After update, Deskscapes 8 does not work. Only get a black screen. I tried uninstall and reinstalling. No good. I tried to update to Deskscapes 10 but it would not accept my Deskscapes 8 activation code. I don't want to update to Deskscapes 10 if it is going to cost me. I want DeskScapes 8 to work. Please advise.
Hello
Would you Please try this PURGE: https://forums.stardock.com/485954/deskscapes-support-faq#reinstalling
Reboot and ReInstall the version 8.51 reboot and test and report back .
AzDudeStardock Community Assistant
I have the same problem. I tried to reinstall Deskscapes 8 and it didn't work. What's next?
Hello,Sorry to hear you are having issues. Could both of you post what version of Windows 10 you are currently running. Please use Winver.exe for full version numbers.
Thanks
Basj,Stardock Community Assistant.
I am currently on Windows 10 Version 1903 OS Build 18362.295
Thank you. I have forwarded your questions/problems to the Stardock Support team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate you feedback and patience.
Thank You,BasjStardock Community Assistant.
Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues.
Did you do reply #1 reboot and test if so and that didn't work then .
( did you copy a backup of your DS8.51 download ?)
Because of changes MS has made to Windows 10 it is advised that you upgrade to
Deskscapes 10 https://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/download
Reboot and test if still further issues make change in DS10 settings
refer to this link https://forums.stardock.com/496384/page/3/#3757710
reboot and test .
I am running the same version of windows 10 as you and no issues with Deskscapes.
Report back here results please .
You have no problem with Deskscapes but with which version of Deskscapes? Deskscapes 8 worked well before the latest Windows 10 update and then it stopped working. Deskscapes 10 works but I do not have a license for it, so it will expire after the 30-day trial. Not for nothing but I didn't expect my version of Deskscapes 8 that I bought in 2018 to become obsolete in just a year. I don't think I will buy another version of this.
You didn't answer though , did you Do Reply #1 the Purge and reboot and reinstall DS8.51 ?
How many Monitors and at what resolutions are they running ?
Deskscapes 8 had a very long run till finally the ever changing changes in Windows made
it so that a newer version of Deskscapes was needed to keep up i.e. Deskscapes 10 ..
it is a small upgrade price ( I gave you the link above ) .. Now with Deskscapes 10 we can
do a lot of cool things to allow it to work well with Windows 10 ........ and yes further down
the road at some point change will be needed again but until then a lot of new features in
Deskscapes 10 have excited it's users .
So some of us are just now using our keys for DeskScapes 8, and it doesn't work on our windows 10 systems, so we come to the forum and you're telling us to bad we just now used our purchase, now please pay an additional $5 to get a working version. Unbelievable.
Ds8 works on Win 10 , if you want the newer version DS10 that is an upgrade.
except that it doesn't on mine. I tried to do the purge thing but my antivirus picked it up as a trojan so I cannot run it, and I don't trust Stardock as a company enough to run these tiny .bat files.
Your antivirus probably blocks all .bat files as a matter of policy.
You can open the file up to check what it is doing in notepad if that helps.
It is worth noting that if you don't trust a batch file from Stardock, you should probably be more concerned about running installers from any company as they will run elevated on your computer and have high permissions. If Stardock were so included to do bad things in bat or installers it is fair to say they wouldn't be around long and Stardock have been in business a long time...
It doesn't help because I'm not a software engineer and I don't know code. All I can say is they provided a product that worked on Windows 10, and now it doesn't. And just because a business has been around for a long time doesn't mean they will not try to take advantage of their customers. Just look at Apple for example.
ytmwang,
What AzDude was trying to convey was that DS8 does work on Win10, but you will get the issue you have if you have multiple monitors with different resolutions. If they were the same resolution, you would not see what you are.
DS10 does not have that issue. I would encourage you to install the trial to see all that is new (its pretty impressive and only $5):
Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6V8ntd8-TA
Trial:https://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/download-trial
Sean DrohanStardock Support Manager
What I am trying to convey is that DS8 has worked before with my different resolution monitors before the Win10 update. It's not the price that I worry about at all. It's really just the principle behind all this.
