New: SH3 Commander Improvements - Beta Testers Needed

[Observer]

This application provides some of the added improvements to SH3 Commander mentioned in this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=42005

Today it exists as a separate application. Before integrating this functionality into SH3 Commander, I'd like to test the core logic and ensure there aren't any bugs.

Functionality:

-Randomizes merchant tonnage. At this time tonnage randomization has not been implemented for Sergbuto's added merchants or Passenger Liner class of ships
-Allows user selected patrol start date. This date also has a random element.
-Allows the user to view previous patrols outside of the game (similar to SH3 Commander)
-Captain's Log module. Here you may enter dates and times for comments during the course of the patrol. The comments will be collected and written to a text file. After the patrol, the results of your actions will be added to the patrol log, and it will be formatted in KTB fashion. You may view the Captain's log in text or html.
-Names ships sunk during the course of a patrol for both merchant ships and warships. SH3 does not have a way to check for a ships nationality, so some names may appear odd. This is true for warship classes used by multiple countries (such as Clemson destroyers) during the course of the war. Ship names will appear in the Captain's Log, and are chosen at random. Merchant names reflect actual merchants sunk during WWII. Warships names use actual names of ships assigned to the class.



You can download the application here: SH3 Companion v4.2.6 (http://home.ec.rr.com/observer95/SH3%20Companion.zip)

This application require the v2.0 .net framework in order to work. You can get it here (23 MB D/L):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7ABD8C8F-287E-4C7E-9A4A-A4ECFF40FC8E&displaylang=en

If you use this application please post feedback in this thread, either suggestions for improvement or bugs you encounter in use.



This is a sample output from the Captain's Log:

Sample Captain's Log (http://home.ec.rr.com/observer95/Klaus%20Bargsten%20Patrol%209.html)


Application screenshots:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/sh3companion01.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/sh3companion02.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/sh3companion03.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/sh3companion04.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/sh3companion06.jpg


Readme:
SH3 Companion

This is a beta version of this program. Use at your own risk!
Currently this version only supports English SH3 patrol log files. I would need the assistance from a person using the German version of SH3 in order to support this functionality.

Version 4.2.6 (see change log below for detailed list of changes).

THIS PROGRAM REQUIRES MICROSOFT .NET V2.0 FRAMEWORK! USE THIS DOWNLOAD LINK FOR THE NECESSARY FILES:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7ABD8C8F-287E-4C7E-9A4A-A4ECFF40FC8E&displaylang=en

As the name implies, SH3 Companion, is a companion to WWII submarine simulation Silent Hunter 3 and the career management application SH3 Commander by Jaesen Jones. This application currently does just a few things:
-Randomizes merchant tonnage. At this time tonnage randomization has not been implemented for Sergbuto's added merchants or Passenger Liner class of ships
-Allows user selected patrol start date. This date also has a random element.
-Allows the user to view previous patrols outside of the game (similar to SH3 Commander)
-Captain's Log module. Here you may enter dates and times for comments during the course of the patrol. The comments will be collected and written to a text file. After the patrol, the results of your actions will be added to the patrol log, and it will be formatted in KTB fashion. You may view the Captain's log in text or html.
-Names ships sunk during the course of a patrol for both merchant ships and warships. SH3 does not have a way to check for a ships nationality, so some names may appear odd. This is true for warship classes used by multiple countries (such as Clemson destroyers) during the course of the war. Ship names will appear in the Captain's Log, and are chosen at random. Merchant names reflect actual merchants sunk during WWII. Warships names use actual names of ships assigned to the class.


