It recently came to my attention that of the two 3rd-party programs that will not install into my Win10TP build (because Microsoft claims they are incompatible) one of them is and one of them isn't... CPU-Z is a little utility I've used for years--ran fine under 8/8.1, as you might expect. Fails to even install into the TP *unless* I change the name of the executable...and then it installs and runs without issue (otherwise I get the "incompatible" warning.) A program built around the same code, HWmonitor, won't install in the same way but the difference is that HW monitor won't run correctly no matter if the name of the executable is changed and the program properly installs--it really is incompatible, it would seem. Just a couple of tidbits some may find interesting. It rubs me the wrong way when software companies play these games with the names of executables, but in this case it may just be overkill on MS's part, since HWmonitor would appear to actually be incompatible regardless of executable naming--at least, it won't run for me regardless of compatibility setting *after* I've name-changed and convinced the program to install.
Use the feedback app and explain how you get it to work, simply by changing the name. I would suggest that everyone who is having issues get programs working be sent to MS. Especially getting programs working by nothing more than a name change. I am far from an MS groupie but I believe it has something more going on than MS simply black listing app names for spite. CPUz being a great program and wildly popular still is not even a glint in MS's eye as far as a need to block it. If I had to guess, this would have more to do with the stability of the alpha OS when CPUz is running. Perhaps its causing an issue with TP that hasn't been addressed yet. I believe RTM will be an entirely different outcome as far as this goes. It is also very important -if not most important -that developers of apps update their software and continue moving forward by contacting MS with issues of their own apps for the new OS. If you think about the million (billion?) different configurations MS has to contend with for compatibility of every x86/x64 system out there, from user "A"'s video to user "1,024,234"s sound to whoever's whatever. Yet they still do fairly well at getting most 3rd party software and partner software compatibilities worked out by RTM or shortly after.
I downloaded the latest version of cpu-z just a few days ago and noticed, strangely enough, it boasted Support for Microsoft Windows 10. From the cupid website “Version history. October 09th, 2014 (1.71.1) Support for Microsoft Windows 10 Note for Windows 10 users The installer does not work under that version of Windows, so please use the ZIP versions of CPU-Z.” Cpu-z uses an installer called inno setup and I presume from reading the above that it is the installer which is incompatible with windows10 and not the cpu-z application itself. The last update for hw monitor was on May 05th, 2014 which was before the pre-release of windows10 None of this explains why changing the name would work unless there is some kind of blacklist
Thanks for the info...I've got that version of CPU-Z but somehow I missed the Win10TP information. But as I mentioned, simply changing the executable name allows the program to install and run fine under 9879. Yes, there would have to be a list of executables in the TP that automatically generate the incompatibility message and refuse to allow the installer to run--else, simply renaming the executable would have no effect. I can change the executable's name by a single letter and it's enough to go ahead and allow the installer to run. Like many people, I'd always assumed that such incompatibility lists (resulting in the OS blocking the program installation with an explanation) were generated from internal Microsoft testing--but obviously neither the application nor the installer are incompatible with 9879 (Warning is generated in all versions of the TP I've used so far.) So, the app wasn't actually tested with Win10TP, but the name of the executable was added to the OS list, anyway. I found it especially strange since I'd had no such trouble with CPU-Z under 8.x/8.1 (or another version of Windows as I have used the little program for years.) HWmonitor doesn't work at all, though--and changing the executable has no effect (as you'd expect from a program with actual compatibility problems.) I'm thinking that Microsoft's internal testing began & ended with HWmonitor, and because CPU-z shares some of the code, it was simply added to the incompatibility list sans any testing of the CPU-Z program itself. I think this is interesting because I wonder what other programs are on the TP incompatibility list that maybe shouldn't be there. This has to be a very small, refined list because so far, out of all of my installed programs & games & utilities, *nothing else* has generated the incompatibility warning and been blocked from installing by the OS... Odd, eh? If the list is as short as I think it is, then certainly CPU-Z should have been individually tested.
Oh, sure, Microsoft does a bang-up job with backwards compatibility in general--the main reason for Windows' success down through the years (among other things)! What interests me about this particular incident is the fact that CPU-Z is *not* actually incompatible with Win10 9879 (& the other builds.) The fact that it installs and runs perfectly with an executable name change proves that conclusively. This is not a big deal, of course... Just found it mildly interesting. Thanks for your suggestions!
All my Metro apps including PC Settings stopped working after upgrade to the latest build (9879), any ideas? Thanks!
I just downloaded CPU-Z 1.71.1 - November 2014 Didn't rename it and installed & works just fine. No hard block as far as I can tell. Windows 10TP 9879. *Even recognizes Windows as: Microsoft Windows 10 (6.4) Enterprise Edition 64-bit (build 9879) DirectX 11.0
Thanks for pointing this out... Tried again, and now it's working...I've updated Win10TP since I began this thread, so I am assuming the program has been unblocked (or something changed in CPU-Z.) I had reported it to Microsoft, so maybe they took care of it (as I'm sure I wasn't the only one to report it.) Thanks for letting me know...!