LTspice not working in Windows 10

[JohnnyMalaria]

But it takes more clicks and moves of the mouse to do the same operation with ribbon, which is why it's shit. Want to open a file? Under the old system, click the disk and you got strait to the open file galogue box. Now it takes three clicks! It's also pretty hard to discover new commands. At least under the old menu bar system, every command had a basic description next to it. Now with ribbon it's just silly icons.

Either use the tried-and-tested shortcuts (e.g., Ctrl-O), add your frequently used but buried commands to the Quick Access Bar in any Office app, or create a new group on the ribbon itself.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I use Office 365 so everything is always up to date, though I admit to not liking the stupid tool ribbon they went with- way less efficient than the old simpleton one.

I agree, the new 'ribbon' is a POS.  I like the old menus where everything was right where it was supposed to be.

But the "new" ribbon was introduced in Office 2007 - 11 years ago! Go back another 11 years and you get to Office 95

[Zero999]

I use Office 365 so everything is always up to date, though I admit to not liking the stupid tool ribbon they went with- way less efficient than the old simpleton one.

I agree, the new 'ribbon' is a POS.  I like the old menus where everything was right where it was supposed to be.

But the "new" ribbon was introduced in Office 2007 - 11 years ago! Go back another 11 years and you get to Office 95

Ever since then I've wondered what Microsoft were thinking. I've used plenty of bizarre an unintuitive, user interfaces before and sort of got used to them in the end, but ribbon is something I've never quite got and plenty of other people seem to feel the same. I just use LibraOffice whenever possible.

Ctrl + O or Winkey then type the filename or Win+R and type the path in.

But that only works if you know the filename. On older versions it was possible to get to the file list with one click or keyboard shortcut.

Tip with the ribbon. Double click a tab. It will go away. Learn to use the keyboard. Orders of magnitude faster. Commit it to muscle memory.

I agree: use the keyboard shortcuts for any word processor.

I write 100+ page word documents regularly. It's actually the least shit thing out there if you ask me. Not the best as there isn't anything best, apart from LaTeX but no one will pay me to write that.

I don't envy you!

You don't need to "install" most programs to run them. All installer does is copy the files and associate the file extensions. You did the first part manually, now do the second.

That's simply not true. *Most* applications are packaged as Windows MSI installer files. It's impossible to just extract the files, copy them to your favorite place, set file extensions and expect them to work.

There is software which can do that, which can be found using Google:
https://www.google.com/search?q=.msi+extractor&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Most apps make significant use of the registry.

Now, some applications can run without installation but "some" is not "most".

In my experience, LTSpice runs perfectly without installation. The only changes it makes to the registry are file associations, which is easy to configure manually.

[bd139]

If someone ran one of my wix installers (MSI package build chain) through one of those tools the warranty would have expired instantly.

How did you isnstall it?

I extracted the files.

WHAM said the phone handset.

Most things need various buggery in registry, COM, GAC etc. Don’t extract an MSI.

As for files, I know where I put ‘em.

[rdl]

Before I install anything on Windows 7, I create a restore point, then install the program to a flash drive. Next I remove the flash drive, revert to the restore point, insert the flash drive and copy the program folder to the hard drive. If the program still runs, good. Most of the time it will be fine. There are very few programs that actually require being "installed". Third party software should never use the registry, it should be reserved for Windows alone, and even then the concept sucks.

[rstofer]

Release 1803 just got pushed to my Surface Pro so I thought, 'what the heck, let's install LTSpice XVII'.  It works...
3 for 3 installs work.

There another board where one of the users found a fix by dumping the graphics drivers and allowing Windows to hunt for proper drivers.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/software-tools/260627-installing-using-ltspice-iv-including-ltxvii-beginner-advanced-72.html

There are other people complaining so it isn't just a simple user error.  Google lists several complaints but I didn't check for resolutions.