Installation:
Please completely uninstall previous versions of SH3 Companion before installing the latest build. You can do this through the add/remove programs option in Windows2K/XP. If you wish to remove all traces of the software from your system, you will also need to delete the SH3 Companion folder created in your X:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter III directory. This is not necessary for an upgrade to the latest build. Run the provided installation package. This program will be installed to the X:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter III\SH3 Companion directory. I also suggest making a desktop icon for ease of use. If you are using SH3 Commander, DELETE the following folders from the Commander directories: data folder from \Flotilla\902, \Flotilla\903, and \Flotilla\904. SH3 Companion now copies the correct flotilla file to the proper location in SH3. It provides the exact same functionality as SH3 Commander and addresses some of the sequencing issues between SH3 Companion and SH3 Commander.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using a version of SH3 Companion prior to 4.2.5 please change the extensions for saved text patrol files in the X:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter III\SH3 Companion\Patrol Reports directory from *.rtf to *.txt. Text logs without this change will not be recognized in the Captain's Log.


Using SH3 Companion:
If you are currently using SH3 Commander, in order for several of the included features to work properly, follow the procedure below when starting a NEW patrol:

When starting your NEXT patrol:
1. Run SH3 Companion. Update Patrol Start date.
2. Run SH3 Commander and update options as necessary and launch SH3 from SH3 Commander.

If you save and exit during the course of the patrol:
1. Run SH3 Companion and launch SH3 from SH3 Companion.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Just like SH3 Commander, you cannot use the features of SH3 Companion until you have completed at least one patrol.


Uninstallation:
This program may be removed using the uninstall option in the Start->Programs->SH3 Tonnage Randomizer directory. I also suggest manual removal of the folder in the X:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter III directory if you wish to remove every trace (including previous patrol Captain's Logs!).

Good Luck! If you have any problems, let me know.


Change Log:
v4.2.6
-Update to html and text files to show total, merchant, and warship tonnages and numbers of ships sunk during a patrol

v4.2.5
-Internal code changes

v4.2.4
-Removed improper names from the available list of merchant names (Spreewald and Doggerbank)
-Added report feature to show if the ship was lost at sea during a patrol
-Changed the number of lines allocated to ship sinkings from 4 lines to two lines. Output will now look like:
Ship Sunk!, Grid BE96
Small merchant, S.S. Younameit, 1500 tons
-Corrected html encoding error (UTF-8)
-Changed default html report font to courier for readability (Hanshand front no longer required or packaged in zip).
-Added pop up window allowing user to view text file (copy and paste purposes) after the Captain's log has been saved.

v4.2.3
-Corrected error incorrectly reporting tonnages less than 1000 tons
-Corrected html and text sequencing issues. Previously if the user edited a completed patrol log, then opened the text file and html file at the same time, ship names would be lost.
-Corrected error preventing two log entries occurring at the same time from being handled properly. For events in the patrol log occurring at the same time, they will now be given a unique number (date and time including seconds). The event seconds can be seen in the text files, but will not show on the html output.

v4.2.2
-Internal code changes

v4.2.1
-Corrected a zero tonnage error
-Corrected date format parsing error

v4.2
-Major build. Added several new features and output formats (see above).

[AlanSmithee]

Looks interesting. I'll test it out tonight.

[squeak]

. I'll test it out tonight.

me 2

[BladeHeart]

How's this one coming along? :)

I am curious as to how you access the captain's log facility whilst in patrol; would anyone care to explain this to me please? :hmm:

Thanks :up:

:lurk:

[Observer]

I need beta testers and/or feedback from testers. So far the response has been disappointing to say the least. I'm almost tired of waiting, so I'm thinking today I will send the final version of the code to JScones for addition to SH3 Commander.

Accessing the utility while on patrol is not the most convenient method, but requires the user to either run in a window, or alt-tab. Fortunately SH3 is very alt-tab friendly. I've been doing this with my patrols without a problem. Window is nice because you can still see the action, but it's too small on my LCD, and there's no way to resize the screen that I know of.

[BladeHeart]

I can understand your frustration, unfortunately I am not sufficently skilled to correct any program errors so must admit to being a little shy about test runs.

I never knew you could alt-tab the game, so I will try it out and see how that goes from there.

