Starting 64 bit apps using ObjectDock on 64bit system?

Anyone? Any ideas?

I just want to know if this is a bug or if my system is acting stupid.

Thx!

All thought there are lots of folks starting to use 64bit more and more each day I think your best bet for help is to email support@stardock.com 

You didn't mention it but I take it you are talking about Vista 64bit?  What version of Vista?

Oooops... Vista Home Premium 64bit with SP1 applied.

Guess I'll open a ticket then.

I tried launching sysinternals processexplorer from the dock, and it correctly starts procexp64.exe. It suggests that it works fine.

Also; If you don't use telnet for some obscure reason, I suggest you use PuTTY instead. It's free, open source and also support SSH. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

I did cut a support ticket with Stardock and they say that ObjectDock CANNOT launch ANY 64 bit programs. Any program started by a dock will be running in 32bit mode.

I'm not sure if I believe them, but I can't see any way to verify this, and I do know that programs started from the docks don't always run the same as from my Start menu.

I do have PuTTY installed, but sometimes I'm at a command prompt and just need to test something quickly.  If I could set PuTTY to be the default system TELNET client (and run when I use TELNET on the command line), I'd be happy.

Well, process explorer seems to launch as 64bit. *shrug* I'm waiting for the 64bit native objectdock anyway. There's no excuse for not making it...

Using putty for telnet can be accomplished by putting a telnet.bat somewhere early in your path. c:\windows\system32 would be a good place I figure.

The contents of that batch file would be (assuming putty is on drive c);

c:\path\to\putty.exe -telnet %*

 

I have been using the x64 version of Vista for about six months at work.  ObjectDock seems to be able to start any 64-bit program if you bypass some folder redirection features of Windows that were put in for compatibility reasons.  ObjectDock would not have this problem if it were simply recompiled as a 64-bit program.  There are other ways to programmatically allow a 32-bit application to ignore the foler redirection but apparently the developers chose not to or are simply not aware of the problem.

When a 32-bit program tries to launch a program from the C:\Windows\System32 folder, windows will actually launch the program from the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder if there is one in there or fail to launch it if there is not one in it.  You will see that many built-in applications such as Notepad and CMD.exe are in both locations with the 64-bit version being in the System32 folder and the 32-bit version being in the SysWOW64 folder.  Other programs, such as telnet if installed, are only in one of the folders.

The C:\Program Files folder has the same problem.  32-bit programs are automatically redirected to the C:\Program Files (x86) folder instead.

If you try to make ObjectDock start the 64-bit version of the command prompt by launching it from C:\Windows\System32, Windows will automatically launch the 32-bit version from C:\Windows\SysWOW64.  Likewise the 32-bit command prompt will not be able to launch telnet.exe from C:\Windows\System32 because windows will automatically redirect the request to the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder.  A simple fix would be to copy telnet and any other programs you want to run to a different folder and launch them from there.  This is not a very elegant solution.

What I do to get around these problems is to create a symbolic link to the C:\Windows and the C:\Program Files folders.  I create a C:\Links folder.  Under that I create a Windows and a Program Files symbolik links with the following commands

• mklink /J C:\Links\Windows C:\Windows
• mklink /J "C:\Links\Program Files" "C:\Program Files"

You should now be able to launch the 64-bit version of the command prompt through C:\Links\Windows\System32.  Obviously any other 64-bit program stored in this folder such as telnet will also be launchable through this symbolic link.

Programs in the C:\Program Files folder will be launchable through the C:\Links\Program Files folder.

It would be ideal if you could tell Windows to ignore the folder redirection feature for a specific application but I don't know of a way to do this other than providing the support when the application is written.

This still has not been solved.

I'm currently running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. There isn't anywhere in Objectdock to show the version number, but it's the most recent version available for download.

Currently on my dock I have shortcuts to two windows games - Solitaire and Mahjong Titans. Both of these are located within "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games". Whenever I try and start the games, it is trying to run them from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games"

The shortcuts for these games point to the correct location, "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Mahjong\Mahjong.exe" for example, but Windows insists on going to "Program Files (x86)"

Why is this happening and how can I correct it?

Because Object Dock is a 32 bit application, Windows x64 redirects shortcuts for "Program Files" to "Program Files (x86)".  You can get it to work however if you avoid using the windows shortcuts from the start menu and use OD to point to the direct exe.  If you locate the executables directly in explorer and drag the executable to the dock to have it create a direct link to it, it then launches without problems.  An alternative is to create a new blank shortcut in the dock and manually enter the path or browse to it as well.