WindowBlinds 5 Beta 1B released
Lots of fixes and tuning
Wednesday, October 5, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News
WindowBlinds 5 Beta 1B was released today. It is a major update and improvement over yesterday's beta and should clear up most of the issues for those users who ran into problems. But it's more than just a bug fix, additional performance improvements have been put in as well.
Users of WindowBlinds 5 have also reported that it is significantly faster than WindowBlinds 4.6 (which in itself was already very fast). That's because WindowBlinds 5's engine has been further optimized for drawing and resizing and taking advantage of the latest video cards.
A few notes about WindowBlinds 5 Beta 1b (4.90b):
- We don't recommend using it with WindowFX yet. We have a new WindowFX about to go up that has been optimized to work with WindowBlinds 5.
- Skin changing should be faster.
- Right-Click on title bar override to make it roll up the window has been added for Alpha-Blended title bars.
- RunDLL32 issue resolved.
- WinZip issue resolved.
- Min/Max settings respect settings.
- WB Config now has support for helping those with ATI 9000 that have corrupted mouse buttons.
- Corruption with Kol's WinVista skin has been resolved.
- Taskbar corruption (graphical) issues should be fixed.
- LogonStudio compatibility issue resolved.
All in all, a busy day for the WindowBlinds team. You need to have Object Desktop (www.objectdesktop.com) in order to get access to the beta.
 |
|
Page 2 of 8 | |
|
|---|
xxZeroVirusxx
Reply #22 Wednesday, October 5, 2005 10:23 PM
Reply #22 Wednesday, October 5, 2005 10:23 PM
Updated his drivers, still won't work =P.
dave86
Reply #24 Wednesday, October 5, 2005 10:50 PM
Reply #24 Wednesday, October 5, 2005 10:50 PM
I have noticed this little thing on my volume meter
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
You have one monitor in total.
(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
'NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 ' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAY2', but is not attached to the desktop.
'NetMeeting driver' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV1', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
'RDPDD Chained DD' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV2', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
You have one monitor in total.
(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
'NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 ' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAY2', but is not attached to the desktop.
'NetMeeting driver' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV1', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
'RDPDD Chained DD' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV2', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
john houssock
Reply #25 Thursday, October 6, 2005 12:08 AM
Reply #25 Thursday, October 6, 2005 12:08 AM
getting black boxes behind the text on the task bar
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
If you suffer visible corruption (overbright) on the frames and have a NVIDIA board then please be aware this is a NVIDIA bug. It has been seen on GeForce 4 cards and some FX series cards.
Video Information
You have one monitor in total.
(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to MOBILITY RADEON 9000
'MOBILITY RADEON 9000' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAY2', but is not attached to the desktop.
'NetMeeting driver' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV1', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
'RDPDD Chained DD' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV2', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
If you suffer visible corruption (overbright) on the frames and have a NVIDIA board then please be aware this is a NVIDIA bug. It has been seen on GeForce 4 cards and some FX series cards.
Video Information
You have one monitor in total.
(Default Monitor) 1 is attached to MOBILITY RADEON 9000
'MOBILITY RADEON 9000' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAY2', but is not attached to the desktop.
'NetMeeting driver' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV1', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
'RDPDD Chained DD' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV2', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
MBoyer
Reply #26 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:26 AM
Reply #26 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:26 AM
I'm not having any major problems with WB5. Noticed the tray icon for WB is gone now and when I load any WB5 ready skin any tray icon menus seem to disappear leaving only the shadow after about 4 seconds.
I'm really excited by the possibilities of what I've seen so far. Keep up the good work!
I'm really excited by the possibilities of what I've seen so far. Keep up the good work!
r43475
Reply #27 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:27 AM
Reply #27 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:27 AM
Greetings,
Sorry that my knowledge on software is next to zero. I was just wondering if lacking of "per pixel" feature support at my IBM ThinkPad T40 (with ATI Radeon 7500 display card) also implied that there was no "glass" (transparency) effect available from WB5.
I could not tell the difference between WB5 and WB4 at my system (didn't know where went wrong, though I checked with the Troubleshooting info at WBconfig
Do we still need to upgrade from WB4 to WB5 even there is no "glass" effect supported based on our hardware configuration (don't know how to get embedded ATI display card to provide "per pixel" feature for WB5)?
Many thanks !!
Sorry that my knowledge on software is next to zero. I was just wondering if lacking of "per pixel" feature support at my IBM ThinkPad T40 (with ATI Radeon 7500 display card) also implied that there was no "glass" (transparency) effect available from WB5.
