I asked for help a year ago when I could not get Home Dec to show up on a new Vista computer. Yes, I do have the latest version of Home Dec. We now have three more computers---two PCs and one laptop---with Vista. One is 64-bit. The others are 32-bit. I have downloaded Home Dec to every computer and tried to get it to run. In every case, all I get is a small window in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

A year ago, I just gave up. But now I'm rather frustrated after finding the program does not run on any of our four different computers---all in different locations amidst two separate homes. Since Dress Shop, Doll Shop Deluxe, Hat Shop and MPD all run just fine, the problem has to be with Home Dec and not my four computers.

The website says that Home Dec runs with Vista. There have been no new posts to the forum since my post of September, 2008---which never got a reply. If the program will not work, is there a way you can issue a pattern credit or something so I have not thrown away the money I spent for Home Dec?

Linda Wangerin

quote:

I asked for help a year ago when I could not get Home Dec to show up on a new Vista computer. Yes, I do have the latest version of Home Dec.

Your post from a year ago had no reply because what is in the MPD forum about the issue with a small window is all that is known. Did you try the patch on the Livingsoft downloads page that specifically references that problem?

If that patch does not work, then there are no other alternatives. The conflict has nothing to do with Vista, but rather with different versions of Internet Explorer, of which there are now many and they do not all work consistently.

Home Dec works for some customers running Vista and with a number of the versions of Internet Explorer that are out there now days. If it does not work for you, then that is certainly unfortunate. But, do keep in mind that this $49 product worked for you for 4 years until changes you made in your hardware or software were incompatible with it. Some products are revised and updated indefinitely and coerced into compliance with every possible combination of hardware and software that its many users might accumulate. Other products cannot justify that type of constant revision.

One other note. The patch that corrects the small window issue for some Home Dec users is a WinZip file. There are many Vista security settings that will prevent such files from installing properly. You will need to be in admin mode. You will need to have User Account Controls disabled. There may be others.

If you install that patch, you should check that this file:

c:/Program Files/Livingsoft/HomeDec/HomeDec.exe

is dated 11/2/2006. If it is not, then installation of the patch failed, probably due to some Vista security feature.

Thanks so much. I did check my program file and did not see that date on the .exe. I went back to the website and finally figured out that I had not clicked on the wording about "if your Home Dec shows as a small window". I had only downloaded the update after reinstalling the regular Home Dec. Problem is now solved! I appreciate your following up on this for me.

Linda Wangerin