box, I'll try using Escape to see what happens.

Oh, and is the behavior the same for all 3 ways of starting MA3?

Jim Sachs · 01-27-2010, 10:13 AM

What happens if you right-click the mouse, then choose Exit?

Arahanto · 01-27-2010, 11:37 PM

i haven't tried other methods of exiting but i would assume it would be the same because the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever. this may be a problem with HDMI cause that's how i'm hooked up to the hd plasma. can someone try over hdmi and see if this issue occurs? could it be all of the above (hardware too new, my particular plasma)? i suspect hdmi cause others have reported using win7 64 fine.

Dale · 01-28-2010, 10:22 PM

Originally posted by Arahanto:

i haven't tried other methods of exiting but i would assume it would be the same because the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever. this may be a problem with HDMI cause that's how i'm hooked up to the hd plasma. can someone try over hdmi and see if this issue occurs? could it be all of the above (hardware too new, my particular plasma)? i suspect hdmi cause others have reported using win7 64 fine.

We do know (from previous threads) that MA3 works via HDMI with no reported problems with exiting (although maybe not reported, and maybe not W7-64).

If none of those other suggested methods (3 earlier replies) of exiting work, then it's not a bug in MA3. In the absence of you testing those methods on your system, then I assume it's not a bug.

If "the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever" -- then I would assume that nothing could be done to MA3 to fix something that's not a bug in MA3.

Of course, if you do those tests and have different results, then that would be a different matter.

Jim Sachs · 01-29-2010, 12:30 AM

There's really not much that can be done on this end. To exit, a program sends a WM_CLOSE command. After that it's all up to Windows.

flip · 01-29-2010, 02:50 AM

Not a problem at all I just move the mouse a wisker and its back.

I had a similar problem with XP it turned out the mouse required replacing.

But it should still work when you press the "Escape"

Flip.

Dale · 01-29-2010, 11:21 PM

I finally got a chance to test this on a Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit system. On a Laptop, if that makes a difference.

With MA3 running, pressing Escape exits MA3.

This is the case for all 3 ways of starting MA3.

Jim Sachs · 01-30-2010, 01:49 AM

Thanks for trying it out, Dale.

spetro · 01-30-2010, 04:47 AM

based on the fact it happens with other programs besides ma3, I bet the video card is in need of an oil change. W7 needs lots'o memory. I'm running W7 64 no probs here.

Dale · 01-30-2010, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

Thanks for trying it out, Dale.

You're welcome. Note that I didn't try it with an HDMI-connected display. But it "shouldn't" make a difference.

In any case, if Arahanto suspects it's the HDMI connection, then he/she should be able to try it with a DVI or VGA connected monitor, and see if that makes the problem go away. (If so, I'll then go to the trouble of testing HDMI).

Nicki · 01-30-2010, 10:41 AM

My brother bought a $280 Panasonic DVD player a couple of years ago. The HDMI cable that came with it was defective. Made his tv do some very odd things and caused him weeks of grief before he figured it out. I wonder if that could be the case here?

Dale · 01-30-2010, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by Nicki:

My brother bought a $280 Panasonic DVD player a couple of years ago. The HDMI cable that came with it was defective. Made his tv do some very odd things and caused him weeks of grief before he figured it out. I wonder if that could be the case here?

I think it's unlikely that a defective cable would cause a problem with the MA3 software - particularly if the display is otherwise working correctly.

Unlikely, but I suppose not impossible.

Of course, Arahanto can eliminate that possiblity rather easily - just use a VGA cable (most displays that have HDMI input also have VGA or DVI inputs)

The point here is that the person with the problem (Arahanto) can rather easily do some tests that nobody else can duplicate (his computer, his collection of software and operating system, his cables, his monitors, etc.). Those tests can help isolate and perhaps fix his problem.

Nobody else seems to have reported anything like his problem.

Arahanto · 01-31-2010, 06:28 AM

this is a new desktop i built: i7 920, ati radeon 5850, 4gb ram. i am using hdmi to my plasma for gaming, and also i don't have the money for a proper monitor yet. the hdmi cable is new from monoprice.com. if not the hdmi interface's fault, then it might be the video card/drive set. that's all i can think of now since others don't seem to have trouble with hdmi itself. might be the plasma (pana th42pz80u), too, though there is no trouble displaying the blu-ray player. does anyone have a similar machine spec to try?

Dale · 01-31-2010, 09:56 AM

Originally posted by Arahanto:

this is a new desktop i built: i7 920, ati radeon 5850, 4gb ram. i am using hdmi to my plasma for gaming, and also i don't have the money for a proper monitor yet. the hdmi cable is new from monoprice.com. if not the hdmi interface's fault, then it might be the video card/drive set. that's all i can think of now since others don't seem to have trouble with hdmi itself. might be the plasma (pana th42pz80u), too, though there is no trouble displaying the blu-ray player. does anyone have a similar machine spec to try?

