For general (non-technical) questions, comments, suggestions, or to report a bug, click here to send an e-mail.  Please read this entire page first to make sure that your issue hasn’t been addressed.

     For questions or help with an order (purchase), please click here.

     For help with downloading, installation, or the software itself, please see the rest of this page.

     If you are experiencing errors or problems, first be sure that you are using the latest version, in case the issue you are having has already been corrected. If you are using the latest version, continue reading.

     If your problem is accompanied by an error message, please see the Error Message section below. If you do not receive an error message (or receive an error message not listed below), please see the Tech Support link at the bottom of this page.

Spyware Software>  Keylogger / WebPI “false positives”:  It has been brought to my attention by a few customers that some Anti-Spyware programs mark one of the components used by Name Dropper as a keylogger or a part of a program called “WebPI”. This is incorrect! The component in question is “GVBox.OCX”. This file is used by Name Dropper to display images. Furthermore, the ONLY thing this component can do is open, save, and display images! Apparently the WebPI program uses this component as well and somewhere along the line it got a reputation as being harmful. Ironically, a look at the website that sells WebPI has a FAQ section where he explains that his program can not be installed without a person’s knowledge and that his program is not a sneaky trojan.  I would guess that 99.9% of the people who complain to the WebPI people don’t have his software installed at all.... they simply have a program installed that happens to use GVBox.OCX, such as Name Dropper! I won’t get into the aggravation I have with these spyware software makers that flag files left & right as harmful without any knowledge of what they are or do! If your Anti-spyware software warns you about this file and you delete it, Name Dropper will no longer work. If this happens you must re-install Name Dropper. This erroneous spyware reporting has been fixed in the programs listed below. If you find another anti-spyware program that flags “GVBox.OCX” as spyware, please let me know by clicking the email link in the first line at the top of this page.  I will try to get it straightened out.  Or if you prefer, you can report it to them yourself and quote this page.

Spyware Doctor no longer reports this file as being a threat.
A-Squared no longer reports this file as being a threat in the first update after December 21st, 2007.

Problems during installation:

”Bad/Incomplete Download”:
Symptoms:

• File downloaded is very small and when run, it appears to be an empty DOS window (Incomplete Download)
• Error Message "Error in compressed file - Bad CRC" (Bad Download)

Solution:
To fix the problem, you simply need to try downloading again.  Following the steps below should increase your chances of being successful on your next download attempt. If you don’t do the following, the browser will repeatedly re-use part or all of the bad file to cut dowload time even though you are trying to fully re-download the file again.  Another option is to use a completely different browser (if you have more than one) to try downloading again.  Note that AOL uses Internet Explorer, so they are essentially the same browser.

• Delete the Setup file that contains the error or problem.
• Empty your Temporary Internet Files folder.  In Internet Explorer, click on the ‘Tools|Internet Options...’ menu, then click on the [Delete Files...] button, then click [OK] to delete the files. You will not lose any important data by doing this. The Temporary Internet Files are files that Internet Explorer creates and uses as you surf the internet.
• Try downloading the file again.
• Try to refrain from downloading too many other things at the same time.

Error Messages in application:

"Error 75  - Path/File Access Error" - This error can occur when trying to rename or delete files that reside in a write-protected or read-only folder.  This error is most likely to occur with a CD-ROM or a camera’s memory card that has the ‘Protect’ or ‘Lock’ enabled on it.  If it is a memory card, be sure that it is not locked or protected before attempting to rename or delete files on it. If it is a CD-ROM, the files must be copied to the hard drive before they can be renamed. This error was fixed in Name Dropper 3.1.  See the Download page for the latest version.  Although fixed in version 3.1, it is still possible for this error to occur.  Another reason why this error can happen is if the file you are renaming is in-use by another application. This isn’t typical, but can happen if you externally preview the file and attempt to rename it while it is still open in the application that externally previewed it.  In order to prevent or fix this error, simply close the other application or close the file in the other application.

"Run-time error '429': You do not have an appropriate license to use this functionality" - This error can occur if you attempt to go back from version 3.3 or newer of Name Dropper to version 3.2 or older. This error is the result of a backward-compatibility issue with one of the components that Name Dropper uses (specifically, the image rendering component). If you are trying to install and run an older version of Name Dropper and you receive this error message, there is a small tool available that will remove the image component (the installer for the older version will not overwrite the newer and incompatible version of the component if it exists). To use this tool, download and run it, then click the button to remove the image component. Then re-install the older version of Name Dropper that you would like to use.