DS8 was updated many many times over the years that it was out. DS10 was well into development when Microsoft changed something that broke DS under those conditions.
As we have said in other threads, there has to come a time when you stop supporting a version with a new one in release. This is not uncommon for software authors.
ytmwang...
The Windows 10 that DS8 worked correctly for 'before' is very definitely NOT the same Windows 10 with which you now have issues. Sadly [annoyingly] Microsoft is constantly changing Windows 10 with new 'build numbers' which gives the [wrong] impression it's still just Windows 10. What instead we are getting is not-entirely-well-tested variations which already are more different/altered than what was the difference between Vista and 7 ....and THOSE actually had different NAMES so people expected things now might not work.
But MS has an idiotic idea that '10' is the end of the line, as if all versions the equivalent of 11 or 12 or 13 are just going to be called 'Windows 10', and let people just be upset when things don't now work.
Last time MS got it quite as wrong was with the entire touch-screen interface which is 10 [and 8] pushed upon all users just to keep their Windows phone interface relevant..... and where is 'the Windows Phone' now?
So I basically halt windows 10 update or Stop using the stardocks programs unless I wanna pay to keep using it on windows 10 in the future. Its nice for those people that had this since Windows 8. But I bought this when it was advertised to work with Windows 10. Thats the only OS ive ever ran it on, Ive never owned windows 8. And now I gotta make a decision whether I want anymore surprises like this in future updates. I dont know when you guys will decide to end support for future updates. Honestly I only use 2 of what u offer in the object desktop suite. and now I can only use 1, but until when?How come Start 8 has a "/" next to Start 10? is this because they are compatible or will that soon be ditched as well? Its only a few bucks here and there, no need to add them up or think about principles or customers. "Its only a 5$ fix, then we can charge u again when windows updates next year" NO THX to Pay 5 bucks to put my resource hog wallpapers back up? Wallpaper engine its cheaper runs faster, Problem solved.
The whole issue you are facing is the fault of Microsoft. The reality is you CANNOT 'halt Windows 10 update' [though in some circumstances you can pause them for a short time]. If Microsoft decides to make 'dramatic' changes to your OS you may find that other programs will cease working, not simply ones that were not originally designed for 10 in the first place. An alternate 'wallpaper engine' is equally likely to fail at some point in Win 10's "development"....
Stardock decided to give Start 8 a free upgrade to Start 10, why would we now pay full price for an app we purchased before to work with windows 10 again? No incentive for the people who decided to love this program before and had purchased it fairly recently only to have to pay full price again. Its clear now though that only a subscription would make this wallpaper app worth using since we never know when Microsoft will push a breaking update. Almost every year we can expect these Windows update, and we should also expect a renewal notice for Object Desktop. When I started using these programs, It felt great showing them to my friends and family. I would tell them how easy and cheap it is to start using it. I dont think they would understand that their operating system is causing them to have to buy this again through no fault of their own; because they left their PC on long enough to update. Because Stardock stated that our installers should still work, It has given the impression that new features will not be included after. But my installers should still work - it doesn't. Instead future efforts to make the application usable is behind another paywall. This is the only program I have that stopped working on this Windows update, but I don't doubt you.
Sure other apps might fail in future updates as well and hopefully they don't decide to charge us again for the same feature & call it "App 10.5" now with free "Uninstaller compatible with windows 10 ver.01110011 01100011 01100001 01101101". Hell even a promo for people with active keys - might make it reasonable enough.But this is just a slap in the face to those who wanted Stardock to work for them. (Like me)
You do have a point, all good things must come to an end sometime, maybe we will see each other when I stop using Windows. Though a huge resource hog, I enjoyed using it. If Im going to pay full price again, I want a different experience from this.I appreciate your responses and you guys take care especially during these times.
Yes, pretty much, however a program designed and released specifically for Windows 10 can be expected to be maintained by the software company for the life of that OS, 'minor' variations or not.
