3ds MAX and W2K SP 4/Hot Fix Issues

[Jeff Mottle]

Attention All 3ds max Customers,

We have identified and confirmed that installing the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 causes the corruption of .max files. All 3ds max (.max) files saved with Windows 2000 SP4 installed will no longer load in 3ds max on systems with Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3 installed. Our Engineering Team has narrowed in on the problem and is working with Microsoft to resolve the situation. In the interim it is strongly advised that all 3ds max users do not install the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. If Windows 2000 SP 4 has already been installed it is suggested that customers revert back to SP2 to create usable (.max) file content. This affects all 3ds max files created in versions 3 through 5.1

3ds max files created while Windows 2000 SP4 is installed can be retrieved through either of two workarounds:

Option 1
(Please be aware that some data will still be lost in this workaround.)
Revert Windows 2000 SP 4 Systems back to SP3 or earlier
Use "File Merge" to retrieve data from corrupted .max files created under Windows 2000 SP4 and resave.
Note: If you have Render Effects or Atmospherics in your max file, use the Merge button in the respective dialogs.

Option 2
Open corrupted .max files created under Windows 2000 SP4 in Windows XP and resave.
Revert all systems back to Windows 2000 SP3 or previous.

Bear in mind that 3ds max 5.1 is officially supported for Windows 2000 SP2, so for optimum stability revert to this operating system platform to use 3ds max 5.

Thank you for patience and assistance in getting this problem resolved.

VIZ users please click here

[ July 23, 2003, 07:20 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Mottle ]

[Michiel Quist]

hmmmmm strange, because the netrender has no problems with this, I have one machine that has SP3 and my main machine has SP4, and it renders normally...

[gareth ace]

I am going to try out my net render box too, which is an NT4 box and check to see if any problems are there. Even though i am only using Viz R2, i am quite happen with W2k service Pack 4, for all my other bits and bobs, CAD and office software. So i may slow to downgrade again just for the sake of the few VIZ rendering jobs i am likely to be doing at home.

[gareth ace]

i have just finished sending out a quick 100 frame simple job and am please to say no problems with my old VIZ R2 copy anyhow. Mind you, there is the usual few, stops and starts asssociated with setting up net rendering on any few systems i suppose.

Hopefully my VIZr2 copy max files have so few special effects, and atmospheric settings that this problem will fly over my head completely. I would much rather have W2k SP4 and VIZ r2, than have VIZR4 and w2k sp2 (i don't do much rendering at all), because the dual processing capabilities in sp4 seem to have really sounded up alot. I always expect a bit more from a good system with a new Microsoft service pack.

I created the file in VIZ on the w2k sp4 system and rendered *.ifl animations on the NT4 sp6 old pentium 2 box, no problem.

[Alex Bicalho]

VIZ R2 is not affected. VIZ 3 and 4 are.

Alexander

[Alex Bicalho]

Michiel,

Consider yourself lucky. But take the advice from the message, because the problem is real and will surface to you sooner or later.

Alexander

[Michiel Quist]

Alex,

Can you tell us what the problem is? or what thing you've narrowed it down to?

[Jeff Mottle]

Dear Customers,

In an effort to inform all reported important bugs and workarounds to you as quick as possible, here is a communication for you to keep the best advantage of your 3ds max investment.

=> If you are not running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and do not wish to install it, or you are not exchanging files created on Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 by someone else, this message is not for you, and you can delete it.

=> If you are running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or want to install it, or if you are exchanging .max file done on Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, we would like to grab your attention.

We have identified and confirmed that installing the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 causes the corruption of .max files. All 3ds max (.max) files saved with Windows 2000 SP4 installed will no longer load in 3ds max on systems with Windows 2000 SP2 or SP3 installed.

Our Engineering Team has narrowed in on the problem and is working with Microsoft to resolve the situation.

