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Questions and Troubleshooting for ZBrush 3.5 Windows

ZBrush Usage Questions
#183

You have two choices here. The less preferable one is to turn off UAC. (I don’t recommend as UAC is integral to Vista security.)

Your better alternative is to install the Norton UAC tool: http://www.symantec.com/norton/theme.jsp?themeid=labs_uac&header=0&depthpath=0

This tool will let you tell UAC to ignore raising a prompt in future instances. (If you launch ZB from more than one shortcut, you will need to tell UAC tool to ignore each short cut once . . . including the start menu or the shortcut group on the task bar.) This tool does provide Norton with white-list and black-list data for future products, but so far I have not found it to cause any issues. (Been running it for about 8 months on three systems.)

-K

#184

DEP was off, I

#185

DEP was off, I also tried running vcredist_x86_VS2008_sp1.exe to repair but no effect; same symptom as before; won’t start.

#186

Hi aurick, I have downloaded the latest Java from that link, but it has not worked. I still get the dud page after entering the serial number in. No activation code…

#187

Pressing F6 doesn’t bring out material palette. I have to move cursor outside of canvas area then pressing F6 will bring out material palette like. No problems with other panels.

System:
Win Vista 64bit
Gforce 8800GT 185.85_desktop_winvista_64bit_english_whql

#188

When I draw mask with transpose CTRL+left click and drag, mask is not visible by default. Pressing CTRL+h makes it visible.

If there is already masking in mesh, then masking with CTRL+left click and drag shows masking instantly.

Is this some sort of new feature which I don’t get or a bug?

System:
Win Vista 64bit
Gforce 8800GT 185.85_desktop_winvista_64bit_english_whql

#189

help… this is seriously bugging me. I tried it countless times now. there is no way I can save a tool without this error and crash.

my specs:
Xp home edition version 2002
service pack3 and all latest updates
INtel Core 2 6600 2.40GHz
3.12(4) GB Ram
Ati Radeon 4870, 1024 ram, latest drivers

system running very stable otherwise and no probs or crashes with ZBrush 3 whatsoever.
just 3.5 not letting me save any tool without crashing.

Attachments

save_error.jpg

#190

it gets worse. I just checked and actually also can’t load a tool old style from the right menue via the load button, without getting the exact same crash.

Attachments

save_error.jpg

#191

Actually, I realize this is something you have to say, since not all computer users are as savy as others, and I would not officially recommend it…Pixologic would certainly not advocate it…

…but I disabled UAC in Vista over a year ago, suffered no consequences, and it’s solved about 75% of the software issues I ever had with Vista. It definitely makes Vista 100% less annoying.

Really all it does is make the OS about like XP in security. If you were savy enough to run XP without picking up malware (I’ve never had a virus in 10 years ), have common sense email practices, run decent AV, update your OS, dont go looking for dodgy websites or do silly things like downloading torrents…you don’t need UAC. If you have had issues with malware, or engage in high risk behaviors, yeah, you shouldnt consider this.

For what its worth, I disabled my AV, followed the instructions on the front page of this thread and installed and activated ZB 3.5 on Vista 64 with no problems, on the first try. I had the “side by side” error the instructions said I might, but ran the included program the instructions directed me to, and it fixed it right up. I realize that is not helpful for those who might be experiencing problems, Im just saying it is possible.

#192

I played with sketch zSpheres. Then I created a Unified Skin. I went into the brush palette and selected “Smooth”. The instructions say hold <shift> and I would get the brush I wanted. It worked, but neither in normal mode or with the <shift> key pressed did zBrush show me the Smooth brush that I was using. It remained a “Standard” brush icon. Is this a reported bug?

neilford

#193

Julian_K

Are you using windows 7?
The auto recovery feature from ZBrush is not compatible with Windows 7. You’ll need to turn off the auto recovery (which is off by default) and save your configuration file. Or even easier, delete the custom config file from your ZStart-up folder. When you relaunch ZBrush you should be good to go.

#194

Now I’m really confused.

