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ProMash in Windows 10

 
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 9:28 pm    Post subject: ProMash in Windows 10 Reply with quote


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I've been using ProMash shortly after I began brewing many years ago. I like ProMash. All of my recipes and brewing sessions are in ProMash.

Recently did a new/clean install of Windows 10 64 bit. ProMash would not install in Windows 10. Tried various compatibility settings. No luck. Before anyone asks, based on my experience Windows upgrades to a new OS never have worked since Windows version 2. In other words I did not upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10.

Checking the internet I encountered a notice at the ProMash website indicating they were down and would return in June 2015! It's December... way past June.

ProMash installed and worked fine in Windows 7 64 bit.

Before doing the Windows 10 install I copied whole folders worth of contents to an external USB drive. One of the folders I copied was the c:\Program Files(x86)\ProMash folder.

Since I was getting nowhere thought I'd simply copy the backup ProMash folder into Window 10's c:\Program Files(x86) (of course I had to tell Windows 10 it was OK to copy something into c:\Program Files(x86))

When copy was finished I navigated into the ProMash folder and double clicked ProMash.exe To my surprise ProMash was up and running.

I clicked the Load Session button. It opened, but not in the desired location. I went into Options->System Settings and changed the default locations. Program crashed.

In the ProMash folder the file ProDir.dir contains the default folder information. I made a backup copy of proDir.dir I then used an editor with the ability to edit a binary file (NotePad++), changed the default directory value (noticed how old ProMash had become as the default value had the old 8.3 shortname with ~ in the path). Saved my changed and ran ProMash again. Clicked the Load Session and this time the open file dialog was in the folder I wanted.

So far ProMash is working in Windows 10. This is ProMash version 1.8.a

Anyone else have experience getting ProMash to run in Windows 10 64 bit?
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jim longisland




Joined: 09 Dec 2015
Posts: 4



PostLink    Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kraig I have the same problem and also did the same changes in Promash System Settings. I do not get a crash. At that point Windows 10 asks me where to find the file type (.rec, .brw etc depending on what I hit in Promash). When I browse my way to the required file I can load it and use it in Promash. But I have to browse to the file each time. I can not get Promash to go to the right directory even after setting the correct directories using System Settings

I tried your solution but when I load the ProDir.dir file into Notepad++ I get one record with a long line of NUL characters at the end. No obvious directories

Jim
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For what it's worth, while the changes between Windows 7 and 10 are not huge, there are definitely things that will run in 7 that may not necessarily run in 10.

I recently upgraded to Windows 10 myself (from 8.1) and Beer Tools Pro 1.5 refused to work. Beer Tools Pro 2 however works fine. (I never upgraded as I only use it for recipe creation and 1.5 had everything I needed).

Hopefully ProMash is going to continue to be upgraded .... ?

Kal

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jim longisland




Joined: 09 Dec 2015
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PostLink    Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My problem is that although I have a registered copy of Promash, under Windows 10 it is acting as if I have an evaluation copy. That limits you to a max of 3 saves of recipes and sessions

The URL to download and unlock the program that was sent when I purchased it no longer exists. I have my ID number from the original installation but no way to enter it.

I am trying to use Promash on a new computer purchased with Windows 10 installed rather than a computer where it was upgraded from a previous version

Jim
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim,

Seems ProMash at least up to version 1.8a is a 16 bit app.

Originally, the ProDir.dir began with a short folder name "E:\PROGRA~1\ProMash\"

As most know the ~1 was Microsoft's way of making 16 bit apps work in the 32 bit longer filename environment.

My ProMash recipes are "D:\ProMash" I edited ProDir.dir only changing E:\PROGRA~1\ProMash to D:\ProMash\ I didn't modify any of the ascii (which simply looks like a lot of NUL)

Maybe this is the problem you've encoutnered? Don't make the path longer than 8 characters otherwise ProMash can't handle. The Open File dialog can handle long file names, but, apparently, not ProMash.

What is the path to your sessions and recipes?

Kraig
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 12:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kal,
I believe Windows 7 still provided 16 bit app support. I believe Microsoft dropped 16 bit support in Windows 10 believing the world has moved on from 16 bit apps.

Why do I think ProMash is 16 bit? Couple of reasons. The install showed a box of floppies (the install floppies) next to a PC with a monitor on top. I remember this install from the Visual Basic 6 setup and deployment days.

