Stability issues with 3rd party programs

[animlmed]

Does anyone have a problem with the stability of 3rd party programs? I have an e310, and I don't know it is a perticular program I have on my ppc or a combimation of certain programs, but sometimes my e310 doesn't like what I am running, and sometimes it is totally fine with what I have. Any input would be great. Thanks in advance!

[spursdude]

I've got no problems.... ever. Seriously! :) I can't remember the last time my Audiovox Maestro locked up on me.

[Jacob]

It all depends on the program really.

I've installed programs that I couldn't get it uninstalled fast enough... unfortunately there's very little to tell beforehand other than seeing reviews and feedback from other users or trying it.

[animlmed]

Does the order that you put applications on your ppc affect it? ( if that question is even answerable. :D ) I mean, Is there a reasoning to the maddness? Should smaller apps be put on first, or larger ones, etc?

[rhmorrison]

Does the order that you put applications on your ppc affect it? ( if that question is even answerable. :D )
Yes. No.

But to get serious... YES the order that the install applications can effect how or when a program crashes depending on the error in the program. There is however no way to predict that any order will be better than any other order. The solution is to delete programs that have serious bugs in them.

Why is this so strange? Well, one common error that can occur in a program is that the programmer forgot to initialize certain temporary variables (i.e. those on the stack). Depending on where programs are located in memory and even more on what occured just prior to the bad program code being executed these uninitialized variables will have certain values. What these values are can be affected by a number of different things. If these variables are pointers which are used to read/write from/to memory then this CAN cause a CRASH, strange things to occur, or nothing at all (at least nothing visible).

What can you do about it? NOTHING other than to delete a program that you find has such a serious flaw. Maybe there is a newer version, maybe you can report the problem to the developer, but there is nothing you can do to fix the problem other than to NOT USE THE PROGRAM. If loading or running programs in a different order make it appear that the problem no longer exists then that is all it is - APPEARANCE. If uninitialized variables are being used then eventually it will do something nasty to your system.

So the definitive answer to question is - DON"T WORRY BE HAPPY!

If you think you have a software problem (that hopefully is in an application and not a driver) then try to find exactly what application is causing the problem and if you can reproduce it with any regularity and report it to the company/developer.

[animlmed]

A thousand thank yous for your time! :D That's what I was looking for. I just wanted to make sure that there was nothing I could do to releive the problem from my end except for not using the program anymore.

But here is another question.:) If you put a file on your system that your ppc doesn't like, and you have to do a hard reset b/c of the way it affected your ppc( affected it in a negative way. things running slower, etc even after removal), should any lingeringeffects of that program stay on your ppc after a hard reset? Programs don't affect the ROM of the system, do that? I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong.

[Janak Parekh]

But here is another question.:) If you put a file on your system that your ppc doesn't like, and you have to do a hard reset b/c of the way it affected your ppc( affected it in a negative way. things running slower, etc even after removal), should any lingeringeffects of that program stay on your ppc after a hard reset? Programs don't affect the ROM of the system, do that? I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong.
No, they will have no lingering aftereffects... unless the program you installed was a ROM update. :)

--janak

[animlmed]

Thank you again.:) I was hoping not to sound like an idiot, but my ppc is just giving my trouble. I instaled a program and it didn't like my ppc ( nor did I like it), so i uninstalled it, and my system hasn't been the same since. I've done a hard reset and installed everything again ( the back-up program didn't work like i wanted it to either, even though it has done fine in the past.), but my system is still acting "funny".

[Janak Parekh]

You're welcome. ;)

May I suggest you do a hard-reset again, and install only what you absolutely need for the moment, and see if it acts up? You need to eliminate the small, but nonzero hardware possibility...

--janak

[animlmed]

Will do! Thanka kindly again! I knew i should have been a computer science major instead of a normal science major. :mrgreen: