Experiences with PowerChute Business on Vista 64

[Anonymous user]

The latest PowerChute Business 7.0.5 with the Vista Update Patch has erratic behavior on Vista 64. It often crashes and the program stops responding unless I use XP Compatibility Mode. Does PowerChute Business support Vista 64 and is there a release coming anytime soon?

Message was edited by: fpbear

[Anonymous user]

This is the error in the event log when the console crashes:

Faulting application console.exe, version 7.0.5.108, time stamp 0x2a425e19, faulting module kernel32.dll, version 6.0.6000.16386, time stamp 0x4549be94, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x00011d0c, process id 0xb5c, application start time 0x01c82063563474a4.

This occurs at various times when I open the console. One time the crash might be reproducible is when it comes out of sleep mode and then launch the console.

After setting it to XP Compatibility Mode in the shortcut properties, the crashes no longer occur. So that means that there is something in the software that can be changed to make it work better on Vista 64.

I also have intermittent lost communication, but this starting working again after re-installing the SIIG PCI Serial driver, so for now I think this part of the problem may be the serial card and not PowerChute. I am not sure.

The OS is Vista 64 Ultimate running on an Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, Q6600 quad core, 8G RAM, all other apps are running smooth and stable.

[Anonymous user]

I would say if you are running an x64 version of Vista there could be issues as the compatibility list doesn't list x64 support for Vista. This generally indicates it has been tested and had issues or the testing hasn't been completed. The 0xc0000005 is an indication of some type of access violation which I'm sure you know. I personally haven't tested this with a 64 bit version of Vista, perhaps someone else here has on the forum and might be able to share their results.

[BillP]

I also run the Console in XP Compatibility Mode on Vista 32 to prevent the occasional crash during startup.

Another potential problem is the location of the User Profiles. If UAC (User Account Control) is enabled, placing them on a partition other than the System (Windows) partition breaks File Virtualization, which is required for improperly designed legacy applications like PowerChute Business Edition to store configuration settings.

Specifically, Vista allows only the Trusted Installer to write to Program Files and its subdirectories. PowerChute BE, by improperly storing User configurable settings there (e.g.: "%ProgramFiles%\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\Console\Console.Ini"), causes Vista to attempt to redirect the write to the User’s VirtualStore (e.g.: "%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\Console\Console.Ini").

Since Vista can read and write, but not create VirtualStore objects on another partition, an error is generated. Manually creating the User's VirtualStore, moving Console.Ini there and creating a symbolic link redirecting PowerChute BE to the new location, solves the problem in a single User scenario. The only other option is to configure the Console to Run as administrator.

My advice to anyone reading this: DO NOT install User Profiles on a separate partition in Vista. Trust me, UAC File Virtualization failure is not the only consequence.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

The latest PowerChute Business 7.0.5 with the Vista Update Patch has erratic behavior on Vista 64. It often crashes and the program stops responding unless I use XP Compatibility Mode. Does PowerChute Business support Vista 64 and is there a release coming anytime soon?

Message was edited by: fpbear