Also, for the most part 16 bit apps were very similar to DOS apps in that to "install" a program one simply had to copy the whole folder of files onto the new PC. The apps ran with DLLs, etc from the directory. For the most part there wasn't any DLL registering, etc.

I find ProMash very handy and I like it. Used it for many years. I do wish Jeff Donovan would update it for the newer OS.

Kraig
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This thread is a great reminder why I try to keep computers out of anything related to my brew day. Wink

Kal

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jim longisland




Joined: 09 Dec 2015
Posts: 4



PostLink    Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kraig I also am running 1.8a. The path that shows up in ProDir.dir is

C:/Program Files (x86)\ProMash\recipes\ and sessions replacing recipes for sessions files. This is the actual path

This file seems to be a string of your last directories used because when I go back in after starting it I find two copies of the same name

I can easily get around this problem by putting shortcuts to my session and recipe directories and adding a file association to ProMash for .brw and .rec files

My main problem is the fact that I can not re-register the program on my new machine and thus can only save three recipes and/or sessions before I get locked out

Jim
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huaco




Joined: 05 Apr 2012
Posts: 1506
Location: Burleson Texas


PostLink    Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kal wrote:
This thread is a great reminder why I try to keep computers out of anything related to my brew day. Wink

Kal


And I thank you for that! I love the fact that everything in the panel is off-the-shelf industrial wares...

I'm about to start messing with a Raspberry Pi fermentation setup (It'll be a great teaching tool for myself and my two boys.)
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim,
I don't think ProMash can handle a path of "C:/Program Files (x86)\ProMash\recipes\" For 1 the / is invalid in windows. For another the space between the "Program Files" and "(x86)" is invalid in a 16 bit app.

Is it possible to copy your ProMash recipes folder to, for example, "D:\ProMash" or "C:\Recipes"? (No spaces and 8.3 folder names)

Then modify the ProDir.dir with the new folder name.

Kraig
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is possible to create a VM (virtual machine) in Windows 10 and install the OS having the ability to run ProMash without problems. As I've already written, ProMash worked fine in Windows 7. However, if creating a VM I'd probably go for Windows XP SP3 for ProMash.

Kraig
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Tennessee




Joined: 04 Apr 2015
Posts: 116
Location: Tennessee


PostLink    Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kraig wrote:
It is possible to create a VM (virtual machine) in Windows 10 and install the OS having the ability to run ProMash without problems. As I've already written, ProMash worked fine in Windows 7. However, if creating a VM I'd probably go for Windows XP SP3 for ProMash.

Kraig


VMware or Dual boot OS should work fine.

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jim longisland




Joined: 09 Dec 2015
Posts: 4



PostLink    Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2015 2:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK I have it working in Windows 10 so that when I use the load session or load recipe buttons it goes to the correct directory. It happened after I just browsed to the correct folder once for each. Every time I now open Promash the buttons take me to the correct folder and list the contents.

When I check the system settings it is using the actual Windows 10 folder with long names. Not sure why it suddenly started doing this correctly but when I tried Kraig's latest idea of a different directory for the recipies the shortcut to Promash did not work and it started looking for the installer file.

I am quitting while ahead


jim
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From my research it appears ProMash is dead. I found a 2011 post from Jeff Donovan indicating he was working on a new version. His plans were for releasing it soon (remember this was a 2011 post). Never happened.

This is a shame as I really like ProMash.

Plan accordingly.

Kraig
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KB




Joined: 06 Nov 2014
Posts: 334
Location: Virginia

Working on: Next brew


PostLink    Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 1:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A follow-up. If desire to run ProMash in Windows 10, it's possible to download the free VMWare Workstation Player and install WindowsXP. The VMWare Workstation Player is sufficient for my ProMash needs.

Then, can either run ProMash in the VM or set configuration items and save in the VM, copy the files out of the VM into Windows 10 and things work as desired.

ProDir.dir contains the default directories.

PROMSYS.DAT, I believe, contains the other Option, other than default directories, settings.

Here is the VMWare download
www.vmware.com/products/player/playerpro-evaluation.html

If anyone needs help getting ProMash to work in Windows 10, please contact me directly.



ProMashVM.jpg
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ProMash running in Windows XP VM in Windows 10
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