Need more help? For more support options, please click on the Support menu at the top of this page.
On this page you will find any known issues with our software. If you are experiencing other problems not mentioned here or if you need more help, please use the
Support menu above to choose another support option.
Registered Users
Name Dropper (password does not work) - So long as the username and password are being entered correctly,
the only reason why a newly issued password will not work is if the same product has been previously purchased.
If you are not sure, or continue to have problems, use the Lost Password Retrieval Form to verify your password.
Name Dropper (lost password) - Please use the Lost Password Retrieval Form.
General Issues (non-specific to any of our products)
Windows Vista (and newer) Notice: As shipped, Windows Vista and newer Operating Systems do not support the older Windows Help (.hlp) format used by some of
our software. Because of this, you may not be able to view the included help file if you are using Windows Vista or newer. Microsoft has released a free update that will
allow help files in the “.hlp” format to be viewed on these Operating Systems. To download the free update (for Windows Vista and newer only), click here.
As of this writing (Feb 19th, 2010) only InterAx is still using the older help format. Our other applications have been updated already.
Installation Problem - Unexpected errors while attempting to install our software - While you may be able to install some of our software from a normal Windows
account, it is generally recommended that you install it while logged in as an administrator. This will help to avoid any permission issues you may encounter during
installation.
Installation Problem - File downloaded is very small and when run, it appears to be an empty DOS window - This problem is the result of an incomplete
download. The simple solution is to try downloading it again. See additional things to try listed under the next installation issue.
Installation Problem - "Error in compressed file - Bad CRC" - This error can occur if you have a “bad download”. When Setup is run, it checks the integrity of the
Setup file itself. This error is generated if it is determined that the Setup file has missing or corrupted data. 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:
* Delete the Setup file that contains the error.
* Empty your Temporary Internet Files folder. See the help that is included with your browser to see how to do this.
* Try downloading the file again.
* Try to refrain from downloading too many other things at the same time.
Error Message - "A required .DLL file, xxxxxxx, was not found." - The system files required by the software were not installed correctly, are missing, or have
become corrupted. Please re-install the software. This can sometimes occur after "un-installing" another application. When given the option, it is recommended to not
allow an un-installer to remove DLL or OCX files from your 'System' folder.
Error Message - "Component 'xxxxxxx' not correctly registered: file is missing or invalid." - The system files required by the software were not installed correctly,
are missing, or have become corrupted. Please re-install the software. This can sometimes occur after "un-installing" another application. When given the option, it is
recommended to not allow an un-installer to remove DLL or OCX files from your 'System' folder.
Error Message - "Error initializing DirectX" - Please be sure that you have the latest version of DirectX installed on your computer. The latest version of DirectX for
your Operating System can be found at Microsoft's website. It is a free download.
Error Message - “Runtime Error ‘##########’: Automation Error” - Automation errors have no specific cause, but are generally due to a driver problem or problem
with DirectX. Try the following to fix this error:
* Be sure you are running the latest version of DirectX
* Click Start>Run then type dxdiag into the box and click OK. Once this app starts, click on each tab at the top of the window to examine each part of DirectX. At
the bottom of the window for each tab, you will see a list of problems found (if any). Fixing any problems listed in this app is a good place to start! Often the errors listed
can be fixed by doing the next suggestion.
* Be sure you are using the latest drivers for your sound and graphics cards. You can usually find driver updates by going to the website of the company who makes
the card (or sometimes the company who makes the processor that the card uses). If you are unsure of their website, try doing a search on the name of your card.
Scroll down for product-specific issues and solutions or click below to jump directly to the product's section:
------ Issues with Name Dropper ------
Error Messages in or related to Name Dropper:
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 using the Contact form. 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.
Error Message - "Error 75 - Path/File Access Error" - This error can happen 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.
Error Message - "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.
General Name Dropper Issues (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 - Recommend version 1.53 as file compatibility problems had been reported with a few versions soon after. It may have been fixed though.
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. I left
this information here in case it should still happen to someone by some chance. Incidentally, I have seen this problem in other applications as well.
The cause is usually the same, but the repair method may differ depending on the application.
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.
Solution: This solution involves editing the Windows Registry. Although this is safe to do if you follow the directions below, it is recommended that double-check to
make sure you are in the correct spot (as detailed below). 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.
------ Issues with InterAx ------
Error Messages in InterAx (Editor and/or Player):
Error Message - “Error 76 - Path not found”...
