Windows 8.1 Preview Compatibility?

[NoelC]

Hi Alex and all,

I've been testing the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview and noticed the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack doesn't seem to install itself properly. Essentially, no thumbnails are generated for files known to be compatible with the FPV software.

Is this a known issue or have I botched up something? I won't spend any time on it if it's the former.

Thanks!

-Noel

[Axel]

There is no reason why the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack would not work on Windows 8.1 for existing desktop applications, but make sure you install the latest version though.

The Windows 8.1 preview comes with an outdated version of Microsoft's own Camera Codec Pack which has limited camera support and a few bugs. You may want to remove it (from Control Panel / Uninstall Software / Windows Updates, it is not listed among normal programs) and then reinstall/repair the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack.

[NoelC]

Thanks for your response.

I'd have followed-up right away but the topic didn't appear...

I've resolved the issue by uninstalling and resinstalling the FPVCP package. Now thumbnails are showing up.

It's possible something Microsoft did as a part of a recent Windows Update might have broken the installation, I don't know. I can't honestly say I tested the FPVCP package right after initially installing it, which was on the day after the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview first became available.

-Noel

[Axel]

Microsoft's Camera Codec Pack does not ship inbox with Windows 8 and 8.1, it comes as a "recommended update" through Windows Updates instead, so it is possible that you installed the FPV Codec Pack and that somehow something got overwritten when the MS codec pack eventually landed, after the first round of automatic updates.

Glad to know that reinstalling the FPV Codec Pack cured the issue!

[NoelC]

I just installed the FPV Codec Pack (3.5.0.83, which I already had on hand) on a fresh Windows 8.1 x64 Enterprise Evaluation system and it isn't working right. It seems to be trying to work, as SOME thumbnails will appear, but for some files of the same time it will not show a thumbnail or preview - and these files have been showing both thumbnails and previews with Windows 7 just fine. When attempting to preview one of the files that did not generate a thumbnail, the Windows Photo Viewer says "The file could not be opened by Windows Photo Viewer - the file may be corrupted or too large".

Also, Windows Photo Viewer takes a very long time to close after having been used to preview a PSD file that gives the above problem.

I tried disabling the Microsoft codec pack via Autoruns and rebooting, to no avail.

I tried removing and reinstalling the very latest FPV Codec Pack, 3.5.0.87, and (as before) after the removal and reinstall all the image files are being recognized, and can be previewed.

I'm not sure whether the removal and reinstall of the FPVCP triggered the proper operation, or the update to the latest version fixed it, but it appears you may have a problem with Windows 8.1 that others will encounter, and that you'll want to address for best customer satisfaction.

-Noel

[Axel]

Upgrading operating systems sometimes requires the reinstallation of system software and extensions. Noting unusual, and glad to learn that the issue was solved by re-installing.

Also note that you are reporting an issue on Windows 8.1 *PREVIEW* with is an unfinished version of the operating system expressly not recommended for production use. Since this spring, Windows 8.1 went RTM (last month), then GA (last week) so you are looking at an already quite old and unsupported preliminary version of Windows.

[NoelC]

1. It was a fresh, complete install, not an upgrade.

2. It's not "Preview", the latest Windows 8.1 I'm running is Windows Enterprise. That it's an Evaluation copy just means it will run for 90 days before licensing is required. This is the RTM.

That your product won't work without a double install probably says you should look into this further.

-Noel