The release history of Windows 10 was such that many proggies designed for previous Winvers, such as 8 or 8.1 still worked [mostly] without issue - until MS really got up to speed with changes to 10 that broke legacy programs.
It then became painfully obvious that legacy programs would have to be replaced by new versions designed specifically for 10 [as it is now - and presumably into the future].
Start 8 was for Win 8, Start 10 is for Win 10, just as Deskscapes 8 is for Win 8, and Deskscapes 10 is for Win 10...
It'd be nice if all programs were self-aware and warned users when they were upgrading their OS.....
"Hi, I see you are about to change your OS. You will need to change me as well as I was only designed for the OS you are about to leave. Are you sure you want to do this?"
In the 20+ years using Stardock's software I have found the Object Desktop Subscription process the most practical and economical as there have been quite a few changes of OS in that time. [I've used all of them - except 8.1 - I think]...
I would like to point out that Start10 was an upgrade to Start8, it was not free unless you purchased Start8 very shortly before Start10 was released or you had an active ObjectDesktop subscription at the time.
The version of DeskScapes you own continues to work on the OS you had at the time of purchase. This is the OS it was designed for. Later versions of Windows 10 are not the same OS and Microsoft broke something. DeskScapes 8.x received updates for a considerable amount of time for free for existing customers, but unfortunately we are now on DeskScapes 10 which has many new features and as a side effect of a redesign didn't have the same issue.
The deal with ObjectDesktop is you get no updates outside the 12 month period so even if an update for 8.x was made you would not be entitled to it with an expired ObjectDesktop subscription.
The industry is moving towards continuous subscription models where the product stops instantly if you do not pay such as the Adobe apps for a reason and this is also why games are pushing DLC so hard.
As for why it says Start8/10, this is because both are included in ObjectDesktop (as 10 doesn't work on Windows 8 and 8 doesn't work on Windows 10) and it was simpler than saying Start8 and Start10.
If there was any doubt about our commitment to customers, it is also worth pointing out that Start10 is on version 1.94 and has had continued updates to work on every version of Windows 10 of which there are now a shocking 10 versions once the 2004 update is released shortly. All of which are free. Likewise WindowBlinds is on version 10 and continues to work on all those versions. Generally speaking we offer many years support on a given product.
I bought Deskscape 10.02 some time ago. I paid the full price for the complete Desktop Manager experience. Everything worked fine for a month; once my windows 10 got the 1st update, Descape stops working and shows me the message "DECODER NOT FOUND." At that time, I had a 1 year of service support subscription, and when I requested help, they just sent me here "Community Forum." Terrible customer service experience. I have a few casual friends asking me for the application because they want to make their computers look similar to mine (Few pictures posted). Still, I explain the situation, show new pictures, and recommend not buying this product. After that, I just come here at least every 3-4 months to know if there is a solution to my issue without results. If you are reading this, don't lose your hope. Someday somebody will find the root of the problem and will publish the solution. Probably before the apocalypse or windows newer update, whatever is worse.
I am unsure why you posted in this thread about Deskscapes 8.x which has a known problem with later versions of Windows 10 given you have Deskscapes 10 which does not have that problem. The problem being OS level changes rather than with DS8 which works fine on the OSes it was designed for.
With regards to your issue, decoder not found has two possible reasons.
1) You are trying to play a video dream that uses MPEG2 video which some older ones do. Later versions of Windows do not include MPEG2 decoders for licensing reasons.
2) Files are not being extracted correctly from dream files. This was an issue for some people in the original 10 release, but this has been resolved in later versions. You can tell if this is the case if none of the included dreams work. Static wallpapers should however work in this situation still.
Extra debug information was added to DS10.02 so we could track what was going wrong with file extractions. If you are having issue two then please do post back and we can collect additional information to see whats going on for you.
The reason for community forum support is it acts as a knowledge base. Unlike some community forums, these forums are still monitored by people who have the ability and power to resolve issues.
As best I can tell you posted once about the issue and were asked to try the latest build and let us know if it didn't help and no further posts were made which would by why no further help was received as we didn't know you still had an issue.
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