Problem with installing WB skins (Undertow related?)

from WinCustomize Forums
I recently reformatted and re-installed XP and downloaded the latest version of WB as a part of the process.  I've noticed that now, whenever I download a new skin from this site and install it, it causes a very long pause during the installation, and then whatever windows or menus are opened at the time remain on the desktop until I reboot and then things seem okay.



I mentioned last week, which was before my re-installation of XP, that after I installed the Undertow skin, I had similar problems.  I thought that doing the clean install might have resolved the conflict, but these issues seem to have started after I again attempted to install Undertow -- which is a beautiful skin and one which I'd love to use -- but had the same problems with Undertow installing over (instead of cleanly replacing) the previous skin, high CPU usage and corruption of the desktop.



Is it possible that some component of Undertow corrupted my WB installation so that even after uninstalling the skin, the problems remain?  I have not attempted to re-download Undertow to see if I could switch skins using the WB configuratoin utility.

The skin installation which most recently caused the problem was Metal Vista, but after a reboot, I'm able to switch skins around using the WB configuration utility, including Metal Vista, with none of the problems I mentioned before. 

Is there a known issue where loading skins immediately after download causes problems with the latest version of WB?



My system specs are:  XP-SP2, Pentium 3.2, 2 gigs, NV6800GT.  Any suggestions would be appreciated and TIA


3,792 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Your not the first to report this about my skin. Working with someone else that had the problem we found It had something to do with Windows FX.

I don't have much info to offer, I am hoping someone atStardock might have more of a clue than me. The skin checks out fine as far as I and others can tell.

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the reply, Night Train.  I had FX installed previously but have not installed it again since I reformatted and re-installed XP, so I'm sure that's not an issue for me this time.

And let me say again that your skin is beautiful and I'd really like to use it.  It's impossible for any program to work perfectly on every computer, and it seems that this time, the problem is with me since the vast majority of people are using your skin with no problems.

Keep up the great work and I'll keep using your skins every chance I get.
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Things are getting weirder...

I uninstalled WB and re-installed the non-beta .006 version.  Everything loaded up fine.  Did some other things on the computer to make sure that it remained stable, and it did.  Swapped the skins around that came with the installation and no problem...

Installed some skins from WC, loading them both directly from install and using the configuration utility.  Again, things seemed okay.

However, when I was using one particular skin (which I won't name since I had this skin before and used it with no problem), and clicked to chek my mail using the Office 2007 beta, I was surprised to see that the various panes were missing.  WTF??  Closed Outlook, re-opened, same thing.  Opened Word and it seemed to be running in 640x480 when my resolution is actually 1280x1024.  The taskbar and other windows were running at the proper resolution.  Ho-kay....

Unloaded Window Blinds and everything was fine again.  Reload with the same skin, same problem.  Change skin, problem solved.  Checked a bunch of other skins and they all seem okay but reload that one troublesome skin and the Office problem was back.

I've *never* had anything like this happen before with WB and honestly can't think of anything that would even cause this to happen.  As I said, the program itself seems to be okay.  There were no resolution oddities on anything other than the Office 2007 suite.  (Yes, I know it's a beta, but still...)

I'll keep testing stuff, but this is really strange, especially in light of the fact this is a new XP installation and should be pretty solid...
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Did some other things on the computer to make sure that it remained stable,


hmmm

I uninstalled WB and re-installed the non-beta .006 version


which for some things is going backwards since the betas usually try to fix things found previously

Reload with the same skin, same problem. Change skin, problem solved. Checked a bunch of other skins and they all seem okay but reload that one troublesome skin and the Office problem was back.


seems to be the skin and 006 combo?
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

If the problem exists with the one skin then it is likely the skin is setting system wide fonts incorrectly.

Some apps (outlook in particular) are unable to handle certain system wide font settings and we strongly advise skin authors to be careful with those settings. 

Some skins (Eminence for example) have a mix of both negative and positive font sizes on those system wide fonts.  I believe they should all be negative values (point size) rather than positive (pixel size)

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Neil, All my skins use negative values for the system fonts. The font presets are not though. Is that a current known issue? I will use all negative values from here on out but If I gotta go back and update things, so be it.