[JohnnyMalaria]

There is software which can do that, which can be found using Google: [I use Bing and absolutely no way in hell Chrome ]
https://www.google.com/search?q=.msi+extractor&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

No. Such tools can only extract the files. That's dandy if you've deleted a dll or want a help file. But good luck actually installing anything that requires registry entries, COM registration, dll registration, manifests and all other kinds of stuff that the msi does. A lot of these things aren't visible in the extracted contents of the msi. The whole point of installers is to make it easy for the vast majority of users to install/uninstall something. The latter is very important. If you manually install something by messing with the registry etc, you'd better be sure you undo the changes and not accidently break another app. For certain, you shouldn't make manual changes such as registering COM files if you don't know what COM technology actually is. You can really screw up your system.

[rdl]

Something must account for the fact that people who think Windows 10 is the best thing ever never seem to have problems with it or getting their programs to run.

I imagine there's some process in Windows 10 where the more you try to block Microsoft's spying, the less likely it is to work correctly.

[ataradov]

Something must account for the fact that people who think Windows 10 is the best thing ever never seem to have problems with it or getting their programs to run.

The other way around. People, for whom W10 works, think it is the best thing ever.

[rstofer]

Something must account for the fact that people who think Windows 10 is the best thing ever never seem to have problems with it or getting their programs to run.

Don't attribute to skill something which is better described as luck.

[bd139]

Indeed. Most things aren’t repeatable on windows but a statistical function of planetary alignment and how many chickens you had to sacrifice that week.

[Zero999]

If someone ran one of my wix installers (MSI package build chain) through one of those tools the warranty would have expired instantly.

How did you isnstall it?

I extracted the files.

WHAM said the phone handset.

Most things need various buggery in registry, COM, GAC etc. Don’t extract an MSI.

As for files, I know where I put ‘em.

There is software which can do that, which can be found using Google: [I use Bing and absolutely no way in hell Chrome ]
https://www.google.com/search?q=.msi+extractor&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

No. Such tools can only extract the files. That's dandy if you've deleted a dll or want a help file. But good luck actually installing anything that requires registry entries, COM registration, dll registration, manifests and all other kinds of stuff that the msi does. A lot of these things aren't visible in the extracted contents of the msi. The whole point of installers is to make it easy for the vast majority of users to install/uninstall something. The latter is very important. If you manually install something by messing with the registry etc, you'd better be sure you undo the changes and not accidently break another app. For certain, you shouldn't make manual changes such as registering COM files if you don't know what COM technology actually is. You can really screw up your system.

Fortunately LTSpice doesn't need any of that hackery to work. All that's needed is the program files copied to the correct directories. They could have easily provided a ZIP. I wish more software was like that.

Also just to clarify what I said about configuring things manually. I wasn't referring to registry editing, but simply setting up the file associations, via Windows Explorer.

By the way, I don't use Chrome and Bing is a euphemism for something else. 

[ocset]

Thanks for the concensus's......i think i'm off to find a Windows Forum, or a laptop forum, as i reckon i rushed the windows 10 installation and windows 10 somehow didnt get the proper install.

...thing is though, at my workplace, they also use windows 10, and i have the same problem there with LTspice, -but its not as frequently occurring....it often hangs (with "broken" screens) when i first  click to run a sim, but i then "task manager" an "end task" and start again and it usually then works fine..........so i am sure there is some setting in windows 10 which if not right, it doesnt run ltspice.


I wonder if i can just uninstall windows and install it again, because i think windows 10 is actually on the hard disk somewhere. Though i think windows re-installs wipe the entire hard disk, so i will have to save everything to disk bla bla etc etc..

[JohnnyMalaria]

If you put LTspice on your computer without using the installer then you need to ensure some dll's are registered. This is according to ReadMe.txt in the LTspiceXVII directory:

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS DONE BY THE LTSPICE INSTALLER.
      YOU SHOULD NOT NEED TO DO THIS YOURSELF ANYMORE.

