Opened a ticket on Stardock eSupport back in the beginning of September (#IGB-111-75441) for a bug I'd seen happening for a while. Was initially given support by Brad Ather. It was determined after a rather lengthy process that there was a bug in either Fences 3.0, or Deskscapes 8 (or both), as they would not work together in a Windows 10 multi-monitor portrait configuration (proven).
I asked when I could expect a resolution, to which Brad replied it was "going to the developers", and he had no idea until they resolved it.
Here it is almost 3 months later, and I update the ticket asking for status. Sean Drohan (from Customer Care) INSTEAD of trying to get status, gives me a rather lengthy list of standard steps to try to fix Fences, most of which was already done between myself and Brad Ather.
I have to ask myself - does the right hand at Stardock know what the left hand is doing? Are proven bugs actually treated with the attention and timeliness they deserve? My subscription to Object Desktop has expired, and I won't be renewing it based on what I've seen so far. At this point, the bug resolution I've seen for Stardock's apps is on par with the title War of Magic, and I don't care to repeat that fiasco.
If someone could give the ticket the attention it needs and get *actual* status on a fix for the bug, it would be appreciated. If there's no interest in supporting the apps, or in getting customers to renew subs by fixing bugs, let me know and I'll move on.
That is not true, Jaga. No where in your dialog with Brad Ather were the steps given to you by me advised - its why I sent it to you, Jaga.
As for the status of the internal ticket - no, there has been no update on it.
So giving me instructions on how to purge Fences is somehow more advanced diagnosis than what Brad Ather and I were doing?
I do IT support for a living, everything from tablets, to desktops, to networks, to rack servers. I know the impact of asking someone to "reinstall" an app. It was one of the first things I did, before even creating the ticket.
It sounds like there's been no advancement or attention paid to the bug in 90 days. I'll shelve the Stardock suite of apps because of it - support is necessary where system applications are concerned. Without it, subscriptions are irrelevant.
No disrespect, Jaga, but how well does assuming things in your roll work? I have found that it does not work well at all for me in mine. When I did not see that the purge (more than just an uninstall) was not tried, something that has a great deal of success for many things when done, it was natural to do so. I am sorry you see it otherwise.
As I said in your ticket, I have updated the internal ticket with your concerns.
Regards.
I have also updated the ticket. While I knew the outcome before trying, I nevertheless went and used the purge batch file at your request, reinstalled 3.0.5.12 clean, restored a snapshot, rebooted, and re-tested. The problem persists. Without developer intervention, this breaks Fences 3.0 / Deskscapes 8 integration for multi-monitor implementations.
Portrait multi-monitor as I understand it, yes? Were they / it landscape, this is not an issue, correct?
Yes, though I can't imagine it would be any different, as Windows is handling the monitor rotation. The only configuration I've tested it with which works (no issues running Fences/DS together), is a full Nvidia Surround merge of all three monitors. I can however, test with a landscape orientation without even physically moving them. I'll update the ticket with both when I add the DS purge info.
Deskscapes purge (via .bat) unsuccessful - bug remains.
Landscape multi-monitor (not Nvidia Surround) test exhibited the same issue as portrait (flipped) mode for all monitors. Updating existing ticket.
While I realize this does not help you, I run several triple monitor systems. I run Fences 3, I run Deskscapes 8, I have no such issues on any of mine.
I would assume, being that I build gaming PC's to sell, that your issue is system specific. Likely having something to do with a setting or other software/hardware conflicting.
Not trolling, just pointing out my experience.
Since I don't know the details of your issue, may I ask if you have installed codecs? Windows 10 will not run most dreams without added codecs.
I was also curious if he was using Nvidia nView Desktop Manager
I used to use AMD, but not any more.
The system in question was rebuilt early-to-mid Summer this year, so hasn't had time enough to get 'dirty' and things to go wrong with it. The bug existed right after the rebuild as well. I too build all kinds of systems (office, personal, gaming, etc) for clients, so am not a stranger to standards and things to avoid when building. Generally I rebuild my primary computers every 12-18 months, so they stay clean.
