MSX-Mbox 4.5 won't run on WinMe - "MSX.EXE invalid file

[blue lantern]

I downloaded MSX-Mbox and ran it successfully on my WinXP box. Wonderful!

Now I want to install it on my wife's and my son's boxes.

The wife runs WinMe-English and my son runs WinMe-Port. Brasil on their small boxes.

However, trying to run MSX.EXE on either of the WinMe boxes gives me the same error messages (although on one it is, of course, in Portuguese):

"The MSX.EXE file appears to be corrupt. Reinstall the file, and then try again".
+
"Windows cannot run this program because it is in an invalid format".

Tried a different copy of the 4.5 package.
Same result.
Tried transporting it from one machine to another on CD AND on pen-drive.
Same result.
Tried running MSX.EXE in a WinMe DOS box.
Same result.
All the copied (pen & CD) versions, when taken back to the WinXP box run without any problem.
Even tried altering MSX.EXE on the XP box to run in "Win98/Me compatability mode" (Properties-Compatability) - but it still ran OK on the XP box.

Any ideas?

After quite some time of sifting through Google searches I saw a post on the MSX RCF forum from a guy who had the same sort of problem - although he didn't say what OS he was using and thought that his ZIP file was corrupt.
As he got p1ssed on by the RCF forum people ("Illegal soft") the only reply that he posted was "problem solved" - no explanation

I'm pretty sure that it's not a ZIP file corrupt problem - I d'loaded versions in ZIP and in RAR from both Rapidshare and from Torrent and, when unpacked, all had the same file size for MSX.EXE - 6.488.576 bytes.

I even tried downloading Mbox from yet another source directly to the wife's WinMe box. It UNRARed OK, gave the same error messages on WinMe, but ran OK when transported to the WinXP box.

Are there any known issues with running Mbox under WinMe-FAT32 as opposed to WinXP-NTFS?

I can't upgrade the other 2 boxes to XP without financial investment - both are PentIII@500MHz with 384/256MbRAM

TIA for any light anyone can throw on the matter.

Yours
--
Blue Lantern (Lanterna Azul)
Up in the mountains about 250km west of Rio de Janeiro

[SeD_NCL]

Welcome to the forums! I know that MSX-Mbox won't run on Windows Vista. So that other guy could had Windows Vista installed. I never tried running the MSX-Mbox under WinMe. I can garantue that the file in the torrent version is not corrupted.

I will ask the developer of the MSX-Mbox if there are issues with running MSX-Mbox on WinMe.

[blue lantern]

Thanks x 2 !!

Thanks for the welcome - and thanks for checking with the developer.

I'll await your reply - unless there's someone else listening out there who has had experience with Mbox under WinMe.

I've just downloaded "another" file of the soft from file sharing - with the same result. So I too am pretty certain that it is NOT a file corrupt problem.

BTW, the "other guy" I spoke of posted way back in 2005 - so it certainly wasn't a Vista problem. Probably just a simple corruption problem - he had d'loaded from funet.fi.

Yours
--
Blue Lantern (Lanterna Azul)

[GuyveR800]

WinME?!

...

Ok, I'm done laughing now.

Not that it's helpful, but I find that a lot of programs don't work on WinXP SP2... Especially all 16bit stuff (Win95 and DOS programs) doesn't run anymore due to missing NTVDM software.

Windows is becoming more and more of a big mess...

[blue lantern]

Laughing? Why? Go out into the REAL world sometime.

Have you ANY idea just how many computers in the wide wide world are still running Win98 - let alone WinMe?

Many, many millions.

And don't talk about "instability" in WinMe. My wife has been running WinMe for over 8 years and has NEVER had a BSOD - not once - it's just a question of knowing WHICH optional "bit" of WinMe you have to disable in order to have one of the best and most stable releases of Win that exists.
At least she didn't have to upgrade the box when she upgraded from Win98SE.

