# Progress....blooded but unbowed



## Cedge (Feb 7, 2010)

The new system is coming together but it hasn't all been roses and bon bons. I've learned a bit about Windows 7 and some of it is downright annoying.

The good news is that Leon's copy and paste fix for some of the older 16 bit programs was successful and the Windows XP compatibility mode is a life saver. The 3d program ran "OK" but it wasn't as stable as it needed to be. Once it was put in WXP mode, it became rock solid and is performing beyond anything I'd hoped for. Below is a render that was beyond the ability of the old system. In order to run it, I had to piece the models in sections before the render and then pray the computer wouldn't lock up. In short... it was just too much for the system. Now... instead of a 30 hour run, it took just over 2 hours.







I'm not quite sure I understand the Admin permissions in win 7. I had a devil of a time getting CuteFtp registered due to lack of access permissions. I finally found a couple of things that let me get past it. One was the User Access Control had to be set to it's lowest setting and the right click "Run as Admin" function was helpful. 

 I'm still locked out of a few places like Documents and Settings. Tech support from HP was no help when the Philippino accents are so thick you can't understand them. 

All in all, Win 7 is relatively intuitive and I've had no major problems navigating around it. I'm sure I'll learn more as i go along, but I gett he feeling MS has gone a long way to keep the users from being able to fix things behind the user interface. Sure makes me miss all the old DOS commands.

Steve


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## Kermit (Feb 7, 2010)

That is jaw droppingly beautiful.   Wow!  That was done with a standard windows PC in two hours!  Again Wow!  

What native size was/can the output file be printed to? Any plans on making a print of that one?


(Kermit wanders off still mumbling "wow")


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## black85vette (Feb 7, 2010)

Good grief! That is one awesome job. I can see why it takes so much computing horse power to render. Love the details, shadows and reflections. Darn near life-like.  :bow:

Sounds like you are getting things sorted out. Thm:


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## Cedge (Feb 7, 2010)

Kevin
The file was built in 2002 and took about 3 weeks of steady work. The software predates the fancy stuff available today and each piece is started as a primitive shape like a cube, sphere, cylinder cone etc. It does let me do coils lathing and bends of various kinds, but most shapes are "carved" using boolean functions. for instance I can make a sphere and remove a cylinder from it by placing the shapes and then subtracting one from the other. 

It can be time consuming but it does offer the advantage of making me mentally "machine" the shape as I go along. The shapes do not show all the lighting effects while I'm working unless I do a preview, so it takes some trial and error to get them right.

Once the file is saved, then it can be rendered... the computer calculates the interaction of light, shadows, shape, reflections, textures etc. and creates the final image. This render was actually made at 1600 pixels and then reduced for posting on the thread.

Thanks for the kind words....
Steve
Who also still says WOW each time I see a completed 3D rendering


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## Powder keg (Feb 7, 2010)

That looks nice Steve!!! Someday I would like to be able to draw like that. I have quite a ways to go.


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## dsquire (Feb 7, 2010)

Cedge

When you make a drawing like that with the tools that you used and the way that you had to use them, that is drawing. I think that its time that you go to the head of the class. That is one first class drawing no matter when it was done. Thanks for fighting with it so that it could see the light of day once more. th_wav

In the mid '90 I worked with some 3D in ACAD 12 and sometimes would let it plot out over night as we just didn't have the required horsepower. Now the horsepower I have won't run ACAD 12 so can't even go back and test it out. :big:


Cheers 

Don


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## Maryak (Feb 8, 2010)

Steve,

That is simply gorgeous. :bow: :bow:

I can't get my head around 3D, what's the program ???

There is a 3D tutorial CD for Turbocad which I was going to buy but a set of ER16 Collets and a Collet Chuck somehow sidetracked me and I will just have to wait. ;D

It's a bugger when your birthday and Xmas are pretty close together, a whole years frivolity is gone in just 6 weeks.

Best Regards
Bob


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## rake60 (Feb 8, 2010)

Nice drawing Steve!

You gotta love the speed of the new operating systems.
I know I do. You can disable that Admin stuff my turning off the
User Account Control feature. It an easy fix in Windows 7.

*Start > Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts >
Change User Account Control settings.*

In that window move the slider the whole way down to *Never Notify*.
Click OK and reboot the computer. 
No more Admin requests.

Rick


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## BAH101 (Feb 8, 2010)

That is a picture I would frame and hang on the wall :bow:. I have done a lot of drawings with TurboCAD and still cannot get the colour right and as good looking as yours. Very well done, another bow :bow:

Bob, if you are interested in some TurboCAD 3D tutorials to help out, try here: http://www.textualcreations.ca/Textual Creations Shopping Page.html
I have quite a few of these now and they are very helpful. The are inexpensive and he takes you through the tutorial step by step. 
Bryan


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## Cedge (Feb 8, 2010)

Thanks everyone... I've had a lot of fun with the program over the years. This was the most complex project to date, but now that I can work at full potential, perhaps more are to come.

Rick...
It took me a bit to figure the UAC thing out but I did eventually find the fix. I reset it afterwards as a precaution. 

Don...
I recall those long render times with a shiver. AOL contracted for me to do a spinning Logo to display at Comdex. It had to be rather large and had a high animation frame count that required 4 blood chilling days of processing. Need I mention, it was also the season for thunder storms?

The tractor is also fully animated, if I ever get brave enough to render it in motion. Cylinder, linkages, gears, flywheel.... all timed out to work together as they would in real life. It was a hell of a project....LOL

Steve


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