autosketch 2.1 error

[msgps]

I have loaded AutoSketch 2.1 onto windows XP it seems to work fine until i try to rotate an object. A fatal error appears and then switched to "SKETCH.EXE at 00A4:04A8" and says it must close. After you select ok the program terminates. Please help

[fredt]

So far nobody answered with it being a problem that they're familiar with / know a fix on. Most likely you have some interaction between 2 of the trio of AS, your OS and your hardware. If you don't get a better answer somewhere else, here's what I'd do if in your shoes:

Run a strong memory test software on your "RAM"

if no problem found:

Upgrade to AS9 and adopt a zero tolerance policy regarding use of Vista in your facility. You may be a victim of Microsoft's failure to acknowledge that a main requirement of a replacement OS is to be able to run the programs that ran on it's predecessor. AS9 on XP is a combo with a solid track record.

[Anonymous]

msgps wrote:
> I have loaded AutoSketch 2.1 onto windows XP it seems to work fine until i try to rotate an object. A fatal error appears and then switched to "SKETCH.EXE at 00A4:04A8" and says it must close. After you select ok the program terminates. Please help

There's no reason you should expect a 15 or 20-yo program to run on a
late OS. AS2.1 is a program that ADSK no longer supports, the thing
ran on an 8088 for goodness sakes! (Remember XTREE Gold? And they are
... where?)

ADSK bought out a software company about 12 or 13 years ago to replace
2.1 that made the skeleton code for the current Autosketch, they
called it AS5. Since then ADSK has been piddling with it, adding bits
and pieces to make "upgrades." We have the wondrous AS9 now. AS5 was
fine for what it was it seemed to me.

AS9 is a cheapie program, don't expect any major changes if any at
all, I mean $100 for a CAD program is pretty inexpensive and ADSK
doesn't make much profit on it. It's a second sister for losers like us.

If you want to rotate something, get an office chair that spins. If
you want to rotate an entity on the screen, get a later version of the
software.

Otherwise (and better), get a Mac or AutoCAD for Windows. Take a
course and be smart.

Sorry for the flipness, these questions are all over the newsgroup
constantly and it's about time someone said something that was
truthful about these older version. Use the AS2.1 CD (or floppy I'd
bet) as a Christmas ornament.

Yours faithlessly,

Harvey

[Anonymous]

msgps wrote:
> I have loaded AutoSketch 2.1 onto windows XP it seems to work fine until i try to rotate an object. A fatal error appears and then switched to "SKETCH.EXE at 00A4:04A8" and says it must close. After you select ok the program terminates. Please help

Actually, the best bet is to get a free cad program off the net. You
can try searching this newsgroup, people have suggested pretty good
ones. I'm certain if those people see this post, they'll give you some
direction. I'm too tipsy to find them now.

Harvey

[Anonymous]

heheheh.



"Harvey" wrote in message
news:5823949@discussion.autodesk.com...
msgps wrote:
> I have loaded AutoSketch 2.1 onto windows XP it seems to work fine until
> i try to rotate an object. A fatal error appears and then switched to
> "SKETCH.EXE at 00A4:04A8" and says it must close. After you select ok
> the program terminates. Please help

Actually, the best bet is to get a free cad program off the net. You
can try searching this newsgroup, people have suggested pretty good
ones. I'm certain if those people see this post, they'll give you some
direction. I'm too tipsy to find them now.

Harvey

[Anonymous]

I'm only responding so when you wake up in the morning with drowzyness, you
can't remove the post....!!!

Well said however.



"Harvey" wrote in message
news:5823932@discussion.autodesk.com...
msgps wrote:

Yours faithlessly,

Harvey

[fredt]

I gottta 100% agree with you guys for this case an 99% Hence me saying that AS9 on XP is a good solution. In general. Also I did not know that 2.1 was THAT old (15 - 20 years) .

The other 1% (not applicable in this case) is as much as MS would like to pretend and maneuver otherwise, the main job of an OS is to run programs, and any OS should be able to run programs that ran on it's predecessor that it is trying to substitute itself for.

Also more features/power is not always a plus. (e.g. AutoCAD / AutoCAD lite vs AutoSketch) Often those higher powered products would be inferior with respect to a company's objectives. For example, with respects to costs to buy, costs to own (learning curve etc.) and how widespread it's use can be amongst persons in a company.

[Anonymous]

FredFred wrote:
> I gottta 100% agree with you guys for this case an 99% Hence me saying that AS9 on XP is a good solution. In general. Also I did not know that 2.1 was THAT old (15 - 20 years) .
>
> The other 1% (not applicable in this case) is as much as MS would like to pretend and maneuver otherwise, the main job of an OS is to run programs, and any OS should be able to run programs that ran on it's predecessor that it is trying to substitute itself for.
>
> Also more features/power is not always a plus. (e.g. AutoCAD / AutoCAD lite vs AutoSketch) Often those higher powered products would be inferior with respect to a company's objectives. For example, with respects to costs to buy, costs to own (learning curve etc.) and how widespread it's use can be amongst persons in a company.

FredFred,

It's known that a program written for use with an early operating
system is not *necessarily* compatible with a newer OS. The issue with
2.1 has arisen many times over the years (at least since 1995 when I
first started with ADSK).

2.1 was a rather basic CAD system (lots of folks liked it) but it was
replaced around that time with a program that ADSK purchased from
DrafixCAD to work with W95 I presume, probably so that they wouldn't
have to entirely re-write the code for the newer operating system, and
low-end users would continue to use ADSK products and eventually
upgrade to the more expensive fancier ones.

As for your comment about backward compatibility, would you believe
that ADSK - in their infinite wisdom - created an upgraded (!) version
of AutoSketch (AS7 I think) that created skf files that could not be
opened by AS6? You don't? Neither do I. But they did. Honest. I
believe you had to twirl around in your chair three times, invoke
Vulcan (patron saint of caddies), save it as a pdf and take your
mother-in-law out to dinner to get it to work. I forget the details
but people were quite non-plussed about it at the time. Personally I
was pissed.

In any event, that's a little history from my perspective. Should Ric
or Paul note this, they can add their own experiences. Many of the
earlier proponents of AS have migrated away from this program (some
may remember Hakon Alm or Len, or even Ric ... or me) to AutoCAD or LT
or others. Yes they're more expensive, but as I mentioned there are
free ones on the net that are quite good. You can search this forum to
get the names. ProgCAD, IntelliCAD, something like that.

HarveyHarvey

[Anonymous]

Ric Norris wrote:
> I'm only responding so when you wake up in the morning with drowzyness, you
> can't remove the post....!!!

Hahaha! Finally said something to make me laugh. Good one.

Harvey

[Anonymous]

Ric Norris wrote:
> heheheh.

Again, you dog!

[fredt]

Thanks for info and history.

Actually, on your AS7/AS6 note, I personally consider it OK for a newer version of an application to (if necessary) have a new file format that the older versions can't read. That's different than a newer OS (e.g. Vista) which is non-committal about being able to run programs that work on it's immediate predecessor.

[Anonymous]

msgps wrote:
> I have loaded AutoSketch 2.1 onto windows XP it seems to work fine
> until i try to rotate an object. A fatal error appears and then
> switched to "SKETCH.EXE at 00A4:04A8" and says it must close. After
> you select ok the program terminates. Please help

It is probably a problem whitch is caused by the screen resolution and
appears also at Windows 98 SE - and at drawing a circle. At resolution
1024 x 768 the faults might not appear any more.

Walter Mücke