Certainly like the idea of a log and currently write one for each patrol. Personally speaking given that log entries are made in game, access to such a feature would have be possible whilst on patrol.

[AlanSmithee]

I need beta testers and/or feedback from testers. So far the response has been disappointing to say the least. I'm almost tired of waiting, so I'm thinking today I will send the final version of the code to JScones for addition to SH3 Commander.

Sorry for the delay. I've only got one SH3-ready computer available, and it's also the same computer my wife uses for grad school work. :cry: In any case, I was able to play with the captain's log features a bit, and in general they seemed to work well. I was especially happy with the random ship-naming feature. Some British ships did get American names and visa-versa, though as you noted this is unavoidable. Still, having ship names included in the log is a good improvement.

Once I figued out the log entry process I didn't really have any problems, though I do wish there was a way it could be simplified. Right now it takes multiple clicks to create new entries - IIRC, date selection -> add new entry -> select entry date -> type entry -> update entry -> Save file. It'd be good if there was some way to reduce this complexity - e.g., select a date, type your entry, hit save.

Other issues were minor. Selecting a different career under the "Select Career" tab does not change the "Select Patrol" tab to Patrol 1, but leaves it at whatever Patrol was previously selected. Also, for competed patrol logs, entry dates don't seem to appear until after hitting "View html file".

In any case, I enjoyed what I saw and look forward to a finalized version in SH3 Commander. Good work! :up: :up:


Edit: BTW, no problems with Alt-Tab, as it's the only realistic solution. I've never had any Alt-Tab problems other than some minor graphical corruption, and that seems to be a SH3 issue, not a SH3 Companion issue.

[Observer]

I need beta testers and/or feedback from testers. So far the response has been disappointing to say the least. I'm almost tired of waiting, so I'm thinking today I will send the final version of the code to JScones for addition to SH3 Commander.

Sorry for the delay. I've only got one SH3-ready computer available, and it's also the same computer my wife uses for grad school work. :cry: In any case, I was able to play with the captain's log features a bit, and in general they seemed to work well. I was especially happy with the random ship-naming feature. Some British ships did get American names and visa-versa, though as you noted this is unavoidable. Still, having ship names included in the log is a good improvement.

Once I figued out the log entry process I didn't really have any problems, though I do wish there was a way it could be simplified. Right now it takes multiple clicks to create new entries - IIRC, date selection -> add new entry -> select entry date -> type entry -> update entry -> Save file. It'd be good if there was some way to reduce this complexity - e.g., select a date, type your entry, hit save.

In any case, I enjoyed what I saw and look forward to a finalized version in SH3 Commander. Good work! :up: :up:


Edit: BTW, no problems with Alt-Tab, as it's the only realistic solution. I've never had any Alt-Tab problems other than some minor graphical corruption, and that seems to be a SH3 issue, not a SH3 Companion issue.

Thanks for the feedback. Admittedly the interface is a bit of a kludge. It was intended for functionality and clearly fails in the usability (i.e. it's okay, but it's not great).

On data entry, you can make as many entries as you like before saving. It's intended to work as follows:

1. Open the Captain's log
2. Select an entry date/time
3. Type the entry
4. If you wish to make another entry, change the data/time
5. Type the entry
6. When finished making entries save.

I think much of this complexity/confusion is due to the nature of the interface though. I'm working on improvements in this department.

Other issues were minor. Selecting a different career under the "Select Career" tab does not change the "Select Patrol" tab to Patrol 1, but leaves it at whatever Patrol was previously selected.

This one I can fix.

Also, for competed patrol logs, entry dates don't seem to appear until after hitting "View html file".

Are you referring to dates for the purpose of editing old entries?

The user interface enhancements, one bug I found, plus the suggestions mentioned above will be in the next release, and what I hope is the final version.

[AlanSmithee]

Are you referring to dates for the purpose of editing old entries?

Yes. The old entries wouldn't appear until I hit "View html file".

The user interface enhancements, one bug I found, plus the suggestions mentioned above will be in the next release, and what I hope is the final version.

