Powerquest Partition Magic 8.0 hangs on Windows XP

[Jerry Rivers]

I know this is a NG for Win XP problems, not for Powerquest
problems, but I was hoping some XP guru could give me some
help anyway.

I just did a clean install of Win XP Pro on my computer. Win
XP installed fine the first time - no problems. The
first program I installed was Partition Magic 8.0 (because I
was setting up a dual-boot system with Win 98 as the other
O/S).PM 8.0 Installation went fine.

But when I attempt to launch Partition Magic, it hangs. Not
only is the program hung, my entire computer is hung. Only
hitting the reset switch will recover Windows.

I believe it must be one of the (many) drivers that Win XP
loads as it installs. I started Win XP in Safe Mode and
Partition Magic runs OK.

I also downloaded and installed the 8.1 upgrade patch. No
difference - PM still hangs my computer everytime I try to
launch it. In desperation, I also un-installed PM and re-
installed it - no go.

Some info on my system:

Windows XP Pro, OEM
AMD 1.6ghz processor
512MB memory
NVIDIA GeForce 2 running Microsoft drivers (I tried using the
latest drivers from Asus and it did not help the problem).

I saw nothing in Powerquest's support FAQ's and found nothing
searching their Knowledge Base.

Thanks for your help.

-- Jerry Rivers

 

[Bob Harris]

The key is probably the fact the it works in safe mode but not regular mode.
Usually that implies a driver problem, but I doubt that is the case with PM.
My (wild) guess, is that your PC has some non-Microsoft, system-like
programs running in the background in normal mode, but not in safe mode.
Try using the XP task manager to see what is running in each mode. For
example, things like Take-Two or Go-Back might interfer with PM.

If nothing is obvious, try the divide and conquer method. Disable half of
the excess processes, and try PM. If it works, try re-enabling them (via a
reboot if necessary). If it still fails, disable some more. With patience
you should be able to determine what is interferring with PM.

Finally, an email to PowerQuest support might yield a direcct solution. To
help them help you include a complete list of running processes (not
application, but processes).

 

[Jerry Rivers]

The key is probably the fact the it works in safe mode but
not regular mode. Usually that implies a driver problem,
but I doubt that is the case with PM. My (wild) guess, is
that your PC has some non-Microsoft, system-like programs
running in the background in normal mode, but not in safe
mode. Try using the XP task manager to see what is running
in each mode. For example, things like Take-Two or Go-Back
might interfer with PM.

If nothing is obvious, try the divide and conquer method.
Disable half of the excess processes, and try PM. If it
works, try re-enabling them (via a reboot if necessary).
If it still fails, disable some more. With patience you
should be able to determine what is interferring with PM.

Finally, an email to PowerQuest support might yield a
direcct solution. To help them help you include a complete
list of running processes (not application, but processes).

Thanks for the good advice. I'll definitely be in contact
with Powerquest on Monday!

-- Jerry Rivers

 

[Jerry]

-----Original Message-----
I know this is a NG for Win XP problems, not for Powerquest
problems, but I was hoping some XP guru could give me some
help anyway.

I just did a clean install of Win XP Pro on my computer. Win
XP installed fine the first time - no problems. The
first program I installed was Partition Magic 8.0 (because I
was setting up a dual-boot system with Win 98 as the other
O/S).PM 8.0 Installation went fine.

But when I attempt to launch Partition Magic, it hangs. Not
only is the program hung, my entire computer is hung. Only
hitting the reset switch will recover Windows.

I believe it must be one of the (many) drivers that Win XP
loads as it installs. I started Win XP in Safe Mode and
Partition Magic runs OK.

I also downloaded and installed the 8.1 upgrade patch. No
difference - PM still hangs my computer everytime I try to
launch it. In desperation, I also un-installed PM and re-
installed it - no go.

Some info on my system:

Windows XP Pro, OEM
AMD 1.6ghz processor
512MB memory
NVIDIA GeForce 2 running Microsoft drivers (I tried using the
latest drivers from Asus and it did not help the problem).

I saw nothing in Powerquest's support FAQ's and found nothing
searching their Knowledge Base.

Thanks for your help.

-- Jerry Rivers
.

Jerry

Make sure that before you install PM 8.0 that you have
added in .Net Framework 1.1 otherwise you will have
problems. What I always do is add in all of the Updates
before I add any programs into Windows. The .Net
Framework 1.1 is one of the Updates. So you would need to
uninstall PM 8.0. Then do the Updates. Then add this in
and it should work. I hope that this fixes if for you.

Take Care,
Jerry

 

[CS]

Jerry

Make sure that before you install PM 8.0 that you have
added in .Net Framework 1.1 otherwise you will have
problems. What I always do is add in all of the Updates
before I add any programs into Windows. The .Net
Framework 1.1 is one of the Updates. So you would need to
uninstall PM 8.0. Then do the Updates. Then add this in
and it should work. I hope that this fixes if for you.

Take Care,
Jerry

Net Framework is not required to run PM 8.0, it is however, required
in order to run Drive Image 7.0. Do not install Net Framework unless
you need it.

If you're running Norton System works, make sure you have not
installed GoBack. That will very definitely zonk out your PM 8.0
installation. If that's not it, check to see if you can get a driver
update for your video adaptor.

 

[Jerry Rivers]

Thanks for the comments Jerry and CS.

My nephew, who is my computer "OEM" and a pretty damn good
Windows wizard, has found a couple of other XP users with
exactly the same problem I have. It is my Nvidia GeForce video
card, also sold as an Asus 7700.

I have downloaded the latest Asus driver for my GeForce video
card and it didn't help. So, I downloaded the Nvidia latest
driver for this card, and PM 8 still hung.

Two interesting facts, my nephew has contacted Powerquest (now
owned by Symantec). PQ sort-of acknowledges the problem but is
very evasive about a fix forthcoming. Second, PM 8.0 runs fine
with my computer in Win 98 with the *old* Nvidia driver! So, it
is a combination of new "stuff" in Win XP and the way XP uses
the Nvidia driver that causes the hangs.

Solution: boot into Safe Mode, use PM 8.0 to do whatever, then
boot back to normal Win XP. I don't use PM hardly ever. Probably
won't use it again until I get a new HD.

BTW, I'm aware of the folly of installed Go Back or Drive Image
7.0. I have enough XP problems without complicated utilities
munging up my system.

-- Jerry Rivers