I could not tell the difference between WB5 and WB4 at my system (didn't know where went wrong, though I checked with the Troubleshooting info at WBconfig
Do we still need to upgrade from WB4 to WB5 even there is no "glass" effect supported based on our hardware configuration (don't know how to get embedded ATI display card to provide "per pixel" feature for WB5)?
Many thanks !!
john houssock
Reply #28 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:35 AM
Reply #28 Thursday, October 6, 2005 1:35 AM
im not finding the 4.9b update for beta shouldnt it show up in sd central
Diafragma
Reply #29 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:12 AM
Reply #29 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:12 AM
This is what I get, can anyone help me...
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds has not been activated correctly on this PC. Please activate it from SDC.
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds has not been activated correctly on this PC. Please activate it from SDC.
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
George Rogers Jr
Reply #30 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:50 AM
Citizen MBoyer, I think the system tray icon has been eliminated for good....according to what others have told me - since this new build eliminates any dedicated processes it runs as part of the system...no tray icon...because it's NOT an additional system process. Just wanted to pass it on if you haven't heard it yet.
Just a cautious optimistic observation - my entire system seems to be running faster - ALOT FASTER; files & folders/sub folders open up at JET SPEED...most other functions seem to be working the best I've ever had since owning my computer system & installing this new build. I'm still only using a 32 bit processor: AMD 3200Xp, WD Rator HDD 10,000rpm, XFX 6600GT vid card & Corsair XMS. I think from the post's alot of other people are seeing better results now than the first release - but there's still problems....hope they're resolved soon. Does ANYONE ELSE notice this difference in speed???? And I don't mean just in the WB Configuration applying skins! Any feedback would be appreciated!! THX!
Reply #30 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:50 AM
| Noticed the tray icon for WB is gone now |
Citizen MBoyer, I think the system tray icon has been eliminated for good....according to what others have told me - since this new build eliminates any dedicated processes it runs as part of the system...no tray icon...because it's NOT an additional system process. Just wanted to pass it on if you haven't heard it yet.
Just a cautious optimistic observation - my entire system seems to be running faster - ALOT FASTER; files & folders/sub folders open up at JET SPEED...most other functions seem to be working the best I've ever had since owning my computer system & installing this new build. I'm still only using a 32 bit processor: AMD 3200Xp, WD Rator HDD 10,000rpm, XFX 6600GT vid card & Corsair XMS. I think from the post's alot of other people are seeing better results now than the first release - but there's still problems....hope they're resolved soon. Does ANYONE ELSE notice this difference in speed???? And I don't mean just in the WB Configuration applying skins! Any feedback would be appreciated!! THX!
Brandon Paddock
Reply #31 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:53 AM
Reply #31 Thursday, October 6, 2005 2:53 AM
So just how soon is that new WindowFX release coming? =D
Jr Something
Reply #32 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:01 AM
Reply #32 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:01 AM
I need help, when i search for updates on stardock, it tells me windowblinds 5 beta b is ready to update, but when i click update now, it keeps the same version i have (4.6), i've tried it many times and the same thing happens over and over, can anyone help??? 
indigonecro
Reply #33 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:29 AM
My old friend George,
Sup man?.. We post too much I think, but who cares. Lol. To answer your question my brothers' PC that I built and my built PC are both BLAZIN' with speed. I do notice the WB5 beta being integrated has increased the overall speed of windows by at least 2X.
My PC:
Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 (Newest Build)
Intel P4 2Ghz 512L2 Cache
768MB RAM (I need to get that up to 1 Gig..)
On-Board Intel Extreme 48MB Stupid P.O.S. On-Board Graphics
120GB Maxtor IDE HDD
Brothers PC:
Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 (Newest Build)
AMD Sempron 3300+ (2GHz)
2GB RAM (So what, he's broke now for 2 years.)
ATI Raedon 9800
250GB Seagate IDE HDD, 300GB Maxtor IDE HDD
Reply #33 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:29 AM
| Does ANYONE ELSE notice this difference in speed???? And I don't mean just in the WB Configuration applying skins! Any feedback would be appreciated!! THX! |
My old friend George,
Sup man?
.. We post too much I think, but who cares. Lol. To answer your question my brothers' PC that I built and my built PC are both BLAZIN' with speed. I do notice the WB5 beta being integrated has increased the overall speed of windows by at least 2X. My PC:
Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 (Newest Build)
Intel P4 2Ghz 512L2 Cache
768MB RAM (I need to get that up to 1 Gig..)