Excellent. I look forward to it!

[Observer]

Changes are coming along. I hope you'll like the new interface for the Captain's Log. Here's a look:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/Observer723/col1.jpg

[BladeHeart]

Although I do have this mod installed I tried out alt-tab and the only issue I noticed was that my attack map in front of the navigator in the bridge disappeared; F6 was fine.

One problem that occurs to me might crop up is whilst using the log via alt-tab, is that you cannot read your screen and the data on it, such as weather reports, etc.

Is there a way one can press a key in game such as "=" which would then open the log and place it in front of SH3?

[Observer]

Although I do have this mod installed I tried out alt-tab and the only issue I noticed was that my attack map in front of the navigator in the bridge disappeared; F6 was fine.

One problem that occurs to me might crop up is whilst using the log via alt-tab, is that you cannot read your screen and the data on it, such as weather reports, etc.

Is there a way one can press a key in game such as "=" which would then open the log and place it in front of SH3?

I'll have to think on the hotkey some to see if I can get something that works. I suspect it will still drop you to desktop because you'd be switching from 3D mode to 2D mode, so it wouldn't really work the way you would like. I'll have to try it and see.

[Observer]

I'll have a new version up tomorrow...err later today.

[BladeHeart]

If this new version can work whilst remaining in the game, even if it pauses it then I'll give it a try. :)
If it cannot not then although I really do like the concept, its application does not suit my personal style of play. :(

Its a good idea regardless. :up:
:lurk:

[DeePsix U-48]

Do we have an ETA for this mod? It looks great!

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

[Observer]

Updated to v4.2.7.

SH3 Companion v4.2.7 (http://home.ec.rr.com/observer95/SH3%20Companion.zip)

v4.2.7
-Major update to Captain's log user interface. Included keyboard shortcuts for each action on the Captain's log. Alt + the first letter of each action will activate the action, with the exception being Exit activated by Alt+x.
-Corrected a potential save bug in the Captain's Log where the user could have made changes, failed to save and not been notified therefore loosing any changes to the Captain's Log.
-Corrected user interface bug where selecting a new career did not update the completed patrols
-Corrected routine to show correct number of log entries when editing the Captain's Log.
-Interal code changes, simplification and misc minor bug fixes

[Observer]

Do we have an ETA for this mod? It looks great!

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

Hehe. See one post up. :up:

[DeePsix U-48]

I tried viewing a captains log for another patrol and it came up with a message about all ship names being used and would have to use generic. Any way to fix this?

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

[Observer]

I tried viewing a captains log for another patrol and it came up with a message about all ship names being used and would have to use generic. Any way to fix this?

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

Is this the message you are referring to?

"All names for generic merchants in the [Your Career Name] career have been used once. Ship names will now be duplicated."


In theory you should not get this message for merchants, unless you've sunk over 3500 merchants in a career. You might get this message for warships, especially if you have sunk a large number of warships during a career. For example, the Nelson class battleship only has two names assigned, so it wouldn't be unusual to get it for this class. The same is true for some of the other warship classes, but it will have the name of the class of ships in the message instead of the [generic merchants] name.

If you're getting it for merchants, then there is a problem. If you navigate to your SH3 Companion folder, you will see a file called Used Names.cfg. Look in this file for the header of the career name you are getting this message for (i.e. look for this text [My Career Name]) and then look for the key "generic merchants=" The text after this will list all of the merchant names used in that Captain's career. In order for this to be a valid message there must be 3559 entries. If you see anything less than this, the message is received in error.

I would also suggest looking for the Ship Names.cfg file just to make sure it's present, and then look under the [generic merchants] header. You should see 3559 entires before getting to the next header [generic tankers].

If all that's too complex to follow, email your Used Names.cfg, Ship Names.cfg, and the log file causing problems to:

observer [at] ec.rr.com

[DeePsix U-48]

I tried viewing a captains log for another patrol and it came up with a message about all ship names being used and would have to use generic. Any way to fix this?

