Framemaker 8 freezing with Win7, do Frame 8 patches apply to Win7?

[Helen Borrie]

At 09:34 AM 3/10/2012, Lise Bible wrote:

>I'm using Frame 8.0p266 on a Windows 7 machine, 64-bit, 2.4GHz processor, 12GB of RAM.
>I was running Frame 8 on my previous WinXP computer, with no issues, though I do not recall if that one was patched; that computer has since been wiped and given to a colleague, so there's no way to check.
>
>But my Frame 8.0p266 has been doing the occasional freezing, i.e., it will stop responding, and my only choice is to kill it, thereby losing work. I think it happens when I'm selecting text, but I'm not entirely sure.
>
>In doing some googling, I have discovered that there are existing patches that are as-yet unapplied to my machine, per
><http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?platform=Windows&product=22>http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?platform=Windows&product=22
>
>But when I choose Help>Updates, Adobe Updater informs me that "There are no updates available at this time. Please note that some updates for the following products cannot be determined at this time: Adobe Updater"
>And this seems odd to me because obviously there are newer patches. 

That *message* means there are no apparent updates for Adobe Updater.  So, if Adobe Updater can't be updated, it won't know whether any of the products it is set up to update (such as FM or Acrobat, etc.) has updates.  I've been seeing this message for about a year.

>Is this because I'm on Windows 7?

I have FM 8 (original install from disk + all patches) running on a good ol' Thinkpad T60 on Win 7 Pro, 32-bit.


>The system requirements for the updates I do not have (8p273 and 8p277), list: "Microsoft® Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista® (trial version not supported on Windows 2000)," which specifically leaves out Windows 7.
>
>Now, is that because Win7 was not available when this patch was released

Yes

>, or is it not compatible with Win7?

No, I don't think incompatibility is the reason.  Fm 8.0p277 is running fine on my Win 7 box.

>In general I understand being fully patched is a good idea, but I am hesitant to try this if it's not happy with Win7.
>
>Other potential fixes for my freezing include running as compatible with WinXP SP3; but with the current security settings mandated by my corporate overlords, I am unable to run Frame 8 as compatible with WinXP SP3 without an administrator password, and that's not an option for me.

FM 8 installed and runs just fine as a 32-bit app on a plain-vanilla 32-bit Win 7 so (theoretically) it should do likewise on a 64-bit Win 7 box.

>My helpful IT person did grant me full access to the FrameMaker8 sub-folder on my hard drive, in case that was what was causing any issues (but I just froze again, so evidently not).

Be aware that I do my installations *and* run programs as an Administrator, so there's a difference between your situation and mine.  However, I don't do them under escalated privileges ("Run as Administrator").  If your helpful IT person is the only one permitted to run anything under Administrator privs, maybe you need for her/him to reinstall it all for you (original + all patches).

>So is patching my best hope? 

You make it sound as though patching is something you do only if the alternative is certain death!  Patching fixes [some] bugs and FM 8 had lots of them.  Why not just do the patches and see whether it solves your problems?

Good luck, whatever you do.
Helen