* Occurs in a game I downloaded: Please ensure that the game was unzipped properly. Games created with InterAx have sub-folders within the main (root) folder.
This sub-folder information is stored in the zip file. After unzipping, if the game's main (root) folder contains many files and has no sub-folders in it, then the following will
solve your problem: In WinZip, be sure that the "Use folder names" option is checked before you unzip the file. This option is visible in the window that appears after you
click on the 'Extract' button. When unzipped properly, there should be a "Resource" folder under the game's main folder. Within the "Resource" folder, there should be
two more folders: "Gfx" and "MMedia". This error occurs when either the Editor or Player tries to access a file in one of these sub-folders, but it doesn't exist.
* Occurs in a new project I created: If you receive this error while running a new project you created in the Player, the most likely cause is that no image was
chosen for Scene 1's 'Scene Image' property.
Error Message - “Error 28 - Out of stack space” - This error occurs if the InterAx code get’s stuck in an infinite loop, and is the result of a flag problem. The problem
occurs if a flag change causes one or more other flag changes which comes back to a previous flag change in that series of flag changes. Sounds a bit confusing, yes.
Here is a basic example of what can cause this:
A responder is set to trigger when Flag 1 = 2. The responder is set to change flag 1 to 2 when triggered. When flag 1 = 2, the responder takes action. When the action
calls for changing flag 1 to 2, the responder is triggered again. This repeats itself until the error occurs.
Note that the above example is basic, in that the problem lies solely in one object. Many times the problem is the result of several flag changes in several objects that
ultimately come back to a previous flag change in that series of flag changes. The flag changes could be something like: Flag 1 = 3, which changes Flag 10 to 12. This
causes Flag 17 to change to 8, which changes Flag 1 to 3 (note that we are back to the beginning of the series of flag changes).
The best way to figure out the cause is to...
1) Keep the ‘Debugging/Notify Window’ turned on, which lists all flag changes as the game is played.
2) Examine the properties of all objects in the scene in which the error occurs. Pay close attention to any flag properties (setting or checking of flags), and look for a
situation that can cause a looping condition.
3) If you can’t find the problem just by looking at the properties, go through each property with a flag and UN-CHECK the governing checkbox, thus disabling the flag
check or change. Do this for all flag checks or changes in the scene except for one. Run the game and check for errors. If none occur, go back to the editor and one by
one, re-enable the flag properties until the error occurs. This should at least narrow the problem down to a particular flag.
In versions 3.1 and higher of the InterAx Player, this error will have a better description and hopefully make it clearer as to exactly which flag caused it.
------ Issues with Boogle ------
Internet Games (General) <March 16th, 2008>:
Please note that we are making changes to the way Boogle handles Internet games. Previously, most games behind routers did not appear at all in a public list and
there was no way to join them. Part of the problem was related to the port chosen in Boogle and the bigger part was the fact that the necessary ports were likely not
opened in the router (this is particularly important for the person hosting a game). Starting with v4.5, Boogle will no longer have a “port” option. For people using previous
versions, you should change your port to 0 (zero) in the Port Option window.
Because Boogle Internet games rarely if ever worked for anyone in prior versions, you should consider the latest version a work in progress (i.e. BETA) until further
testing and tweaking can be done. As before though, single player and LAN games should continue to work fine. Please feel free to share your experiences
(whether it worked or not) with LAN & Internet Boogle games on our new forum. If possible, describe your setup and how you configured your router.
Internet Games & Routers:
If you are behind a router (NAT), then it will be necessary to open the proper ports and forward them to the local IP address of your computer. While UPnP is supposed
to handle this for you (if it is enabled in the router), it has been my experience that it does not always work. I recommend NOT using UPnP when playing Boogle
games. However, I know that some people really prefer to use it and may even require it for certain programs that they use. Therefore, I will give instructions for using
UPnP and not using UPnP. The first thing you should know is that Boogle uses DirectPlay 4 (a part of DirectX 7). An Internet search about playing DirectX 7 games over
the Internet will reveal that getting these games to work through a router is a common problem. Hopefully the advice below will help. When using port forwarding rules in
a router, it is generally recommended that you use static IPs for all of your computers on the LAN (if you have more than one computer), or at minimum for the ones you
are forwarding ports to. See your router manual or search the Internet for more information on setting up static IP addresses on your local network.