I wrote I couldn’t keep Zbrush 3.5 activated. It would be successful and run and I got the congratulations message, but logging off the Internet or re-booting caused a “not activated” message.

This is what I tried:

  1. Disabled my anti virus.
  2. Turned off my Firewall.
  3. Extracted the Zbrush download, including folders, to C:\Program Files (x86).
  4. Ran Zbrush.exe
  5. Filled out the web activation form.
  6. It worked – I got the congratulations message.
  7. Exited after playing around with it a while. Then tried it again and it worked.
  8. Disconnected from the Internet to use my telephone (I’m on a dial-up connection.)
  9. Tried to use Zbrush again and I got the activation failed.
  10. Checked my permissions – I only have my one winXP x64 account, which is Administrater (4gb, Geforce 9800GT.)
  11. Logged on the Internet and tried another activation. It worked, with a new activation code.
  12. Quit the Internet and tried Zbrush and got the “activation failed”.
  13. Deleted my Zbrush folder and unzipped a fresh copy.
  14. Ran the vcredist_x86_VS2008_sp1.exe file.
  15. Tried activating via the web again and it succeeded.
  16. Same problem – it only worked the first time but failed on the next launch after I rebooted the computer.
  17. Tried entering the last activation code via the Zbrush startup screen. It failed.
  18. Tried all the previous codes; they failed.
  19. Deleted my Zbrush folder again and this time extracted to my second hard drive at it’s root (d:\Zbrush 3.5). Failure.

Now it gets worse. I get a “maximum number of activations exceeded…” message (5, I guess), so now I’m stuck. I try the deactivate a computer. But I only have this one and there’s no computer on the list (it’s blank.) Of course I get another message saying I have to select a computer (from the blank list???) I try to back up and I get a invalid form message. And it’s Saturday, so no support.

Not even sure if I can put 3.1 back on this computer now and I’m really not in the mood anyway. Perfect timing. Back to 3D-Coat.

I’ve reset your serial number so that you will be able to activate again.

Please do the following:

While disconnected from the internet, launch ZBrush and choose the Phone activation option. Copy the code that it gives you. Then connect to the internet and submit a support ticket. In that ticket include the code that you just got. We’ll create an activation code for you.

When you get the activation code back, disconnect from the internet and use the code to activate. You should then be able to use ZBrush any time the machine is not connected to the internet. Do not launch ZBrush while connected, or that will mess up the activation again.

This is an issue that we have been looking into and are trying to get taken care of as soon as possible. The workaround above is all I have at the moment.
–aurick

#195

no, I am using windows xp home edition.
but you gave me a hint there,. because prior to the crashes I had enabled auto recovery for the first time. i disabled it again now and all is fine. I can load and save again.
honestly though, if such a feature like autorecovery that would actually be very useful does not work and even cause the opposite and crash your files, than pixologic should really disable it, or at least give out a big fat warning about it.

thanks anyway for the hint though. guess I’ll better live without autorecovery then :wink:

#196

I´ve got some update on my misery-situation here:

As nothing helped, I tried also formatting the disc, yet still I can´t run zbrush 3.5. Everything is the same. First I was getting this message:
“This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem”
When I installed the vc ++ redistributable from the troubleshoot folder I just get the windows error (send error report/don´t send)
So the result is that zbrush 3.5 still doesnt run, he´s giving me the same messages, but now as the hard drive is all clean there cant be any program that would be in conflict with zbrush.

Also, when I found out that zbrush 3.5 still doesn´t run, I installed zbrush 3.1. At first I was giving him (the zbrush 3.1) my Serial number that I got after buying zbrush, it didn´t work (zbrush was telling me something like “maximum number of activations exceeded”, basically it was message I would expect if I uninstalled zbrush without deactivating online. but I deactivated online before uninstalling zbrush and formating windows, and zbrush confirmed that it was deactivated properly.). So I tried the new Serial Number that I got with zbrush 3.5. So now I have the 3.1 running with the Serial Number I got for 3.5. Is that the way its supposed to work? In other words, does it mean that the previous serial number is useless now?

