That exception code is referenced in SIX different topics on this forum.

As a diagnostic, try setting MA3 to start in Windowed mode. Then, when you do your "test" (right-click on desktop, etc.), try "Preview", etc. Press "F" several times with MA3 running....

[For a topic related to "F", see https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...ead.php?t=4426 ]

Same crash when accessing from the desktop/personalize/screensaver

When I access MA3 direct from the start menu there is no crash. Its only from the desktop/personalize etc etc
Thanks

OK, from this description, I'm guessing that you have never seen the "animated" contents of the "monitor" in the Screen Saver panel.

When I do what you are describing, the "monitor" within the Screen Saver panel first shows the MA3 logo, and then the fish appear and start swimming around (a miniature version of the simulation). You may not have seen either of those things. What (if anything) is shown on that "monitor"?

I'm also guessing that if you have your Screen Saver set to something else, and go to that panel, and then change it to MA3 (without clicking "apply"), that you get the same crash.

If those things are true, there might be enough "clue" for Jim to fix it.

Yes you are correct. All of the above is true. I never see anything but a black screen in the "monitor" section of the screen saver panel.

Thanks
Bill

OK (for Jim): Problem description: Simulation runs OK, but MA3 crashes when trying to display the miniature version on the "monitor" section of the Screen Saver panel.

Getting the Aquarium to preview in that window has always had roughly the same priority as adding a bright pink talking fish. For the first 7 years that Marine Aquarium was sold, that preview window was blank. Didn't hurt sales much.

Absolutely agreed - but I don't understand your point.

This topic appears to be about getting MA3 to not crash! on anybody's computer.

I simply don't have a clue as to why it would be incompatible with the Windows screensaver routines on that machine. In order to diagnose it, the problem would have to occur on my machine while I'm using the debugger. The two problems with that are the fact that my machine doesn't crash, and his machine only experiences the problem when Windows attempts to use the screensaver system to launch it (so I assume it wouldn't happen if launched by a debugger).

Jim, are you generating linker maps of your commercially released builds? If so, you can use that map, along with the crash exception info's crash address, to at least locate the routine in which the crash occurs.

There's several other simple things you can do to help track down these types of problems without the problem actually occuring on your machine while you're running the app in debug mode, which normally only uncovers the most obvious bugs as it has a tendency to mask or hide the really tough to find bugs.

You did notice that MA3 works correctly when the Screen Saver launches it (based on time). But the "miniature" version in the "monitor" is what causes the crash. (Display Properties is what is running).

Thr program does not have any diagnostc links built in.

This crash seems to be isolated to the part of the code that runs in /p mode.

If you had the time to build a special copy without the /p mode code, and provide it to Calusa, this could be verified. That wouldn't FIX it, but would at least isolate it.

Alternatively, you could post that snippet of code on this forum, and some of the experts (not I) could maybe see a problem.

If I thought there was a chance that spending a lot of time coding, recoding, and otherwise troubleshooting code would actually be effective, I'd probably do it. But the fact that the code is directly from Microsoft examples, and works on virtually every PC out there except this one (literally hundreds of millions to one), leads me to believe that the problem is in that computer, not in the code.

This is the very reason that we insist that people download and try the Aquarium for free, to make sure that it works on their computer. If it doesn't, we have all you smart and helpful Forum members to offer suggestions. Have you noticed how many times a problem which has stumped all of us turns out to be something we couldn't have possibly guessed? Sometimes several months later the poor victim will come back to the Forum and report, "Hey - I just thought I'd let you guys know that my computer had a Planaria Worm!", or somesuch.

Fair enough.

Footnote: The isolated "only on one of my PCs" problem that I reported a few months ago, has mysteriously gone away. Of course, there have been several updates to my computer since then.

Thanks for the note.