Perhaps why Vegas 11 is "breaking" old versions?

larry-peter wrote on 1/14/2012, 1:50 PM
I don't know if this is a path to solutions, but I have a need to understand why things break unexpectedly. I'm hoping some on this forum who know more about programming might weigh in and hopefully point either users or SCS to a solution. Please excuse any inaccuracies in my terminology- I'm definitely in the realm of knowing just enough to be dangerous (or dead wrong).

My installation of 11 has caused some changes in previously installed versions, particularly in crashes while rendering to certain formats in versions 9 and 10. In examining all of the changes made to my system when 11 was installed, I'm suspecting it was changes to the WOW64 implementation or WOW registry entries that have caused this.

If my understanding of WOW64 is correct, it handles calls for 32bit apps within the 64bit environment. And it appears that the categories of registry entries handle newly installed keys in different ways - some redirect the calls to newer dlls and some cause calls from all apps to be shared by the new dlls. Seems possible to me the old file-format i/o plugins are being redirected to newer incompatible ones.

Something is definitely different in the way 11 is installed compared to prior versions. In the past, my old Vegas installations were unharmed by new versions, regardless of the issues they had. Does anyone have any thoughts on this, or if this may be a direction to look into for solutions?

I know most who have had issues with 11 have reverted to earlier versions, but 11 is working well for me (other than the universal issues with keyframing, stabilization and alpha rendering - and I have to admit listing these caveats makes me feel a bit stu_pid for using it) but the GPU acceleration in previewing has really sped things up for me. I have finished several projects in 11 and didn't notice the effects it had on previous versions until this past week. I would just like to be able to use any version I choose for a given situation. And I can't now.

Thanks,
Larry

Comments

Former user wrote on 1/14/2012, 1:58 PM
Larry,

That sounds reasonable. I did a clean install of Vegas 11 (no remnants of earlier versions) and although I have not completely run it through its paces, it certainly does not have the issues that others report. The keyframe is a problem and I don't use Vegas stabilizations so I don't know about that. But I also don't use the hardware graphics. Neither of my cards are supported.

Dave T2
larry-peter wrote on 1/14/2012, 2:27 PM
Glad to hear it's working acceptably for you, Dave. I wonder if anyone has installed a previous version while leaving 11 on their system? It would be interesting to know if an older version's install can "break" functions in 11.

SamAt wrote on 1/14/2012, 3:12 PM
That would be interesting. But it's what the test team should be doing, and given the rough ride many of us have experienced, monetized in time and frustration, they really should be more forthcoming about what they have and had not tested. Why they choose not to own up to bugs and publish what is known about them mystifies me. It would be one thing if they say they can't repro a bug in their environments - then I might well elect to do testing for them.

But from a geek standpoint, it really is an interesting question and it's been bugging me since I first got bit by it. The 64 bit registry hypothesis is better than anything I've thought of so far. It's true that it's not always clear which registry hive you're hitting unless you are coding very explicitly. However, it could also simply be that some shared component hives, not qualified by the final product version are being altered. "Diffing" the registry is not easy, but it's possible and there are tools that will help. I actually did some spying on it after it broke Vegas 9 after I uninstalled 11 using ProcMon, but all I got from it was how to disable the crash reporting module which I determined was run amok and killing Vegas no matter what. But I'm not inclined to spend more time tracking it down unless I get paid. I can run well enough on the 425 build that I have dozens of projects converted and no plan to roll back. But I'm giving up GPU acceleration for now, even though I bought a card to take advantage of it.

ritsmer wrote on 1/14/2012, 4:39 PM
Precisely such a topic really calls for the ForumAdmin to kick in a good explanation - instead of letting several users search randomly in order to find out if version x can be installed before and/or after version y - and specially if installation of Vegas 11 (even the trial version) can disrupt former well functioning versions 10 and 9....

... please surprise me ...
larry-peter wrote on 1/15/2012, 10:52 AM
Thank you all for input. Here's what I have found this morning :

Turning off GPU acceleration in 11 has (at least with my first three tests) fixed one of my issues with previous installations. I have been able to modify Sony AVC rendering templates in versions 9 & 10 and render to several different bit rates without a crash. Prior to turning off GPU acceleration I have not been able to do this for over a week.

I've been burned too often by thinking I had discovered something only to find that it was a fluke, so I'm going to keep testing for several days in a regular workflow to see if this holds true. IF this is a simple fix for previous versions (at least in the rendering arena) then it appears that V 11's GPU accel switch is either modifying a registry key or some global .ini that is passed down to other versions.

And I hadn't considered it before but possibly the change that is being made involves a GPU file or registry key. I'm going to examine those files and keys also.

Larry