foxpro application flashes

[grandestin]

I have an application used in drug store sale (pharmacie)for many years, when moving it to new pc does not work just flashes and closes immediately. the application requires runtime library witch I have installed but still no luck. I have been searching in internet and tried many suggested solution and still no function. I wonder if any programmer in this forum could help with it and would appreciate very much any effort, I can send it over to whom who is willing to help me, the applications files are only 16mb zipped and the runtime files about 18mb. In advance many thanks.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Without sourcecode nothing can be done about an EXE to make it work. I assume there are some licensing files or registry entries not moved to the new PC and thus the EXE is shutting down right after start. But that's just an assumption. Ask the vendor.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Are you sure this is a Visual FoxPro application? You don't actually say so in your post.

Also, the last sentence in your posts implies that you want to send the application to one of us, and have that person try to solve the problem for you. If that's right, it's not the way the forum works. The point of the forum is to share information, not to do work for other people on a private basis.

I can only echo what Olaf said: Ask the vendor.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[grandestin]

thank you for answer. #Mike: the application is written in FoxPro 5 by students for many years ago as an end study project and since is still in use in a small drug store and since the pc is running windows xp its been planned to swap it with new one running windows 7 then I faced the mentioned error, there is no vendor to ask for support and that's for sure besides I am not asking someone else on the forum to do programming job for me just asked help from experienced FoxPro programmer, I personally have some programming skills in VB. Anyway am sorry if I came to the wrong forum.

#OlafDoschke: I used a software called REFOX and decompiled the exe with some error but as I mentioned I have no experience or programming knowledge on FoxPro so I give up, then tried with FoxPro 9 to run the exe with the command DO and the application started with no errors and fully functioning and that was on a computer running windows 7, I think you're wright some files are missing and probably runtime library ones that's why it runs under FoxPro platform and not independently.

 

[Tore Bleken]

See

http://fox.wikis.com/Topic/VFP9RuntimeFiles

for a list of the necessary runtime files.
See

http://www.foxpert.com/runtime.htm

for runtime installers.

 

[Dan Freeman]

If the app was written in VFP5, you need the VFP5-specific runtime files and their dependencies. The first link tbleken gave you is for the VFP9 runtime files. Use the SECOND link, and download and run the installers (all three parts) specific to VFP5.

Be aware that even then your mileage may vary on newer versions of Windows. VFP5 is VERY outdated. VFP6 is the oldest I've personally tried. VFP7 is what I call the first "modern" (now woefully outdated) version.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

If runtimes were missing, there would be an error message coming up. The flashing behavour rather would indicate a missing READ EVENTS, but then it would have never worked, also not on XP.
You also said you have the runtime files (18mb zipped), so that can't be the problem.

Your need to use REFOX to get source code indicates you didn't kept the source code from your students. First error. REFOXED code is never as easy and good to maintain than original sources.
What is installed on the XP machine besides the EXE? Do you find VFP5 there? And how is a start menu item or link starting the application?

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

sorry if I came to the wrong forum.

You're in the VFP section, but if an executable fails there's nothing a FoxPro developer can do but hand out needed runtimes, and you indicate you have them already in your initial post.
Asking for a fix of a non running exe is like asking an electronics DIY'er to fix an IC chip. It's closed, you can't see inside, you can't solder anything.

REFOX is a way to get sources, but it's usage is only legal for own sources. I don't own REFOX, as I do backups.

What Mike also indicates is, what the forum is for, for questions about the language FoxPro, not for questions about FoxPro applications.
In your case the Win7 computer may not be running VFP5 apps in general, you may try with compatibility mode.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[grandestin]

As I mentioned, I installed FoxPro 9 on a windows 7 machine, copied myapp folder past it on new pc and then used the command menu DO in VFP9 and browsed for myapp.exe, its starts normally fully functioning, that made me wonder, but when starting it normally from the directory it just flashes and closes, strange...

 

[Tore Bleken]

No, that's normal behavior when the runtime files are NOT installed. The easiest is to install them in the same directory as the exe.

 

[grandestin]

tbleken: how to figure out wich files are needed?

 

[Tore Bleken]

Read my earlier message.....! When you ask a question here, we expect you to read all the answers properly.

 

[grandestin]

tbleken: I did downloaded Runtime files for vfp5 from the link you posted and installed them but the Application still flashes and now am trying to locate all files in system32 folder to copy them to myapp folder. Thank you

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Is your win7 a 64bit machine?
Then the system32 folder for 32 bit apps is SysWOW64, believe it or not.

But as Tore says, runtimes better are directly by their EXE.

I didn't know VFP5 gives no message about a missing runtime, VFP6 and all later versions do report missing C and VFP runtime DLLs, if you try to run them

By the way: DO some.exe within an IDE will let that EXE run in the IDE process, which then acts as the runtime. And it also catches a missing READ EVENTS in the exe.
That's also why I asked how you start the EXE on the old machine. If you do it the same way just with VFP5, then the same applies. You misuse the VFP5 IDE or VFP9 IDE as the runtime files.
All that's misssing then is READ EVENTS in the source code.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[grandestin]

OlafDoschke: my Windows is 64bit. In the old xp machine I run the Application without any VFP installed and directly from shortcut so the READ EVENTS is not the case since it runs independetly from folder the only vfp files are in C:\RUNTIME wich I also installed in New pc.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Well, the location is not the only thing. If runtimes are registered, an EXE can locate them anywhere and find them, but if you just copy them there and don't do a setup, which in turn registers them, that won't work. Also not in the wrong system folder.

Make it simple and put runtimes just side by side to exe and it will run.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Dan Freeman]

It's most likely a dependency issue.

If a VFP EXE cannot locate the VFP runtime library you'll get a message to that effect. If, however, it can't find the right version of the C++ runtime (for example) I've seen it "do nothing" and I've seen it give "not enough memory" errors, and various other just weird stuff.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

The next thing I'll assume will be missing is data. Unless that's at a server, which didn't change. We'll see.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Yep.

 

[Olaf Doschke]

I believe an exe not even finding the C++ runtime could misbehave in any way.
But I remember it even showing that.

I found references...

"When I tried to run the exe I received the error message that said the msvcr71.dll was missing"

from MSDN forum

To be able to show such a message the stub of the EXE running first obviously has to work without a runtime, eg it's really native assembly code. I just don't know how VFP5 EXEs work in this respect, but VFP9 will behave reasonable and give a usable hint.

Bye, Olaf.