Character Builder Updating & Macs

[Umbran]

Folks,

Was there a bit of a threadcrap up there? Yes.

Is it at all constructive to spend several more posts pointing it out? Probably not.

I strongly suggest everyone go back to posts that address the main topic in a constructive manner from here on. Thank you.

 

[Thanlis]

Mac, VirtualBox, Windows XP -- no problems at all.

 

[Scribble]

Not a mac user, but I do use Windows 7... The "Server is Down" now on wotc's end, but I'll see if I have any issues in a bit. (I haven't used the CB since I upgraded to 7.)

 

[mearlus]

I don't think it's a Parallel's issue since it doesn't work when booting into Windows 7 through Bootcamp either. But it does help knowing that you're not having issues with XP. If I can narrow it down to a Windows 7 specific issue then I can possibly revert to XP.

My main concern was that it seems to be a Mac issue as others have reported no problems with Windows 7, hence trying to find out from other Mac users if they're having any similar problems.

I just did an install from scratch in my freshly installed Windows 7 in Fusion on my Mac.

The initial installer prompted me about allowing the installer download program to access the network. If you opt to only allow Home/Work networks and are using a network (wifi at a coffee shop or something) that is considered a 'public' network Win 7 would block access to the network for this application.

Being that it's 'Patch Day!' for the CB I can't get the update right now as the Server is Down. Perfect timing, I should have waited to do this experiment.

Anyways, is it the download itself that you have problems getting to work when there is an update? If so the network preference for the downloader program might be the problem if you are not on a network you've previously said is 'private' (home/work/etc).

I'll see how the update works once it's released today.

 

[Alan Shutko]

One more comment that it works fine on XP with Parallels 4 and Parallels 5. Suspect there's a weird Windows 7 interaction. ISTR needing to install .NET before the installer would work: could there be some dependency along that vein that might not affect the majority of Windows 7 users?

 

[mearlus]

Alright, ran the updater for the CB now that the update has been posted. I did get a security prompt asking permission to run the application, which I allowed. Update downloaded and installed (download somewhat slow but that's to be expected right now) without any problems at all.

I'd definately check your event viewer for any errors, security blocks etc for the application and executable files that run. I suspect 'security features' are your culprit if you have problems getting the update downloaded at all. Good luck!

 

[occam]

Mac, VirtualBox, Windows XP -- no problems at all.

Same here.

 

[Festivus]

As a suggestion, going with WinXP might yield better results than Win7, which is fairly new and may not play will with the VM environment. We still run a few virtual XP boxes here to connect to legacy equipment that won't talk happy fun Win7 talk due to lack of drivers.

 

[Kzach]

I actually figured out a fix this time around, purely by accident.

The problem was that after installing, it simply wouldn't check for updates. Trying to use the CharacterBuilderUpdater or RealCharacterBuilderUpdater just had them crash. So I never got an option to download an update.

Previously I'd just gone into the registry like the instructions say on the Wizards website and delete everything, restart, reinstall. But this time I reinstalled after just uninstalling it with the installer app. The initial install launches the app and it checks for an update.

So... at least I've cut down the process to a simple uninstall/reinstall. That's a positive I guess. Thanks everyone for the replies. This has been a very frustrating issue as you can probably imagine.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Just to add to the Windows 7 only data point, I just completed the update without issues. So what is happening is specific to Windows 7 on a vm or to a vm on a Mac