ESPtoy Documentation
(Version: 26 Feb 2018)
Copyright 2018 Burney Waring
Copyright 2018 Burney Waring
Installing ESPtoy
Basics of ESPtoy
ESPtoy Details
ESPtoy Cases
ESPtoy Construction
ESPtoy License
Contact Burney Waring
Installing ESPtoy
ESPtoy was created for Windows operating systems*.ESPtoy comes in a zip file. ESPtoy does not need to be installed via Windows.
Create an empty folder, preferably on a local drive, rather than a network drive. Unzip (extract) all the contents to the empty folder you just created. Open your folder and look at the files. Open (Run) ESPtoy.exe. The application interface should open immediately. Your virus scanner may have a very careful look at it, since the virus scanning companies have not seen this program before, but it should allow it to run.
The interface defaults to 1024 x 719 pixels (which should just fit a 1024 x 768 display resolution) but is resizeable. Just maximize the window, or drag the edge and corners.
*It will not run under Mac OSX or Unix. For Windows, it specifically requires 64-bit Windows versions. These were found in many Win7, most Win8, and most Win10 systems. You can find out what sort of system you are running by holding down the Windows key and pressing the Pause button, or by going to Control Panel\System and Security\System. Look at 'System Type:' Ideally you see "64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor'. 32-bit Windows was mostly displaced when installed memory in PCs exceeded 4GB. If you have a 32-bit system, let me know if ESPtoy works on it or not, and if not, the error message, so I can help others.
Known Installation Challenges
Other than the 64-bit issue, there have been a couple of other problems reported:"The program can't start because python36.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."
This happens when you try to run ESPtoy.exe inside the zip folder. Make sure you copy all the files out of the zip folder and put them in an empty folder on your PC.
Virus Scanner issues
Windows Defender gave me a message that says "Windows protected your PC. Windows Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting." It provided a "More Info" link. Under that link, I chose "Run Anyway" and it ran fine.
Some others apparently have a different response from their virus scanner. It may help to "whitelist" ESPtoy on your machine. Because ESPtoy is new and not from a big company, virus scanners do not know it. Here are some links to provide an "Exclusion" or "Whitelist" for your virus scanner.
Windows Defender
Microsoft Security Essentials
Norton/Symantec
For other virus scanners, search on Google for "whitelist exclusions" and the name of your virus scanner.
I checked ESPtoy.exe with Virus Total (a Google company) and it says only one (Cylance) out of 66 virus scanner sofware packages seems to complain.
"The procedure entry point terminate could not be located in the dynamic link library"
or
"The procedure entry point ucrtbase.terminate could not be located in the dynamic link library api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll."
The error message is a problem with the "Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable" that is supposed to be on your computer as part of Windows. If it is missing it may be that Windows Update failed to install it. There are many different versions and there are normally many versions on each PC. The one that ESPtoy needs is "Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015 ". If you get this error message, download the Redistributable from here and install it:
https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/3/F/93FCF1E7-E6A4-478B-96E7-D4B285925B00/vc_redist.x64.exe
You may need to reboot after installation.
"ESPtoy.exe is not a valid Win32 application"
It could mean the file is corrupt (try downloading again), or that you have a 32 bit operating system. ESPtoy requires a 64 bit operating system.
"The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running."
This means you have a 32 bit operating system. ESPtoy requires a 64 bit operating system.
"This app can't run on your PC. To find a version for your PC, check with the software publisher."
This seems very rare. I think it must be Microsoft trying to be too helpful/cautious.
Go to Control Panel, type Apps in the search box. Select Apps and Features. Do you "Allow apps from anywhere"? or only the Apps Store?
It could also be a Windows Defender setting called SmartScan being too helpful.
Look at Options 3 and 4 here:
https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/this-app-cant-run-on-your-pc-solved/
Other installation or running problems
If you encounter other problems, please contact me. In reporting problems, you will be helping other users.
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