On-Board Intel Extreme 48MB Stupid P.O.S.
On-Board Graphics120GB Maxtor IDE HDD
Brothers PC:
Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 (Newest Build)
AMD Sempron 3300+ (2GHz)
2GB RAM (So what, he's broke now for 2 years.)
ATI Raedon 9800
250GB Seagate IDE HDD, 300GB Maxtor IDE HDD
George Rogers Jr
Reply #34 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:49 AM
Reply #34 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:49 AM
Laoran, Thx so much for the response!!! Yes...i'd say about 2X increase or thereabouts. I can't believe your vid card has only 48mb of memory.... 
....I mean gosh... ...at least your brother has a ATI Radeon 9800!! I just don't know WHAT kind of SPEED you'll have if you can upgrade to something with 128mg's!!! I assumed you have an AGP bus - is it 4X.... .....??? Thx!!!
....I mean gosh... ...at least your brother has a ATI Radeon 9800!! I just don't know WHAT kind of SPEED you'll have if you can upgrade to something with 128mg's!!! I assumed you have an AGP bus - is it 4X.... .....??? Thx!!!
Wildharp
Reply #35 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:56 AM
Reply #35 Thursday, October 6, 2005 3:56 AM
Waited until today to download. Stunning. The speed is very obvious on my system So far so good. I am still amazed by how good Stardock is as well as the whole Wincustomize community. 
df123456
Reply #36 Thursday, October 6, 2005 4:28 AM
Reply #36 Thursday, October 6, 2005 4:28 AM
Good, rundll32 and logonguix problem has vanished.
Next thing could be to fix the erroneous rollup behaviour, not all windows get rolled up completely (windows media player, Visual C++ .NET, Opera,... , at least using the 5imple skin)
Some OpenGL Buffers (Maya) seem to get screwed up when alpha-borders have been covering them, the border part sometimes "burns" into the buffers. Also some other strange OpenGL behaviuor (buffers becoming copied to some place outside of their applications) is noticeable.
Somebody owning a game that can be run in a windowed OpenGL mode could try to reproduce the errors above.
The skins apply faster, it feels better.
Next thing could be to fix the erroneous rollup behaviour, not all windows get rolled up completely (windows media player, Visual C++ .NET, Opera,... , at least using the 5imple skin)
Some OpenGL Buffers (Maya) seem to get screwed up when alpha-borders have been covering them, the border part sometimes "burns" into the buffers. Also some other strange OpenGL behaviuor (buffers becoming copied to some place outside of their applications) is noticeable.
Somebody owning a game that can be run in a windowed OpenGL mode could try to reproduce the errors above.
The skins apply faster, it feels better.
FnordSensei
Reply #37 Thursday, October 6, 2005 4:49 AM
Reply #37 Thursday, October 6, 2005 4:49 AM
Cool! Fast update! Doesn't seem to fix the problem most of us seems to be having though: not being able to apply any skin at all.
Update: The activate.exe trick actually works! Double cool!
Update: The activate.exe trick actually works! Double cool!
xxZeroVirusxx
Reply #38 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:24 AM
Reply #38 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:24 AM
Is there a difference in the new "b" build?
ShelbyGT_The_Car
Reply #39 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:50 AM
Reply #39 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:50 AM
I must say that 4.90b[b]003 has done it better - everything works better and faster~!
Thanks Stardock and all those that are working on the new wb 5 - congrats.!!!
Job extra well done and quick too....
SGT
Thanks Stardock and all those that are working on the new wb 5 - congrats.!!!
Job extra well done and quick too....
SGT
Trombonez
Reply #40 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:53 AM
Reply #40 Thursday, October 6, 2005 5:53 AM
Works like a breeze on my HP compaq nw8000 notebook. (ATI mobility Fire GL T2, 2Ghz, 1GB)
Love it already!
Love it already!
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
|
|
Page 2 of 8 | |
|
|---|
Reply #21 Wednesday, October 5, 2005 10:16 PM
-----------------------------------
WindowBlinds 5 BETA Troubleshooting Report:
STATUS : WB+ SRV+ HLP+ UI+
WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC.
WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC
Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.
You have one monitor in total.
(Plug and Play Monitor) 1 is attached to NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X (Microsoft Corporation)
'NetMeeting driver' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV1', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
'RDPDD Chained DD' also exists as device '\\.\DISPLAYV2', but is not attached to the desktop and is a mirror driver.
-------------------------------------------
Any ideas? Could it be his driver? It might not be updated.