It sounds like this is a Nvidia issue. It *should* be easy enough to test on any Windows 10 computer with an add-in Nvidia card and 2-3 monitors. Why it hasn't been tested yet I don't know.
I typically install the K-Lite Codec pack (lite or normal version) on any system I plan to game on or use in a multi-media capacity. This system has the normal install running on it. I haven't had any issues using any wallpaper, video, or animated dream that I've come across yet. And - Fences and Dreamscape run fine together when I use Nvidia Surround to create one large logical monitor with the three.
@sdRohan - I do not use the nView Desktop Manager. I run a basically barebones system, very lean. I do use DisplayFusion Pro 9.1, but I have tested with that turned off (and uninstalled), same results. All of my system info should be in the ticket, and the results of the Stardock support tool were linked in my ticket, in case you need to refer to it.
I would guess that it is impossible to test a software on every conceivable rig/setup.
I always install the mega Klite. Just to cover all bases.
I would agree that it sounds like an NVidia issue. Not a Stardock issue. Therefore I would be tasking NVidia about the problem, since the "bug" seems to be with NVidia, rather than Stardock. However, Stardock may be able to troubleshoot this with you. I am not a Stardock employee, so I cannot say.
It is Windows 10, with a Nvidia add-in card, running on the driver version specified in my Stardock support tool output, with >1 monitor. That can't possibly take more than 20 minutes to replicate. Whether you call it a Stardock issue or a Nvidia issue - it's behavior exhibited by the Stardock software, which puts the ball firmly in their court.
What's confusing to me is that after all MY effort (many hours total now), someone at Stardock can't take that 20 minutes and try replicating it themselves. I'm not a Stardock employee - saving money by making me jump through endless hoops is only okay for so long.
IF there's a bug with the Nvidia driver software and Fences, do you think it's the software developer's responsibility to resolve it, or the end-user? I can tell you - it's not the end-user. When game designers have driver issues, THEY work it out with the company who made the driver. They don't tell thousands of end-users to contact the driver company and get it resolved.
This bug basically affects anyone running W10 with Nvidia and >1 monitor, where Fences and Deskscapes are installed.
Over three months it's been myself and two Stardock people trying to find fault in my system, or it's configuration. I think I've done enough leg work there - Stardock can replicate the issue on their hardware now, determine that the bug exists, contact Nvidia, and get it slated for being addressed. The fact it sat, unaddressed for as long as it did, is distressing to say the least.
Again, this doesn't help you. It just means it's not happening to everyone.
As for support taking the 20 minutes, they have a lot of other support issues to deal with as well, and I am certain, being a 10 plus year customer, that they will fix it. Just maybe not as quickly as you'd like.
Half my support issues weren't handled as quickly as I would have liked, but they did get resolved.
I failed to mention that the 2 NVidia rigs aren't used daily, but they are kept updated.
Bug is resolved.
Only two system configuration changes were made to get resolution, neither of which was directly linked to Fences/Deskscapes:
- A RAMdrive file loaded at boot was moved off the faster C: drive (a SSD) onto a ReFS volume (on spindle-drives) which is much slower. This increases boot time appreciably (from ~6 seconds to ~20).
- Items in the user's Startup folder were removed and their command lines placed in the "Run" area of the Registry instead. They weren't launching properly at boot, and this was a fix for that problem.
==================================================
That means one of several things. The super-fast boot time may have been interfering with Fences and/or Deskscapes' load order, or they weren't loading after other necessary OS code. Or, that one or more of the 'stalled' shortcuts in the Startup folder was interfering with Fences and/or Deskscapes' starting up somehow.
I'm leaning towards issues with the startup speed of the system being the culprit, and things either getting out of order, or not having quite enough time to start gracefully. Unfortunately that means it's still either a Fences/Deskscapes issue (and perhaps a delayed start would work better), or there's an issue with Nvidia or Win10.
No other system configuration changes were made. No other software, drivers, or updates had been changed or made. I've rebooted several times to verify it is working continuously.
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