Re: Problem with OED and NT (was Bemoan)

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from Bill Troop  on Mon, 23 Dec 2002
10:09:39 -0500

Hello Christine! Best SysOp Ever!

> speaking of the OED, does anyone know how to get 2nd Ed CD-ROM v. 1 to work
> reliably with XP? It is said not to be compatible with NT+ systems

Naw, it works great.

> but I
> had it working OK for about a year. Then -- nothing. No help from Oxford,
> except get a new edition I don't want for $125, and apparently nothing on
> the web about the problem -- at least that I have been able to find.

What exactly is the problem? If you're using v1.10, v1.13, or v1.14 of the OED
software, there is a very subtle issue having to do with an interaction with
Hewlett-Packard printer files. God knows why, but it's true. The patch
Christine mentions is for v2 of the software. v1 is much better because none
of that stupid CD verification is required (you can get around that too, by
installing a phony CD drive in memory, copying the dictionary to an Image file,
and loading the image onto the phony CD drive -- easy to do with something like
Daemon Tools, which is great freeware).

Anyway, the H-P problem has to do with printer files *written and distributed*
by H-P. They cause the OED to load partially and then crash. If you use the
corresponding printer file written by Microsoft, you do NOT have this problem.
Don't ask me why... took me a terribly long time to figure this out. Confirmed
100% on many machines. NOT a solution you will find anywhere on the Internet,
either -- believe me, I looked until my eyes popped out.

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Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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