The .dll's teach Windows Explorer how to view LTspice schematics and
symbols.  You can run regsvr32.exe to register them with the OS with
the following commands:

    To Register  :

       C:\> regsvr32.exe    <name.dll>

    To Unregister:

       C:\> regsvr32.exe /u <name.dll>

The above commands must be typed into a command shell "Run as
Administrator".  That means you have to browse with Windows Explorer to
cmd.exe, usually "C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe", right click on cmd.exe,
and select menu item "Run as Administrator".  You might also need to
set the .dll's as having execute permission, which can be done by
setting the .dll file properties with Widows Explorer's right click
menu on the file name.

Do not move the .dll file location after registering it.

                             ------ Contents ------
    FILE                      DESCRIPTION
ASCx64.dll  Schematic Preview Explorer Support for 64-bit Windows
ASCx86.dll  Schematic Preview Explorer Support for 32-bit Windows
ASYx64.dll  Symbol    Preview Explorer Support for 64-bit Windows
ASYx86.dll  Symbol    Preview Explorer Support for 32-bit Windows

Although these seem to relate to how schematics show in Explorer, it may impact other functions.

For those with problems running LTspice, have you:

1. Have you tried running in compatibility mode?
2. Have your tried running with the computer in safe mode (to help rule out driver issues etc)?
3. Did you upgrade your previous OS or do you have a clean Windows 10 install?
4. Have you tried running the 32-bit version instead of the 64-bit version? Both are in the LTspiceXVII folder.

[bd139]

Just a point and differential diagnosis. The latest 32 bit version doesn’t work for me on 1803. The older XP 32 bit version does work on 1803. Ergo the difference is the LTspice version. That should suggest the root cause is in LTspice.

[rstofer]

...thing is though, at my workplace, they also use windows 10, and i have the same problem there with LTspice, -but its not as frequently occurring....it often hangs (with "broken" screens) when i first  click to run a sim, but i then "task manager" an "end task" and start again and it usually then works fine..........so i am sure there is some setting in windows 10 which if not right, it doesnt run ltspice.

You mention 'broken' screens without defining the term.  That sounds like a graphics issue to me and one of the links I posted above talks specifically about the graphics card drivers as a problem.  I didn't post the internals of the linked thread but the gist of it is to remove the existing drivers and let Win 10 go search for and install the proper drivers.

[JohnnyMalaria]

...thing is though, at my workplace, they also use windows 10, and i have the same problem there with LTspice, -but its not as frequently occurring....it often hangs (with "broken" screens) when i first  click to run a sim, but i then "task manager" an "end task" and start again and it usually then works fine..........so i am sure there is some setting in windows 10 which if not right, it doesnt run ltspice.

If by broken screens you mean blue screens then that's the operating system catching illegal execution by a driver or other kernel module. Modules running in the kernel (like drivers) are implicitly trusted unlike desktop applications where error checking etc is a must. There's a very specific set of rules that all kernel modules must follow. If the OS detects something has broken the rules then it stops the computer and shows the blue screen along with all that lovely information. This is to safe guard the system from serious damage. Generally, blue screens are because of third-party errors. The blue screen will tell you exactly which module caused the problem and, if it is a hardware driver, you can use install the generic Windows driver in its place (or you can run Windows in safe mode for testing which ensures that only generic drivers are used).

I've written kernel drivers and it is unbelievably complicated, confusing and unforgiving of errors. Debugging is a nightmare. I'd compare it to: the user knows how to turn a light on and off and maybe change the bulb; the desktop application programming knows how to build low frequency circuits with through-the-hole components; and the kernel mode programmer has to take a ridiculous leap into FPGA stuff at multigigahertz frequencies in a sterile environment for use on a satellite.

[JohnnyMalaria]

Just to let you know that the hallowed Redmond servers pushed Windows 10 April 2018 Update (Version 10.0.17134 Build 17134)
to my laptop yesterday and LTspice XVII still runs okay.

[bd139]

Also running nicely in Wine for me 

[Priidik]

Hi all. On one of my laptops using w10 I couldn't get the LTS working for a year. So, a random idea came to mind to transfer the Documents folder out of the OneDrive system back to where the traditional bath was. (Use the 'Move...' function) For me the culprit was OneDrive as suspected. Now it works, and happiness has returned to this computer.