Shape Viewer not working - dx8vb.dll missing

Hi all,
Today, when I tried running Shape Viewer, it failed, reporting that it couldn't find dx8vb.dll.

It was OK a few days ago but I remembered that I'd applied a Win 10 update in the last couple of days, so suspect that was the culprit.

If you have a similar problem, just re-install Shape Viewer, selecting 'Repair'. The missing file will then be restored to C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and the program will again run properly.

My version of Shape Viewer is shapeviewerdds.zip (file ID 85028 from trainsim.com) but the same applies to sview22.zip (file ID 70613) and UKTS_7930_SView22.zip (file ID 7930).

Cheers,
Ged

Yeah, that's going to be one of the ongoing problems for anything that relies on DirectX.

Fortunately, the TSRE Shape Viewer doesn't require DirectX or anything that Microsoft might decide to wipe out.

Hi Eric,
Thanks, that's a good point - we must get out of the habit of using Paul Gausden's program!

However, two functions don't seem to be included in the TSRE version -
(a) Adding a second shape - this is useful for checking Freight Animation shapes.
(b) Display the width, length and height of a model.

Apologies if these functions are available but I see no reference to them in the manual (book.pdf).

Cheers,
Ged

Honestly don't know... I use the second shape feature in Paul's version, haven't tried it in TSRE-CE.

Strange... I was fully expecting a problem, fortunately however Shape viewer is loading a-ok here despite Windows 10 being fully up to date.
T

Hi Terry,
Thanks
I suspect that maybe you have the dx8vb.dll file in your ShapeViewer folder in which case, the Windows update won't touch it!

I've just done a test where I moved dx8vb.dll from the Windows\SysWOW64 folder into the ShapeViewer folder (ie deleted it from the Windows folder).
Shape Viewer started OK, BUT gave a message "Windows is configuring ShapeViewer". That involved copying the dx8vb.dll file into the Windows\SysWOW64 folder! Subsequent running of SV didn't display that message.

Cheers,
Ged

Thanks Ged,
I've done a search of my entire C drive, and the only location for dx8vb.dll is in C:\windows\sysWOW64.
Last modified in 2004! so Windows update causing the issue doesn't appear to be the case for my set up. Weird!
Anyway I've placed a copy of dx8vb.dll in my Shape Viewer folder hopefully to futureproof any potential issues.
Cheers
T

Also found dx8vb.dll in C:\Windows\SysWOW64 but dated ‎Wednesday, ‎15 ‎April ‎2015, ‏‎1:19:59 AM and size 1.17 MB (1,234,560 bytes). The installation notes say that dx8vb.dll is included in the installer.

It seems missing dx8dvb.dll is a common problem - one site recommends the following fix:

To fix errors related with .DLL file you need to download dx8vb.dll and copy it to the installation folder of the application or game, or copy it into the Windows system folder and it should fix the error.

Plenty of sites offer it as a download - but apparently there are 3 versions available. The version I have is 5.3.2600.2180.

Of course doing a simple install is the quickest way to fix the problem   (but uninstall first).

Tony

Hi Ged

You said

we must get out of the habit of using Paul Gausden's program!

In my opinion that's a bit drastic! I've used Paul's program over many years, and until something happens that makes it inaccessible, I don't see any reason not to use it. Its longevity speaks volumes about its usefulness (does that apply to us too ?)

Regards

Tony

Hi Tony,
That was meant to be a bit of a joke but, as Windows develops, there could come a time when the old, extremely useful, utilities just won't work any more.

So long as they still work correctly, I have no plans to ditch any of the old utilities

Cheers,
Ged

Hi Ged

Point taken - I couldn't agree more.

Regards

Tony