I myself set up a small (5 machine) free training center for poor children here in Brazil just a few months ago using WinMe (better USB [=pendrive]support than Win98)- and NO BSOD's until today - just stable systems - even with the kids "doing their worst"

Your comment on WinXP-SP2 doesn't really help me beacause, as I explained, I have the INVERSE of the problem that you stated.

I have a package that WILL run OK on WinXP but won't run on WinMe.

I think that I might just install Win98SE on a spare HD and see if Mbox works on THAT

Thanks for your comments, anyway. Nice to know that someone, somewhere, cares.

Yours
--
blue lantern (Lanterna Azul)

[Lord S.M.Zett]

windows 98se is cool and good working except for that usb part. but windows me is hell.

i tryed it a lot. but the bugs.

windows 2000 is lots better lot more stable.

i think windows vista is again a winme like product.

[blue lantern]

B.L: "... using WinMe - and NO BSOD's until today - just stable systems - even with the kids "doing their worst"

L.S.M.Z: "...but windows me is hell....i tryed it a lot. but the bugs"

Old Gambler's Proverb: "Horses for courses"

What more can I say? Works fine for my wife, my kid..and all the "kids on the block" - no pwoblems at all

But I stray from the point of my original post. Methinks a quick install of Win98SE - followed by a test of Mbox on it is called for. Even if it's only for you guys to able to scream "We told you so!"

Now, where did I put that 98 CD?

Até...................
--
Blue Lantern (Lanterna Azul)

[GuyveR800]

I said my message was not helpful, but I share your frustration with things working on one version and not on the other.

Personally I've run Win98SE for a long time without problems, but I wouldn't touch WinMe.

Good luck!

[blue lantern]

GuyveR800 my friend, you're quite right! Frustrating it is

However, personally I just LOVE WinMe - never gives me a problem, is SO stable, is SO much superior to Win98SE (especially in the USB area - which I need for machine maintenance - pendrive instead of CD) - It's just God Gates' Gift to the smaller (=older) computers that I have to work (=play) with here - normally things like PCChips M5xxLMR + AMD-K6-2@500 + 128MbRAM - machines that people have had to throw away because they NEEDED to migrate to XP - great machines as poor kids' start-upers.

I'll install your baby (Win98SE) on a spare HD and test Mbox on it ASAP - I just have to find the Win98SE CD

Thanks for the best wishes - I'll get back here with the result of the test of Mbox under Win98SE ASAP.

If only I could have some sort of statement from the Launcher author - but then again he's probably never tried it under WinMe due to the mass hysteria that exists against WinMe. So simple - just turn off PC Health and all the TADM's (=Tela Azul da Morte = Blue Screens of Death) go away.

Oh well - "horses for courses", "one man's meat is another man's poison", "each to his own", etc, etc, etc.

But my biggest problem is ....... "she who must be obeyed" ..... THE WIFE!
No way, just NO way, that she could be convinced to change her WinMe - "If it won't run on Me then I don't want it!"

On the other hand my kid laughs at the "velho" (old man) "clinging" (as he puts it) to <quote>"prehistoric computer stuff"<unquote>

The other day, when I was giving a basic computer class to kids down at the local Community Centre, I made the mistake - whilst explaining what RAM was - of showing them two RAM-type devices: an 8GB pendrive and a memory panel from an IBM 1401 computer (circa 1960) - one where you can actually count the ferrite rings. They didn't believe me that it was part of a computer

But I digress... Now WHERE the hell IS that Win98SE installation CD?

I'll get back with the result of the Win98SE-Mbox test.

Até!
--
Blue Lantern (Lanterna Azul)

[GuyveR800]

Problem with getting the author to do anything is that the project was shutdown by Bazix. But now they are defunct, who knows what might happen...

[blue lantern]

GuyveR800,

thanks for the reply.

I haven't had a chance to test under Win98 yet as I've just got back home this evening after having been away for over a week working as an interpreter at technical conferences - and I STILL have to find my Win98 CD

Bazix? - Now where did I put my Google?

I'll be back with a result on thw Win98 thing just a.s.a.p.

--
blue lantern