UPnP DISABLED in router (recommended): If you had previously used a DirectX 7 game with UPnP enabled, you may have a UPnP entry in your router for port
47624. After turning UPnP off, delete this rule then do the following:
Only one computer behind my router will ever use Boogle:
1) In your router open port 47624 (TCP/UDP) and forward it to the IP address of the computer you will use to play Boogle. For example, if your PC uses the local IP
address 192.168.1.101, then forward the port to 192.168.1.101.
2) In your router open the port RANGE 2300-2400 (TCP/UDP) and forward it to the IP address of the computer you will use to play Boogle.
More than one computer behind my router will use Boogle:
1) In your router open port 47624 (TCP/UDP) and forward it to the IP address of ONE computer that you will use to HOST a Boogle Game. For example, if your PC uses
the local IP address 192.168.1.101, then forward the port to 192.168.1.101. Note that this is the only computer on your LAN that will be able to successfully host a
game. If you wish to host on another PC in your LAN, you will need to forward it to the other PC first. You should however be able to join a remote game from any PC
on your LAN that you have configured in these steps.
2) Get a copy of DXPort and put a copy of it on each computer in your LAN that you will use to play Boogle on.
3) Configure DXPort to use a different port range for each PC in your LAN. Please see the instructions that come along with DXPort for more information.
4) In your router open the port range specified in DXPort (TCP/UDP) and forward it to the appropriate IP address of each PC you will use. The sample below is for
configuring 2 computers on a LAN (a Sony at “101” and a custom-built at “102”).
Rule Name Range Protocol Local IP
DPlay Sony 2302-2311 TCP/UDP 192.168.1.101
DPlay Custom 2312-2321 TCP/UDP 192.168.1.102
5) Run DXPort on each PC before running Boogle. It will force DirectPlay to choose a port in the small range you specified in DXPort. You can either run DXPort each
time before playing Boogle over the Internet or you can choose to have DXPort run at system startup.
UPnP ENABLED in router (not recommended): UPnP should automatically place an entry in your router for port 47624. However, it tends to set it to UDP protocol
and forward it to “255”. This does not work! You will either need to manually create a separate rule and open 47624 for TCP or delete the automatically created rule
every time and create a manual rule for port 47624 and TCP/UDP. Also, change the destination IP to that of the PC you plan on hosting with (for example,
192.168.1.101). After doing this, do the following:
Only one computer behind my router will ever use Boogle:
1) You don’t need to do anything else. UPnP will automatically open the appropriate port for you (somewhere in the range of 2300-2400) and when you finish with
Boogle the port will automatically close (the rule gets removed).
More than one computer behind my router will use Boogle:
1) Get a copy of DXPort and put a copy of it on each computer in your LAN that you will use to play Boogle on.
2) Configure DXPort to use a different port range for each PC in your LAN. Please see the instructions that come along with DXPort for more information.
3) Run DXPort on each PC before running Boogle. It will force DirectPlay to choose a port in the small range you specified in DXPort. You can either run DXPort each
time before playing Boogle over the Internet or you can choose to have DXPort run at system startup. With UPnP enabled, the appropriate ports will be opened
automatically and closed when you finish with Boogle. DirectPlay via UPnP has a tendency to use the same port for more than one PC on a LAN. By using DXPort to
specify a unique range for each PC, this allows a unique port to be forwarded to each PC.
General Boogle Issues (no error message):
Boogle screens are rendered incorrectly - On some computers, the graphics on the Boogle screens appear shifted over (see image below). The typical cause of this
is having a higher-than-normal DPI setting chosen for your video card. Typically a user changes this setting to make things appear larger on the screen. I will most likely
correct this problem some time in the future, but for now, the only way around it is to change the DPI setting back to normal. If this makes things too small on your
screen, consider lowering your screen resolution. To change the DPI setting: Right-click on an empty part of the desktop and choose ‘Properties’. Click on the
‘Settings’ tab then click the ‘Advanced’ button. On the ‘General’ tab, make sure the DPI setting is set to normal.
Incorrect screen rendering due to higher-than-normal DPI setting
------ Issues with Verwolf ------
General Verwolf Issues (no error message):
When comparing the installed version to the latest available version, sometimes Verwolf is wrong about which is newer - This is a known issue with Verwolf
and some attempts have been made to correct it. The problem stems from version numbers that are formatted differently (extra zeros, letters instead of numbers, etc).
