Why Are Drive Properties Dialog Different (Opus/Explorer)?

Zach · July 9, 2007, 10:47am

I really should report this via an official tech support ticket, I suppose, but without the images, the actual problem would probably get lost in translation.

Essential Info: DOpus is v.9.0.0.6 and this is on Vista x64.

Problem 1: If I view the properties of a drive under DOpus, both my Hardware and Norton Ghost tabs are missing.

Explorer (left) / Directory Opus (right):

Problem 2: As you can see, the Used and Free space are being reported differently. (I took the screenshots in immediate succession, i.e., within a couple of seconds, so hidden temporary files can't account for the major discrepancy. And I mean outside both the system and user temp directories as I had those open both remained empty.)

Upon further inspection (just now this very moment), since the gigabyte values between Explorer and DOpus match, this appears to be a bug in DOpus. Explorer's values are mathematically correct:

68.4 GB = 68.4 * (2^30 bytes) = 73,471,381,504 bytes

(68.4 is the rounded version of 68.425561829)

Problem 3: Though I can't conceivably see how this can be a DOpus bug as it's an external program, the system's chkdsk facility acts erratically when called from DOpus' version of the Tools tab. By erratically, I only mean that once the check is complete, more often than not, the normal result status messagebox never appears: the little chkdsk window just disappears. Normally, I should see the following:

Like I said, I don't know how this can be a DOpus problem, and I foresee and understand that you will probably point the finger at Microsoft, but the thing is, it only does this when I call it from DOpus, never from explorer (or directly from the control panel).

Any ideas? Thoughts?

Steve · July 9, 2007, 11:01am

Problem 1

The hardware tab shows here.

If I was being unkind I'd probably blame Norton on your problems - Symantec are well known for producing problematic, bloated, crap.

Leo · July 9, 2007, 11:03am

Opus just tells the shell to display those dialogs. They are not made by Opus.

The keyword here is 64-bit. Opus is currently a 32-bit process so any 64-bit shell extensions that add to the property page won't be present in it. Presumably the Hardware and Ghost tabs are created by 64-bit shell extensions. You could try running the 32-bit version of Explorer to confirm it.

Steve · July 9, 2007, 11:09am

Problem 3

Works fine here also - so I presume it's as Leo suggests, related to your running 64-bit Vista - Opus does not, as yet, support 64-bit.

Steve · July 9, 2007, 11:21am

Looking at this further if I bring up the drive properties dialog from Opus, then trying to do the same from Explorer results in the first dialog being brought to the front, and vice versa. I cannot open more than one properties dialog as you have.

Leo · July 9, 2007, 11:24am

As for the size difference, if there is a bug it's certainly not in Opus as Opus doesn't make the dialog.

Either Windows is reporting the size slightly differently to 32-bit and 64-bit processes or the used/free space changed between you opening one dialog and the other. (Maybe it isn't updated after the dialog is opened.)

Zach · July 9, 2007, 1:10pm

The Hardware tab I'll accept, but Norton Ghost is just a 32-bit process in all its incantations, so I doubt they would develop and then install a lone 64-bit shell extension. I can't really test it as you ask because Vista64 doesn't install a 32-bit version of Explorer. IE and WMP, yes, but not explorer.

About the "two at the same time" images, as I stated, I brought them up in succession, one right after the other, not at the same time. (Those are two screenshots above, not one. )

Finally, I don't know, but something is definitely quirky. Going to problem (3), over the last couple of hours, I just did some limited testing, and first pass, 50 out of 50 times, Explorer-spawned chkdsk run fine and reported no errors. Then next the DOpus-spawned chkdsk produced the following:

13 times --> normal "drive is fine" status box
18 times --> problems with drive ("The Volume Bitmap is incorrect.")
19 times --> chkdsk just disappeared without giving a good or bad status

I then ran chkdsk from Explorer again, and 35 out of 35 times, the drive came back with no errors. I know it's not your fault, but all this misreporting of errors cost me $600+ (don't ask) and two weeks of my life.

Okay, as I stated in my first post, I know that this is an external program relative to DOpus, but since it only happens from within Directory Opus, DOpus is obviously the cause of the problem, even if just indirectly since its the one starting the faulty chain of events with its interactions with and system calls to the OS.

I feared you guys would quickly throw up your "we don't support Vista64" shield. I accept that and will just go weep in a corner alone, but could you at least advise me if there are any other snafus I should be concerned about? Or even if I should just give up Directory Opus altogether. (I can't even begin to imagine my life without this invaluable tool, but I can't give up Vista64 either for professional reasons.) Are you guys even actively working on Vista64 support, or is that just on your to-do list and not actually scheduled yet? Throw me a bone here.

Steve · July 9, 2007, 1:21pm

It's not an 'Opus doesn't support x64 shield' - it's just the facts at this time. In GPSoftware's defense it's clearly stated on their download page that x64 Vista is not supported and they even provide a link to the faq I mention below.

This 'faq' is straight from the horses mouth, as it were:

[Windows x64 support)

So far the problems you've mentioned are easily worked around for now by launching the various properties/tools from within Explorer. Hardly a deal breaker and not worth giving up all the other goodness of Opus for surely.

Leo · July 9, 2007, 1:42pm

It's quite possible that Ghost does install a 64-bit shell extension. For a lot of programs the only thing they need to change to work on 64-bit Vista is their Shell extensions, since 64-bit Explorer cannot load a 32-bit DLL. Shell extensions are usually pretty small so it's usually pretty easy to port them to 64-bit and make them launch or communicate with the main 32-bit program in some way.

I thought there was a 32-bit version of Explorer which would be run if a 32-bit process ran explorer.exe? If you make a button in Opus which runs "explorer.exe" is it still the 64-bit version?

GPSoft are a small developer and Opus is much more tied into the OS than most programs. Full and issue-free 64-bit support will come but it won't happen overnight. Compare this with much larger developers who also don't have 64-bit compatible stuff yet, despite hundreds of programmers and millions of dollars, and applications which don't interact with the OS much at all... It's just something that's going to take some time to sort out.

BTW, neither Tanis nor myself represent GPSoftware. We just help out and Tanis runs these forums.