In the interim it is strongly advised that all 3ds max users do not install the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

If Windows 2000 SP 4 has already been installed it is suggested that customers revert back to SP2 to create usable (.max) file content. This affects all 3ds max files created in versions 3 through 5.1

3ds max files created while Windows 2000 SP4 is installed can be retrieved through either of two workarounds:

Option 1
(Please be aware that some data will still be lost in this workaround.) Revert Windows 2000 SP 4 Systems back to SP3 or earlier Use "File Merge" to retrieve data from corrupted .max files created under Windows 2000 SP4 and resave.
Note: If you have Render Effects or Atmospherics in your max file, use the Merge button in the respective dialogs.

Option 2
Open corrupted .max files created under Windows 2000 SP4 in Windows XP and resave. Revert all systems back to Windows 2000 SP3 or previous.

Bear in mind that 3ds max 5.1 is officially supported for Windows 2000 SP2, so for optimum stability revert to this operating system platform to use 3ds max 5.

Thank you for patience and assistance in getting this problem resolved. More Information: http://discreet-news-emea.discreet.c...k8x0BxS0BtY0Aq and click on "Late Breaking 3ds max bulletins"

The Discreet Europe Team

[Jeff Mottle]

Looks like a new XP service packs will corrupts files too:

--------------------- Original Message -------------------------
Just a warning to anyone running XP. Don't know if it is an XP problem or
not, but with the recent Win2K SP4 problem, it may be related.

I have been (probably foolishly) on the automatic update feature of Win XP
Pro. It did an update yesterday and every file that VIZ has opened today
has ended up being corrupted. In addition the MERGE fixes that have worked
in the past before are completely ineffective.

When trying to merge into, or open any of the files I have been in today,
VIZ does one of two things: dissappears off the screen with no warning,
much like an out of memory crash, or it gives the display "VIZ has
experienced a problem, do you want to save a recovery?" Which fails and
none of the files can be opened again.

It is an XP problem. Probably the same as the Win2K issue. I am back up
and running, but people need to be aware of this and don't use auto-update
in XP.

Here are the details of what happened and how it was fixed.

Going into the event viewer, there were some updates done yesterday. Two
sercurity updates and and two otheres. One was labeled "NT SP4". Don't
know which is the culprit, but here was my fix.

Go to Start/Run then type in "msconfig".

A box called "System Configuration Utility" comes up and on the "General"
tab, click on "Launch System Restore".

Then it will give you a calendar with bold dates. Any of the bold dates you
can click on and the system will restore itself to that date. There was a
warning that popped up, but XP didn't give me time to read it before
restarting. Since the updates happened yesterday, I restored to the 16th.
The only day available before the updates that the system would let me use.
I don't know how it decides which days it will allow, so I suggest doing
this step soon.

I can now re-open files that were unopenable a half hour ago.

Hope this solves your problem too.

-------------------------

This from Troy Buckley on the MAX forums:

"It is the XP security update 823980. It just came out last week some time.
It basically includes a new OLE32.dll. Basically XP will exhibit the same
behavior that Windows 2000 SP4 exhibits. You can work fine on the xp
machine, but no one else will be able to open or read the file. MAJOR
bummer!! I spent 3 hours tracking this down!"

[gareth ace]

Ever get the impression we are becoming slaves to the computer systems, as oposed to the computer systems being slaves to us Jeff?

When trying to merge into, or open any of the files I have been in today,
VIZ does one of two things: dissappears off the screen with no warning,
much like an out of memory crash, or it gives the display "VIZ has
experienced a problem, do you want to save a recovery?" Which fails and
none of the files can be opened again.

I have had that in W2k SP4 too - exactly the same kind of crash you describe - i couldn't have described it any better. Because it is a very usual type of crash isn't it - you now it is going to happen, and the whole software just breaks the world record for jumping backwards, back down into its hole as if it had just almost stepped on a rattle snake or something!

I once had to restore the last best version of W2k, if one happened to install w2k sp2 on a system with Logitech Mouseware 9.1. The Logitech web site had a new 9.6 download though, which was compatible with w2k sp2. So Microsoft seems to be having all kinds of problems with its service packs now.