Hullform 9P and Windows 8.1

[FRD]

I have been using Hullform since about 1993 version 6 I think. At the time I looked at several options including Vacanti. Macsurf was at the time Mac only and expensive. Plus Hullform was Australian, and it is similar to drawing with fairing curves on paper. It does have it's limitations however. I have been using for radio yacht design since that time, and as 9P will near the end of it's life I am reluctantly going over to Delftship Pro.

I do have one question though. Has anyone used Hullform 9P on Windows 8.1? Does it work? It is brilliant on XP and better on Windows 7.

 

[BOATMIK]

I'm using it with no issues

 

[sigrana]

Hullform software and Windows 7 Professional 64 bit

I have used Hullform for years and I love the program. I was using it on the above OS 'till a couple of weeks ago and suddenly I can not start the program. I have uninstalled it and re-installed it but at no avail. I have tried to run it in compatibility (X86, windows XP) and nothing has changed. I have even tried it after stopping my antivirus. Nothing. It starts and after a half a second the interface disappeares. If I click on one of my many .hud files the same happens.
I have tried verions 8 and 9. The same happens for both. PLEASE HELP!

 

[FRD]

I never got to windows 8.1 because my XP machine was not compatible. I am now like you on 64bit windows 7 professional. I haven't used hull form much lately but it is still working fine on my machine. I do expect it to stop eventually. I also have hull form on an old laptop running windows 7 home premium with no problems. I intend upgrading this machine to windows 10 next year to see how everything works. If it doesn't work I will junk it.

Does Hullform work on windows 10? does anyone know?

I am using Hullform 9.12 for windows professional + Hullstat.

 

[sigrana]

Thank you. I have the programs installed on my laptop using XP SP3 and it works well but I really do not understand why it has stopped working on my PC with W7 Pro 64. I will check the version I have.

 

[SukiSolo]

Make sure you have set the program to run in 32 bit mode. There's a lot of legacy software that will only run in 32 bit mode, as that is what they were compiled to work with.

 

[sigrana]

Thank you. I have set the program in compatibility to XP SP3 and it is in the (X86) programs. May I ask what else can I do to run in in 32 bit mode?

 

[SukiSolo]

XP comes in 2 versions (as does Vista,7 etc) so you probably have the 64 bit as default. You'll need to check the 'Help' file, but you can allocate an individual program to use 32 bit mode even though your main OS is 64 bit. It should tell you how to set up a program to run in 32 bit mode.

Note that a lot of MS DOS commands are changed even in the 32 bit mode (on XP onwards) and especially the 64 bit mode. I'd almost bet that this is the problem you are having, however I'm still running 32 bit Win 7, though I have the 64 bit version too. It is running 2D 32 bit CAD just fine.

Another alternative is to use a program called DOSBOX, this I believe is freeware and allows old DOS programs to run. S old pre Windows stuff can mostly work fine. I really used to like things like Xtree Gold, way better as a file manager than the Win version.... Main problem with DOS CAD programs is the accuracy of 8 bit stuff especially if single precision....

 

[sigrana]

Thank you again. I am running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit on my computer and so does my wife on her computer. I have installed Hullform on hers and IT WORKS PERFECTLY (would you believe it?). I arrived to the point of refresh-installing W7 Pro 64 again on my computer but not at any avail. Every other progran (I have more than 100) works perfectly but Hullform, which crashes (black screen, 1 second and disappeares) when I hit the .exe and does not load at all.

 

[sigrana]

I tried DOSBOX a while ago but not succesfully. All this does anyway not explain why Hullform works on her computer and not on mine. The program may like women better than men (lol) or my PC is allergic to water (lol again). It still remain a mystery. The funny thing is that I was checking SysWOW6432Node and nHullform is not there, when it should be because it installed without any problem.

XP comes in 2 versions (as does Vista,7 etc) so you probably have the 64 bit as default. You'll need to check the 'Help' file, but you can allocate an individual program to use 32 bit mode even though your main OS is 64 bit. It should tell you how to set up a program to run in 32 bit mode.

Note that a lot of MS DOS commands are changed even in the 32 bit mode (on XP onwards) and especially the 64 bit mode. I'd almost bet that this is the problem you are having, however I'm still running 32 bit Win 7, though I have the 64 bit version too. It is running 2D 32 bit CAD just fine.

Another alternative is to use a program called DOSBOX, this I believe is freeware and allows old DOS programs to run. S old pre Windows stuff can mostly work fine. I really used to like things like Xtree Gold, way better as a file manager than the Win version.... Main problem with DOS CAD programs is the accuracy of 8 bit stuff especially if single precision....

 

[SukiSolo]

If you set the Compatibility to run in 'Win 98' mode, that will be 32 bit. XP could be either and is probably trying to work in 64 bit. Assuming your wife has 64 bit Win 7 not the 32 bit version, you might find removing and replacing the RAM cards beneficial. I have had a problem before with one program which would crash consistently on one command and it turned out to be one 'connect' on the RAM which was not properly connecting ie not conducting. Fun to find when you have so many 'connects'...

Just pull the cards and inspect, then replace where they were before. I suspect a small bit of dust/dirt may have been the culprit, in my particular case. You may find this pretty hard if a laptop, but if an ATX or micro ATX board easy to do.

If not, it is likely some other hardware issue, maybe a graphics one. I'd guess your wife's machine is not the same spec? On board graphics? I'm not sure what Hullform uses - Open GL? or Direct X? might even be worth looking at going to a Direct X 9c setting.

 

[BOATMIK]

It stopped working under windows 10 for a long time. But as of April 2020 it is running again. Even with lots of fiddling with the compatibility settings in windows.

I have a suspicion. I recently downloaded and installed the latest Rhino 3D. It downloaded a heap of extra Visual Basic files and other support files.

Note that some screens pop up from Windows Account Control "do you really want to run this" but click through and it starts fine, operates well and outputs files just fine.

Even the windows Icon looks cooler!

Best wishes
Michael Storer

 

[BOATMIK]

Dead again now.

It stopped working under windows 10 for a long time. But as of April 2020 it is running again. Even with lots of fiddling with the compatibility settings in windows.

I have a suspicion. I recently downloaded and installed the latest Rhino 3D. It downloaded a heap of extra Visual Basic files and other support files.

Note that some screens pop up from Windows Account Control "do you really want to run this" but click through and it starts fine, operates well and outputs files just fine.

Even the windows Icon looks cooler!

Best wishes
Michael Storer