Just a thought, but could it be that he is just short of virtual memory ?
See... Vista’s way of telling you that your virtual memory is getting low.

As long as you are not running any programs in the background while running MA3 you shouldn't have a VM problem with 6GB of ram (even is disabled). I also have that exclamation mark in my task bar when I run MA3 in windowed mode, it's never been a problem here.

What AV program are you using. Also not sure what Dell bundles with their computers but it could be some garbage that is conflicting with MA3 and slowing you down.

I'm using Cat 9.6 and have no problems at all with them (on Vista 64bit).

I still get the yellow triangle and the exclamation point after disabling McAfee Security Center. You might be on the right track though, Jim, because MA3 launches 6 seconds after the splash screen with McAfee disabled, rather than 10 seconds with McAfee active.

Bob N.

Note that the Triangle/Exclamation Point appears INSTEAD of the normal MA3 icon that would be in front of the text in the task bar button.

That's probably a clue as to the reason/problem.

Only those with the problem can (presumably) investigate further.

You could at least try increasing the virtual memory, and/or reducing some of Vista’s bells-and-whistles, - just to see if it makes any difference!!
It certainly sounds to me like there must be 'something' hogging the cycles!
Like the person in the link I gave, - I was merely trying to help....


.... There isn't normally any MA3 icon in front of the text in the task bar button, AFAIK.

I had to deactivate users control to fix some problems I had with another program.

There are 4GB of actual, physical RAM free when MA3 is running. I don't think memory is the issue.

Bob N.

It may well be true that memory is not the, "problem" ;), - as Vista, apparently, is said to be very good at managing virtual memory.
(BTW, that article is referring to virtual memory, not only actual, physical RAM).
But surely it would do no harm to reduce some of the bells-and-whistles? - You have already stated that disabling McAfee makes some improvement!
If you do not wish to try anything, that is your prerogative, - we can only offer suggestions when asked...

So as not to appear recalcitrant, I doubled virtual memory to 12,868MB, restarted the computer and still found that MA3 takes 10 seconds to launch after the splash screen and the yellow triangle with the exclamation point is still there in the taskbar in windowed mode.

As I noted earlier, I really don't see this as a major problem at this point. I always like to get to the bottom of computer puzzles and problems, but I am content to live with this unless something else happens.

Bob N.

That's interesting. On my Vista-32 system that I'm using right now, when I start MA3 from the desktop icon, and then press F, I get an icon in front of the text. [Latest installer version of MA3]

There is a admin tool called "Event Viewer".

It is under Start->All Programs->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer.
If you run that, you can look at the system errors reported in the background.

It might tell you why MA3 has the ! mark.

Note that just because you happened to use 3 virus checkers and returned no Malware does not mean there isn't.

If you are not noticing any other slow down from any other applications, then it might be safe to say there is no Malware.

I use MalwareBytes and AntiSuperSpyware myself. Rootkits however sometimes can't be found by just a normal Spyware application.

I had to use a tool called ComboFix to clean a couple of computers that were really infested. The computers were not mine. :)

I checked the Event Viewer. After activating MA3, and seeing the yellow triangle and exclamation point, there were no errors or warnings at the time of activation or exit from MA3 in the Administrative Events, Application, Security, System, or Forwarded Events logs.

My computer is fine, with no slowdowns or other problems of any kind currently. With the Core i7 920 eight-core processor, Vista 64-bit, 6GB of RAM and a 30Mbps internet connection, it is actually incredibly fast -- by far the fastest computer I have ever had (and I currently have 5 working computers with 5 different operating systems, I am embarrassed to admit.)

I note that Mikey242, in this thread, mentions that he also sees the exclamation point in the taskbar when MA3 is running. It would be interesting to know in which ways his system and mine are similar or different.

Bob N.