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

If you're getting it for merchants, then there is a problem. If you navigate to your SH3 Companion folder, you will see a file called Used Names.cfg. Look in this file for the header of the career name you are getting this message for (i.e. look for this text [My Career Name]) and then look for the key "generic merchants=" The text after this will list all of the merchant names used in that Captain's career. In order for this to be a valid message there must be 3559 entries. If you see anything less than this, the message is received in error.

That's it! All my career names are set = to -1. Should I set them equal to 3559?

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

[HEMISENT]

Observer,
I think this is a great idea. the devs dropped the ball badly on this function.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out. I like the hot key idea.
I recall some long ago posts regarding the repeated use of alt-tab will screw up the game somehow. I may be wrong on this tho.
Keep up the good work!

[AlanSmithee]

Observer - nicely done. Definately like the interface improvements. I was able to briefly try out the new In-Progress log, but my hard drive is in hospice so it may be another week before I get to test it again. Looking good, though.

[Observer]

That's it! All my career names are set = to -1. Should I set them equal to 3559?

~DeePsix
Commander U-48

No. The -1 is an error code. I means something didn't work right. You shouldn't be seeing that in the header. In order to trouble shoot this further I need you to email your Used Names.cfg, Ship Names.cfg, and the log file causing problems to:

observer [at] ec.rr.com

I'll look into it and see if I can find the problem. I think it's something abnormal with the log file.

Also check your SH3 Companion.cfg file (it's xml, but you can open it in Internet explorer or firefox). Look for a key called:

<add key="selected_career" value=

(it's the 16th one down). You should see the name of the selected career you're trying to read the log file for.

If you need any further guidance, send me a PM.

[Observer]

Observer,
I think this is a great idea. the devs dropped the ball badly on this function.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out. I like the hot key idea.
I recall some long ago posts regarding the repeated use of alt-tab will screw up the game somehow. I may be wrong on this tho.
Keep up the good work!

I've explored the hot key, but I'm not satisfied with it yet. I'm not sure it will work any different or better than the alt-tab option. I'm still looking into it though.

It's true. Some have reported difficulties with alt-tab, especially with the attack map. At this time, I don't know of any other problems, but in general SH3 is very alt-tab friendly.

I'm not crazy about not being able to see the display, but you can read the entries if you've saved it at least once. Navigate to your SH3 folder in My Docs. Then go to your career folder and select the folder with the highest number (i.e. "8"). This will be the save folder for your current patrol. If you open the *.crp files in notepad, you can see all of the reports from your crew. It's not perfect, but it does work.

For example, this is a typical report:

[Log Entry 11]
Type=0
EntryText=Clouds Clear, Precipitations None, Fog None|Wind Speed 5 meters per second, direction 0.
Date=19410908
Time=2124
Categ=1

This entry happened on 9/8/1941 at 2124, and you can see it's the Navigator's weather report.

[HEMISENT]

Downloading the net framework program now.
Will give this a shot tonight-hopefully will get some feedback for you tomorrow.

[Excalibur Bane]

I tried it for a little while, but it's hard to make it useful unless it's somehow integrated in the game itself. Swapping out to make manual notes of kills and other stufff in the log is just too game busting. If you can integrate it into the game, it'd definately be cool.

Idea, does SH3 only track ship sinkings? If so, can we change so it can track other variables that would warrant an entry into the log? It would be interesting if it tracked more then just a sinking of a ship. Like the method of sinking for example, deckgun or torepdo (or god forbid, ramming!) perhaps other things like damage sustained. It records when you take damage and maybe how much and from what, if that's doable.

Same with important things, like permanent damage or diesel levels, etc.

For example.

Patrol 1 - U-67
-------------------

Time 1:20: Ship sunk! C-2 cargo Xxxx tonnage! Ship sunk by deckgun attack.