OK, the only cable type that's usable with that combination is HDMI.

What video driver version are you using? (10.1?)

Arahanto · 02-01-2010, 05:19 AM

i'm using the latest 12.9, i believe.

Dale · 02-01-2010, 08:49 AM

You indicate that you're using this for gaming. Have you considered that many games want close control of the video, and that one or more of your games might be interfering with the correct operation of MA3?

Do you (for instance) have some game running all the time (and can't exit to the game from MA3?

Originally posted by Arahanto:

i'm using the latest 12.9, i believe.

The latest drivers for the ATI Radeon 5850 seem to be 10.1 - where did you get 12.9?

http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...indows-7-64bit

Arahanto · 02-02-2010, 12:40 AM

actually, i just built it 2 weeks ago so there are no games on it right now (i'll get around to it). sorry, i meant the latest driver 2 weeks ago, so the version before 10.1 (9.12?).

these are what i'm running:
rivatuner (loaded but does not seem to work)
boinc manager ( i tried exiting/stopping but doesn't help with ma3)
comodo internet security
pctools threatfire
steam
superantispyware (not realtime scanning)

plus some system monitoring (windows) gadgets

Dale · 02-02-2010, 10:57 AM

Originally posted by Arahanto:

actually, i just built it 2 weeks ago so there are no games on it right now (i'll get around to it). sorry, i meant the latest driver 2 weeks ago, so the version before 10.1 (9.12?).

these are what i'm running:
rivatuner (loaded but does not seem to work)
boinc manager ( i tried exiting/stopping but doesn't help with ma3)
comodo internet security
pctools threatfire
steam
superantispyware (not realtime scanning)

plus some system monitoring (windows) gadgets

There are two possible solutions to your problem.

01-27-2010, 03:19 AM	#1
Arahanto Registered Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15	Cannot exit to desktop is anyone else having problems exiting to the desktop after viewing MA3 in Windows 7 64-bit? if i run it then press esc to exit, it just goes blank like it's exiting only to get stuck there. the music is still playing and the pc is still running but the video just locks up. i do not believe this to be just with MA3. i had similar problems with other aquarium screensavers like 3D Fishtank and the ones from Smith Micro. i don't know what is responsible for this -- Win 7? 64 bit? Video card too new (Radeon 5850)? I have a Vista 32 bit laptop and there is no problem running anything. It's beautiful on my hd plasma but i can't run it like this. Any thought developers, Jim?

01-27-2010, 06:50 AM	#2
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	Ouch. What happens if you press SPACE and exit through the Settings panel? Can you exit by pressing Backspace? "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

01-27-2010, 10:13 AM	#4
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	What happens if you right-click the mouse, then choose Exit? Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-27-2010, 11:37 PM	#5
Arahanto Registered Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15	HDMI? i haven't tried other methods of exiting but i would assume it would be the same because the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever. this may be a problem with HDMI cause that's how i'm hooked up to the hd plasma. can someone try over hdmi and see if this issue occurs? could it be all of the above (hardware too new, my particular plasma)? i suspect hdmi cause others have reported using win7 64 fine.

01-29-2010, 12:30 AM	#7
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	There's really not much that can be done on this end. To exit, a program sends a WM_CLOSE command. After that it's all up to Windows. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-27-2010, 09:19 AM	#3
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Or what happens when you move the mouse (assuming you have "exit on mouse move" enabled)? I have a W7-64 test system with MA3 that exits fine that way. The next time I boot up that box, I'll try using Escape to see what happens. Oh, and is the behavior the same for all 3 ways of starting MA3?

01-28-2010, 10:22 PM	#6
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Originally posted by Arahanto: i haven't tried other methods of exiting but i would assume it would be the same because the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever. this may be a problem with HDMI cause that's how i'm hooked up to the hd plasma. can someone try over hdmi and see if this issue occurs? could it be all of the above (hardware too new, my particular plasma)? i suspect hdmi cause others have reported using win7 64 fine. We do know (from previous threads) that MA3 works via HDMI with no reported problems with exiting (although maybe not reported, and maybe not W7-64). If none of those other suggested methods (3 earlier replies) of exiting work, then it's not a bug in MA3. In the absence of you testing those methods on your system, then I assume it's not a bug. If "the same thing happens with Smith Micro's aquariums by moving mouse or whatever" -- then I would assume that nothing could be done to MA3 to fix something that's not a bug in MA3. Of course, if you do those tests and have different results, then that would be a different matter.

01-29-2010, 02:50 AM	#8
flip Registered Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Victoria Australia Posts: 155	Not a problem at all I just move the mouse a wisker and its back. I had a similar problem with XP it turned out the mouse required replacing. But it should still work when you press the "Escape" Flip.

01-29-2010, 11:21 PM	#9
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	I finally got a chance to test this on a Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit system. On a Laptop, if that makes a difference. With MA3 running, pressing Escape exits MA3. This is the case for all 3 ways of starting MA3.