I´ve also sent this to support centre, but it´s good to have it like sort of a back-up here too. maybe someone will have an idea (except the run as admin, DEP, vc++ redistributable, becasue those all didn´t work). Do you guys at pixologic think about releasing installation for zb 3.5? Because this way is giving tons of problems to lots of people, now imagine what it would be like have to read thru all the messages to find some solution every time you reinstall zbrush…

#197

I installed the latest version of Java, but I still get the same result:

System Specs:

Internet Explorer 7.00.6000.16386
Java 1.6

HP Pavillion tx1000 Notebook PC
AMD Turion 64x2 Mobile Technology TL-56 1.80 GHz
2 gigs of RAM
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit

At this point, I just gave up and sent in an e-mail registration instead. :frowning:

#198

I am trying to install 3.5 on a WinXP-SP3 machine which has been running several consecutive versions of ZBrush with no problem. When installing 3.5, I simply get a “ding” and a blank section of screen. No error, no install.

I ran the program from the troubleshooting folder, just in case. Rebooted, left all other programs off, turned off anti-virus, and tried again. Exactly the same problem. 12-13% CPU usage, approximately 13-14MB RAM used, and nothing happening.

Where do I go now?

Are you running Vista or Win 7? If so, you need to enable the Run as Administrator option. Right-click on the ZBrush.exe and choose “properties”. Go to the compatibility tab and check the box at the bottom. Click Apply, then close the window.
–aurick

#199

I agree turning UAC off is an option, hence I mentioned it (I’m under no statutory or moral obligation for my advise–it’s worth what you paid for it :).) However, not all situations are equal nor as simple. I’m plenty savvy about viruses, but I get files from clients all the time, and once or twice a year I’ll get a Word doc or an Excel spreadsheet with a macro virus included.

Personally, I have my system properly configured and updated to avoid these “client-distributed” viruses from ever getting to the escalating privileges phase of their life, but keep in mind that UAC is going to be one more line of defense, and hence Microsoft developed it into their environment. (Unix, Linux, MacOS, Darwin already had basic privilege management built-in, so this is nothing new to those users.)

You can certainly live without UAC. And an anti-virus. And Windows Defender. And a Firewall . . . but why take the risk?

If you make your living off your machine, the minor inconvenience of UAC is nothing compared to the major inconvenience of a full system wipe and rebuild. The last one I did took about 24 hours from diagnosis to reinstall of all the software (curse you, Adobe! :slight_smile: ) Hence the reasoning behind my preferred solution (Norton UAC tool) which is free, harmless, and solves the problem without disabling a line of defense.

-K

#200

Well, we simply differ on this point. It interferes with the installation and operation of a lot of software…especially legacy soft, beyond even matters of permissions. Any older program that tries to access it’s root directory in the programs file during operation for any reason (and a number do) simply won’t work, and you wont even be notified that it tried to do this.

UAC is simply one of the worst implemented features in Vista, one of the major reasons it’s so despised, and I was plagued with software and installation issues before I got rid of it. Some of my very expensive older software simply wont install on the machine if it is enabled, even if set to “run as adminsitrator”, and all for a sort of a redundant overblown level of protection designed to safeguard the lowest common denominator in personal computing.

But, alas, this is a subject for another thread. And I don’t recommend disabling it. All Im saying, is that my life is about a billion times better with it gone.

#201

I’m getting the “The email address provided does not match with the serial key provided at the time of purchase. Please try again.” error as well. I’m using the serial that was emailed to me when I downloaded 3.5, and my email is [email protected]. I tried it with a couple other older email addresses I used to use in case it was associated with one of those somehow, but so far nothing’s worked.

I already submitted a help ticket about it earlier, but I thought I’d mention it here just in case that would make it easier to address or something.

#202

It seems that the Fibers1 material doesn’t render out fibers in ZB3.5. I even opened the Fibers1 from ZB3.1 and it also doesn’t render them, even though it works just fine in my ZB3.1. Am I doing something wrong? I have fibers turned on and I’m choosing best render. :frowning: