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About a week or two ago Windows downloaded something during the night that won't allow Painter stay opened.  It opens for a nano-second and then nothing.  I have tried all the tricks but nothing.  I went into the Windows screen to see what they downloaded and can not find anything for that time or anything that would interfere with Painter.  In frustration I took my painter program and Windows to a techie.  After 3 days he couldn't find anything that should stop Painter.  He suggests the only thing to do is re-format windows.  Any other suggestions out there.  I have the academic version so no help from Corel and no help from Windows unless I pay a fee. 

Hi Betty,

How about giving us some more info, like:

• Your Windows OS version number (including Service Pack number),
• Your Painter version, including patch/Update number if one has been installed,
  
• What makes you think Windows downloaded something that is the cause of the problem, and
  
• Any other details you think might help to narrow down the cause of the problem.

 

Hi Jinny:  since I am computer illiterate I will try and answer your questions.  I have Windows XP (home version) service pac 2 installed when I bought the hard drive.  I do have the original disc.  I have Painter X Acedemic Version and I installed the update 10.5 (I think that is what it was.)  On the evening of May18,2008 after working in Painter for most of the day, I ended my session and shut down my computer using the log off.  At the time I notices there was a  Windows system update waiting to be installed but  I didn't note the name of the update.  When I went back into the computer on May 19th that is when I found out the Painter wouldn't open.  I re-booted my computer and same thing.  Click on the painter icon and the paig opens with the front page for a nano second and then closes.  I tried system restore. no luck.  I tried holding the shift key and the systems asks if I want to restore painter and I said yes and still nothing.  I called a computer friend and they told me to go to Windows update and see what was installed.  There wasn't anything that I could find. I took the hard drive into the place that I bought it from and after 3 days of him trying different things including re-installing painter still nothing.  I am afraid that I am going to run out of chances to re-install painter since I have already used two times.  The only conclusing the repair guy can say is to re-format the whole computer and re-install Painter.  I am at my wits end. Microsoft won't help unless you pay them so since I already paid my guy I guess re-format is my only option. 

 

 

NOTE to Steve and Wendy: Can you please help us with this one? Read below to see my notes about the two file downloads for Painter X.1 Update that are named differently and are different sizes. Which is the correct one to download and install. Also, please tell us where we can find the installation instructions in order to know if Betty installed the Painter X.1 Update correctly...... Thanks!.... Jinny

 

Betty,

Thanks for the addtional information. I, too, am using WinXP Home SP2 so maybe you can see if Microsoft installed a new service pack.

Do this:

1. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of the task bar at the bottom of the screen.

2. Click Control Panel.

3. When the Control Panel window opens, scroll down and click System to open the System Properties dialog box.

4. On the General tab, you'll see your Windows OS version number and the Service Pack number. If it still says Service Pack 2, at least we'll know Microsoft didn't install a new Service Pack.


Another thing:

The Painter X Update number is X.1 so if you installed it, that's the version you have, Painter X.1

 

We'll need help from Steve and Wendy at Corel to know which file is the correct one to download and install and to find the installation instructions to read in order to know if you installed the Painter X.1 Update correctly:

I tried to find a link to the installation instructions on the Corel site and wasn't able to find it, though on the Corel site's Patches and Updates page for Painter X.1, it says to read the instructions.

Then I checked to see if the instructions are available on the Corel FTP server as a separate HTML file. Not there either.

One thing I did notice is that the Painter X.1 Update file is both named differently and is different sizes on the Corel website and on the Corel FTP server.

Here's what's at each location:

Corel website Patches and Updates page for Painter X.1 Windows  -

CPainterXSP1Update.exe (17 MB)    (no date and time provided)


Corel FTP server -

CorelPainter91Update.exe      23029 KB (over 23 MB)     7/6/2005      12:00:00 AM

 

I hope we'll be able to get your problem resolved pretty quickly, Betty.

Good luck!

 

Jinny
 

 

 

Hello there:

The Painter X patch is this file CPainterXSP1Update.exe (17 MB). The other file seems to be the Painter IX.1 patch - which would explain the different filename and size.

The Windows Painter X.1 patch and the install instructions and are located here: 

US: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1157481830100?pid=1180967103899

Canada: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ca/en/Content/1157481830100?pid=1180967103899

Hope this helps,

Wendy

Wendy:

Hello there:

The Painter X patch is this file CPainterXSP1Update.exe (17 MB). The other file seems to be the Painter IX.1 patch - which would explain the different filename and size.

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for responding so quickly to this thread!

You're right, the other  download is not for the Painter X.1 Update. Duh! (It helps to slow down and read things which I obviously did not.)

For anyone who wants to know what we're talking about:

Here's where we can download the Painter IX.5 Update and the Painter IX 9.1 Update, both of which are available from the Corel website and both are needed to update to Painter IX.5:
 
Painter IX.5 and Painter IX 9.1 Updates

 

 

The Windows Painter X.1 patch and the install instructions and are located here: 

US: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1157481830100?pid=1180967103899

Canada: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ca/en/Content/1157481830100?pid=1180967103899

Hope this helps,

Wendy

 

 

I checked the pages you linked above for the second time and found a not-too-obvious line that says:

 
Click here for more information regarding the issues resolved with this update.

I clicked the "Click here" link ( to the Corel Painter X Release Notes ) and read the Installation instructions. It seems (since I can't find anything related to installing the Painter X.1 Update) they only address installing Painter X, not the Painter X.1 Update.

Though I've installed the Painter X.1 Update myself (and still have some problems that I'm mostly able to work around), we need to know what Corel says about the correct steps to follow in order to successfully install the Painter X.1 Update.... since so many people seem to be having problems.... and we need to compare those Corel approved steps with the steps Betty used when installing the Painter X.1 Update.

Again, thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

 

 

 

Here are some install instructions that I found on this web page: http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ca/en/Content/1157481830100?pid=1180967103899

English

This will update your Corel Painter X application to X.1.

To install Corel Painter X.1 Update

1. Download the update by saving it to your hard drive.
2. Double-click the installer file.
3. Review the Software License Agreement, and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

If you encounter any technical difficulties installing this update, please contact Corel Support Services.

Click here for more information regarding the issues resolved with this update. (The "Click Here" link opens up the Painter X.1 readme file.)

Betty:  Do these steps match the ones you used to update Painter X to Painter X.1?

Wendy,

Those are the instructions I read, and the Release Notes I referred to earlier.

I believe those instructions are not complete. Specifically, they say nothing about uninstalling Painter X, reinstalling, then installing the Painter X.1 Update.

Traditionally, this routine has been necessary to avoid problems when installing patches and Updates.

The only times I've known it to be safe to install the program, then install the patch or Update is when the program has not been launched even one time after it was installed.

I'd like very much to have Corel's final word on this. Then we can, with some degree of confidence, check with Betty to see if she followed all of the steps I mentioned. If not, that could be the cause of her problems.

Here's exactly how I did it:

Edited by Jinny on June 10th to add (in blue text) what I did prior to uninstalling, reinstalling, and installing the Painter X.1 Update, then add step 3 and change step 8.

Before starting the steps below, since I'd had Painter X installed for a few months and didn't want to lose anything, I backed up my Painter X User folder on an external hard drive, along with some other things from my Painter X application/program folder that I didn't want to lose. 

NOTE: The reboots are leftover precautions from earlier Painter versions that we found necessary at the time. Since rebooting doesn't take much time, I just do it as I prefer to be safe rather than sorry.

1. Closed Painter X.

2. Using Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, I Uninstalled Painter X.

3. Manually deleted any remaining Painter X folders and files. 

4. Rebooted.

5. Installed Painter X.

6. Without launching Painter X even one time, installed the Painter X.1 Update.

7. Rebooted.

8. Held down the Shift key while launching Painter X.1 for the first time.

Thanks again,

 

Jinny
 

Hi Jinny:

The reason that the instructions don't mention to uninstall/reinstall Painter X before installing the X.1 update is that we don't require users to do that.  The only thing we suggest is launching while holding down the shift key after installing the patch.  This is the first time I've heard of anyone having to uninstall/reinstall an app before applying a patch.  It really should not be necessary. 

Let me discuss this with our setup folks and see if this is a problem with past versions that should no longer be a problem with Painter X.  I'll post back with an answer.

Thanks,

Wendy

 

I've spoken to our setup folks and they agree that uninstalling/reinstalling Painter X before installing the X.1 patch is not necessary. 

Thanks!

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for taking time to check with the folks at Corel.

Doing it the way I did has been necessary for past Painter versions. Though I can't recall for sure whether Corel ever told us to do that, I think they did at one time or another. A lot of this we just learned by experience and that routine worked... while installing without first uninstalling, manually deleting any remaining folders and files, and reinstalling... did not work.

I try to play it safe these days in hopes of avoiding unnecessary problems.

Please see my installation steps again, as I've edited twice now to include what I did before uninstalling and reinstalling, then installing the Update, add one step, and add what I did afterward, two of them important steps though neither of those two is part of the actual uninstall/reinstall/Update install process.

 

 

By the way, I too agree that when Painter X is installed and the Painter X.1 Update is installed immediately after, before the program is launched even one time, there should be no need to uninstall Painter X before installing the Painter X.1 Update.

It does get confusing with all the little tricks we need to do with each Painter version to get it to run properly, even to install properly!

 

 

 I'm not sure if you ever solved Betty's problem, but I have the exact same one. I was using painter X and everything worked fine. Then... I went to load the program 12 hours later. It loaded to the intro screen (a few seconds), and then disappeared.

I have a PC running Windows XP. All service packs up to date.

Here's what I've done. 

Reboot- same result.

Restored my system to a day earlier when the program worked- no luck, same result. 

Looked at add and remove programs. The program didn't show up on the populated list.  Reboot. Still no show. Got my original CD of Painter X.  Selected Install, selected repair error. Repair was completed, fix was not - same outcome. 

Using original CD, I uninstalled the program. I reinstalled the program - same outcome. 

Looked up your message to Betty. I downloaded and installed the update. X.1- same outcome. 

I'm really frustrated with this anomaly. I sure do hope you might help me find a solution.

Thank you for getting me this far,

 - Joshua 

 

 

 

I uninstalled Painter X, and installed IV.5, and this works.

It's very strange.

- Joshua