01-30-2010, 01:49 AM	#10
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	Thanks for trying it out, Dale. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-30-2010, 04:47 AM	#11
spetro Semper Paratus Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Georgia Mountains and Florida, USA Posts: 133	based on the fact it happens with other programs besides ma3, I bet the video card is in need of an oil change. W7 needs lots'o memory. I'm running W7 64 no probs here.

01-30-2010, 09:00 AM	#12
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Originally posted by Jim Sachs: Thanks for trying it out, Dale. You're welcome. Note that I didn't try it with an HDMI-connected display. But it "shouldn't" make a difference. In any case, if Arahanto suspects it's the HDMI connection, then he/she should be able to try it with a DVI or VGA connected monitor, and see if that makes the problem go away. (If so, I'll then go to the trouble of testing HDMI).

01-30-2010, 10:41 AM	#13
Nicki Sugar Plum Fairy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,267	My brother bought a $280 Panasonic DVD player a couple of years ago. The HDMI cable that came with it was defective. Made his tv do some very odd things and caused him weeks of grief before he figured it out. I wonder if that could be the case here? Run you clever boy. And remember...

01-30-2010, 01:16 PM	#14
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Originally posted by Nicki: My brother bought a $280 Panasonic DVD player a couple of years ago. The HDMI cable that came with it was defective. Made his tv do some very odd things and caused him weeks of grief before he figured it out. I wonder if that could be the case here? I think it's unlikely that a defective cable would cause a problem with the MA3 software - particularly if the display is otherwise working correctly. Unlikely, but I suppose not impossible. Of course, Arahanto can eliminate that possiblity rather easily - just use a VGA cable (most displays that have HDMI input also have VGA or DVI inputs) The point here is that the person with the problem (Arahanto) can rather easily do some tests that nobody else can duplicate (his computer, his collection of software and operating system, his cables, his monitors, etc.). Those tests can help isolate and perhaps fix his problem. Nobody else seems to have reported anything like his problem.

01-31-2010, 06:28 AM	#15
Arahanto Registered Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15	this is a new desktop i built: i7 920, ati radeon 5850, 4gb ram. i am using hdmi to my plasma for gaming, and also i don't have the money for a proper monitor yet. the hdmi cable is new from monoprice.com. if not the hdmi interface's fault, then it might be the video card/drive set. that's all i can think of now since others don't seem to have trouble with hdmi itself. might be the plasma (pana th42pz80u), too, though there is no trouble displaying the blu-ray player. does anyone have a similar machine spec to try?

01-31-2010, 09:56 AM	#16
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Originally posted by Arahanto: this is a new desktop i built: i7 920, ati radeon 5850, 4gb ram. i am using hdmi to my plasma for gaming, and also i don't have the money for a proper monitor yet. the hdmi cable is new from monoprice.com. if not the hdmi interface's fault, then it might be the video card/drive set. that's all i can think of now since others don't seem to have trouble with hdmi itself. might be the plasma (pana th42pz80u), too, though there is no trouble displaying the blu-ray player. does anyone have a similar machine spec to try? OK, the only cable type that's usable with that combination is HDMI. What video driver version are you using? (10.1?)

02-01-2010, 05:19 AM	#17
Arahanto Registered Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15	i'm using the latest 12.9, i believe.

02-01-2010, 08:49 AM	#18
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	You indicate that you're using this for gaming. Have you considered that many games want close control of the video, and that one or more of your games might be interfering with the correct operation of MA3? Do you (for instance) have some game running all the time (and can't exit to the game from MA3? Originally posted by Arahanto: i'm using the latest 12.9, i believe. The latest drivers for the ATI Radeon 5850 seem to be 10.1 - where did you get 12.9? http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...indows-7-64bit

02-02-2010, 12:40 AM	#19
Arahanto Registered Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 15	actually, i just built it 2 weeks ago so there are no games on it right now (i'll get around to it). sorry, i meant the latest driver 2 weeks ago, so the version before 10.1 (9.12?). these are what i'm running: rivatuner (loaded but does not seem to work) boinc manager ( i tried exiting/stopping but doesn't help with ma3) comodo internet security pctools threatfire steam superantispyware (not realtime scanning) plus some system monitoring (windows) gadgets

02-02-2010, 10:57 AM	#20
Dale Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Missouri Posts: 960	Originally posted by Arahanto: actually, i just built it 2 weeks ago so there are no games on it right now (i'll get around to it). sorry, i meant the latest driver 2 weeks ago, so the version before 10.1 (9.12?). these are what i'm running: rivatuner (loaded but does not seem to work) boinc manager ( i tried exiting/stopping but doesn't help with ma3) comodo internet security pctools threatfire steam superantispyware (not realtime scanning) plus some system monitoring (windows) gadgets There are two possible solutions to your problem.