Windows 7 Tips

Windows 7 Troubleshooting Tips:

Run as Administrator

In Windows 7, Vectorworks should normally be 'Run as an Administrator'. Not only should you right-click on the Vectorworks icon and choose Properties > Compatibility tab and check the box that reads “Run this program as an Administrator” but you should also make sure under this same menu that you press “Show settings for all users” and check “Run this program as an Administrator” under here as well, regardless of whether this user is going to use another account or not it helps. Some machines even require you perform the same steps on QuickTime too. Reboot the machine, then restart Vectorworks.

Windows 7 Defender and Windows Firewall - (Network Protection Error)

These can stop Vectorworks from communicating with the internet, QuickTime, the Aladdin Dongles among other things. Make sure Defender’s real-time protection is deactivated or at the very least, set to allow Vectorworks, HASP drivers and QuickTime. · To deactivate Defender; Start > Control Panel > Security > Tools > Options and uncheck the box that reads: “Use Windows Defender” under Administrator Options. · To allow Vectorworks through Windows Firewall; Start > Control Panel > Security > Allow a program through Windows Firewall. You will be shown a list of all software installed on the computer; you will have to check all instances of Vectorworks, along with any HASP drivers and QuickTime. Reboot the machine, the restart Vectorworks.

Check for Driver Updates

It is important to do with ANY Vista OS, however MUCH more important on machines that were either not originally shipped with Vista, or upgraded from Windows XP, that ALL hardware components in the Device manager be checked for online updates. (For this, they must of course be connected to the internet)

To do this:

Start > Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Device Manager

The most important drivers to check are: · Display Adapter · Sound, video and game controllers · CD/DVD ROM drives · Universal Serial Bus controllers for HASP [:Dongle Troubleshooting - J:Dongles]

To check for updates, right click on each object in its subcategory, and then choose “Update Driver Software” then “Search automatically for updated driver software.” Reboot the machine, and then restart Vectorworks.

There is an error: “Buffer Overrun detected”

This error is in QuickTime, it will read that Vectorworks has crashed, but this error is QuickTime’s fault. Until a patch for QuickTime is released, there is no way of correcting this.

If Vectorworks palettes appears unstable, flicker or act otherwise odd (and you have already confirmed this is not a workspace issue) try turning off the Windows Aero theme.

To do this, go to: Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization > Window Color and Appearance and select Windows 7 Basic instead of Aero. Then restart Vectorworks.

Q: At the end of installing programs which were originally designed to work with XP, I see: "This program might not have installed correctly"

A: This happens with many, many applications in Windows 7, it is nothing you need to worry about. Click "This program installed correctly"

Serial Number Already In Use

On Windows 7 machines both VectorWorks 12 and 2008 may encounter an issue where a dialogue box will appear, reporting that the serial number for this copy of Vectorworks is already in use.

This is normally caused by machines that have two network adapters. This is a very common setup for both newer desktops and recent laptops as they will have both an Ethernet port and Wireless 802.1xx adapter. Disabling one of these devices (preferably the one not in use, they should not both be in use) should stop the error from occurring in Vectorworks.