"A required .DLL file, xxxxxxx, was not found." - The system files required by Name Dropper were not installed correctly, are missing, or have become corrupted. Please re-install Name Dropper. This can sometimes occur after "un-installing" another application. When given the option, you should never allow an un-installer to remove DLL or OCX files from your Windows\System folder.

"Component 'xxxxxxx' not correctly registered: file is missing or invalid." - The system files required by Name Dropper were not installed correctly, are missing, or have become corrupted. Please re-install Name Dropper. This can sometimes occur after "un-installing" another application. When given the option, you should never allow an un-installer to remove DLL or OCX files from your Windows\System folder.

General Problems (with no error message):

I would like to preview Quicktime MOV and/or Real Audio/Video files in Name Dropper, but they do not play - Name Dropper 3.4 and up has the ability to preview most Quicktime and Real Media files, provided that the appropriate DirectShow Filters are installed. Luckily there are free utilities that provide these filters, as well as offer an alternative to the sometimes intrusive “official” plug-ins!
     Quicktime Alternative - Strongly recommend version 1.53 as file compatibility problems have been reported with newer versions.
     Real Alternative - Recommend version 1.45 or newer.

When previewing certain MP3s, the file appears to be playing but there is no sound - If you’ve checked the obvious, then you may be experiencing a known bug in Microsoft DirectShow (a component of DirectX).  There is a known issue associated with certain MP3s that have extended meta data (ID3 Tags) embedded in them.  If this only happens with a small number of your MP3s, you can usually get the sound to play by clicking on the forward step button (>) after pressing play. If this happens with most or all of your MP3s, then you may want to enable the built-in work-around (introduced in version 3.6).  To enable or disable this work-around, open the Program Options window, then press F12. A message will appear telling you that it is either enabled or disabled.  Name Dropper will remember this setting the next time you run it. Please note that this work-around usually gets the sound working on the troublesome MP3s, but you may notice that the first second of the file gets cut off when playing from the beginning. This does NOT indicate a problem with the MP3, but rather it is a side-effect of the work-around.

When I run Name Dropper, it appears in the Task Bar, but the Name Dropper window never comes up. - Note: This problem was fixed in version 3.1. Click here to download the latest version of Name Dropper. When Name Dropper closes, it saves the current window position to the registry.  This problem can arise if the Name Dropper window is closed while minimized.  This results in invalid coordinates being saved to the registry, and causes the window to not be visible the next time it is run.  This problem can occur in versions 2.3 - 3.0, and will be fixed in 3.1 and higher.  There are two ways to fix this. Both are relatively easy to do, but one involves editing the registry. It is recommended that you try solution #1 first.  To avoid this problem until it is fixed in a future version, be careful not to close Name Dropper while it is minimized.

Solution #1: Run Name Dropper.  Although you cannot see the main Name Dropper window, you should see the Name Dropper “title” in the Task Bar.  Right-click on Name Dropper in the Task Bar and choose ‘Maximize’.  The Name Dropper window should now be visible, but you cannot resize it.  To fix this, close Name Dropper while it is maximized.  Run Name Dropper again. It should be full-screen, but not maximized. Simply resize the window as you normally would.  The problem is now fixed.

Solution #2: This solution involves editing the Windows Registry. Although this is safe to do if you follow the directions below, it is recommended that you try solution #1 first.  Before trying this solution, be sure that Name Dropper is not running. If you are not sure, reboot the computer before continuing.

1) Click START, then click ‘RUN...’. Type regedit into the box and click OK.
2) Once in the Registry Editor, look at the left pane. You should see an item called ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER’. If it is not visible, double-click ‘My Computer’ first. Double-click on ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER’.
3) Browse to the item called ‘Software’ and double-click it.
4) Browse to the item called ‘CognitialSoftware’ and double-click it.
5 ) Browse to the item called ‘NameDrop’ and single-click it.
6) To confirm that you are in the correct place, be sure that the following is shown at the bottom of the Registry Editor window:
     My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CognitialSoftware\NameDrop
7) In the right pane, look for the items called ‘Window Left’ and ‘Window Top’.  These contain the coordinates for the Name Dropper window on your screen.
8) Double-click ‘Window Left’, and change the Value Data to 0.  (That’s a zero). Click OK.
9) Double-click ‘Window Top’, and change the Value Data to 0.  (That’s a zero).  Click OK.
10) Close the Registry Editor, and try running Name Dropper. Your problem should now be fixed.

     Need more help? Click here to submit a request to Technical Support.

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