Installing older pcwh compiler crg file errors?

[gpsmikey]

I have sent a request to CCS, but thought someone here may know the obvious answer I am missing Back in August 2012, I purchased a year of maintenance for the pcwh compiler. CCS sent me a manual (added cost) and a CD. The maintenance went through Aug. 2013. I had version 4.135 installed and it worked just fine. Today I decided to install the latest version 4 that I had 4.141 - I use the path (win7) C:\Program Files (x86)\PICC\V4_135 for 4.135 and 4_141 for the 141 version. Install seemed to go fine. Copied the 3 .crg files I received with my confirmation email from CCS to the 4_141 directory. When I try to run pcw.exe in that directory, I get an error message about "PCB - The crg file is damaged". I have read the FAQ about extracting the crg files from email and don't believe it applies here (I can look at all 3 of them and they are plain text files as expected). I have also tried copying the 3 crg files from the CD they sent me (the files had an Aug, 2012 date as expected when I purchased the maintenance) to the 141 directory with the same results (the files on the CD were not exact matches for the ones they sent me, but both sets give the same results). Anybody know what I am missing ? If I double click the pcw.exe in the 4.135 directory, it runs fine, but the 4.141 does not. I'm confused (even after coffee!! )

Thanks
mikey
_________________
mikey
-- you can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !
old engineering saying: 1+1 = 3 for sufficiently large values of 1 or small values of 3

[Ttelmah]

They update the CRG files required at intervals.
Part of the numeric code in them is a 'version' stamp, and later compilers need later CRG files. After about six months, you have to email and ask for a newer CRG.

Best Wishes

[gpsmikey]

So if they send me .crg files good through the end of my maintenance period (Aug 1, 2013) which actually includes earlier version 5 as well, they will work for all earlier versions or does it only cover a range? I thought I had downloaded several version 5's before my maintenance ran out, but I guess not (latest notification I have before it ran out is 5.010 in July 2013)

mikey
_________________
mikey
-- you can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !
old engineering saying: 1+1 = 3 for sufficiently large values of 1 or small values of 3

[Ttelmah]

The files you have with V5, should work for 4.141.
Are you sure the program is looking in the right directory for the files?.
Try removing them completely, launching the program (which will then complain that the files can't be found), then pointing it at the early V5 files.

Best Wishes

[gpsmikey]

Thanks - no, I don't have crg files for V5 (have not heard back from CCS yet). What I do have is 2 sets of the files - one that I got with the confirmation email I received when I bought the maintenance and another that came on the CD they sent me a few days later (I would have thought they would be the same, but they are not - both sets have my name it them and some other numbers - I have not edited them in any way, just compared them). I did do a bunch of searching with Google (both here in the forums as well as elsewhere). It was not clear if those files are used each time you start the compiler or if they are only used once to register the compiler with registry keys or something. I think it is looking in the same directory as the pcw.exe (the install directory) because the first time I tried to run it, it complained they were out of date, so I copied the ones I had received in the confirmation email and then it complained they were corrupted. So I tried the ones from the CD they sent me with the same "corrupted" message. "Out of date", I can understand that, but "corrupted" seems odd and was what was confusing me.

Thanks for the help
mikey
_________________
mikey
-- you can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !
old engineering saying: 1+1 = 3 for sufficiently large values of 1 or small values of 3

[gpsmikey]

OK, a bit of follow-up info here. CCS sent me new crg files. Those also did not work when copied to the install directory, so I completely un-installed (Unwise.exe) version 4.141 including removing the directory for it. Then re-installed it in a new directory, copied the new crg files again to that directory and this time it seemed to start OK. Apparently once it decides something is broken, it stays that way or there was another issue. One quirk to the install - if you are installing to a different directory than the default (I went with C:\Program Files (x86)\PICC_v4141 this time), when you go to install the ideutils, it asks for an install directory (with the default as "C:\Program Files (x86)\PICC " - if you browse to the new directory, it modifies that path to "C:\Program Files (x86)\PICC_v4141\PICC" and you have to take the "PICC" back off the end again for it to install correctly. Hopefully this helps someone else installing in a non-standard directory. I think I have it correct now

[edit] one more tidbit - I think CCS solved why my files were not working correctly. I had forgotten about the "Virtual store" in windows 7 - even though I have admin rights, if you drag things from email (I think) it lowers your privileges. Windows 7 (and 8) have this nasty habit of "if you don't have the rights to put it where you want, it puts it in a "virtual store" down under your user account instead, creates a pointer to it then tells you it did what you wanted. The corrupted file was in the "virtual store" which is in "%LOCALAPPDATA%\virtualstore\program files (x86)\PICC\" or where ever you (think you) put the files. It apparently looks there first so it finds the one you can't see. I have seen others run into this issue with other CAD programs etc. where windows is hiding things to "help" you.

mikey
_________________
mikey
-- you can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !
old engineering saying: 1+1 = 3 for sufficiently large values of 1 or small values of 3

[jeremiah]

What I've found from experience is that CCS seems to store a temporary copy of the CRG files stored somewhere else and has the compiler point there. What I find is once I try to add CRG files that it doesn't like using their popup, it won't take any others and keeps trying to load those old ones. I've run into this on 3 different computers in the past. For me it has always occurred when I do anything that uses that CRG warning pop up. If I ignore and close that pop up and then add the files manually (copy and paste) then I don't run into problems, but if I use that popup to specify the CRG files in any way and it fails, I get stuck without full uninstall/reinstall, even when trying a manual copy/paste afterwards.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you saw, but it is similar in nature at least.

[gpsmikey]

Yeah, see my edit of the post above - it involved the windows 7 "virtual store" (the file it was complaining about was indeed down in the "virtual store"). It is a windows 7/8 thing. I am used to Unix - either let me do it, or tell me no and let me work the problem - don't tell me you did it and hide what you did from me

mikey
_________________
mikey
-- you can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !
old engineering saying: 1+1 = 3 for sufficiently large values of 1 or small values of 3

[Ttelmah]

Yes, Windows has some 'nasty little things', it insists on doing for you. Like Jeremiah I've always manually copied the files into the target directory.

Well done in finding what was really happening.