Time 2:30: Depth charge attack! Hull integrity reduced to 73%. Starboard Diesel destroyed!

And so on and so forth.

Probably not possible to get SH3 to track this kind of stuff, but thought I would put the idea anyway. Good luck with the program Observer, and keep us updated. :)

[Trefoil]

I' ve, also, had problems with the map in the control room being effected by alt-tabbing out of the game. If I use a second display (Old 14" monitor, gathering dust in attic) to display windows desktop and the log entries, will this work OK?

Also, there has been, recently, on Subsim forums, a copy of a genuine KTB posted -

http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-516logGerman.htm

Is it possible for your log entries to look more authentic, perhaps incorporating similar fonts or formatting? This would be great for immersion value.

Many thanks for all the great work you've done on SH3. :up:

[7Infanterie19]

I'm running SH3 v1.4b. I upgraded to NET framework v2 (which is still BETA!!!!), and installed SH3 Companion.

I use Shoot extensively for voice commands, and I believe that it is based on NET framwork v1.x. I quickly discovered that I couldn't load Shoot under NET framework v2, so I didn't hesitate to deinstall it to get Shoot up and running again.

It would be a good idea to get SH3 companion running backwards compatible with NET framwork v1.x. Until then, I can't (won't) use it at the expense of losing voice control (which rocks!)

Cheers,
7Infanterie19

[Reece]

I've been fiddling with .NET of late as my XP Pro SP1 had no .NET Framework installed, I put v2.0b in and when I ran Norton WinDoctor found 18 shared dll errors, 9 were missing from:
C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFT.NET\FRAMEWORK\V1.0.3705
& 9 from:
C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFT.NET\FRAMEWORK\V1.1.4322
so I uninstalled v2.0b,installed version 1.1 then version2.0b and only had 9 errors for 1.0. :doh:
So it seems to get .NET running properly you may have to install all versions, what a pain! :stare:
If someone has any suggestions please advise. :lol:

[JScones]

I refuse to have .NET framework v2 on my machine (even v1.1 is now gone). However, the positive thing is that the ship name randomiser and tonnage randomiser that Observer has developed have been re-engineered and will form part of the next release of SH3 Commander.

[JScones]

I've been fiddling with .NET of late as my XP Pro SP1 had no .NET Framework installed, I put v2.0b in and when I ran Norton WinDoctor found 18 shared dll errors, 9 were missing from:
C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFT.NET\FRAMEWORK\V1.0.3705
& 9 from:
C:\WINDOWS\MICROSOFT.NET\FRAMEWORK\V1.1.4322
so I uninstalled v2.0b,installed version 1.1 then version2.0b and only had 9 errors for 1.0. :doh:
So it seems to get .NET running properly you may have to install all versions, what a pain! :stare:
If someone has any suggestions please advise. :lol:
Actually, my understanding is once you've installed v2.0b you cannot completely remove it, even if you uninstall it. I think your best bet is to restore your computer to a point just prior to the installation of v2.0b (when you installed v2.0b it should have created a restore point). Alternatively, this (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;897884) or this (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;824643) may help (the first in part explains what you are experiencing). You may want to go to microsoft.com and search for "framework 2.0" and peruse the troubleshooting articles - you may find something which explains how to get both versions working harmoniously together. Good luck!

[Reece]

Oh dear, thats not what I wanted to hear Jaesen, I don't like restore points (disabled) as I use ghost images but the oldest image without .net installed may be very old!! :cry:
Back to the old drawing board! :doh:
I do remember installing version 1.0 but caused a lot of problems. I just purchased Trainz 2006 & that requires .NET as well as the latest ccc part of ATI Catalyst drivers, having trouble with Trainz CMP so I may have to re-ghost anyway.
Thanks. :dead:

[JScones]

Oh dear, thats not what I wanted to hear Jaesen, I don't like restore points (disabled) as I use ghost images but the oldest image without .net installed may be very old!! :cry:
Back to the old drawing board! :doh:
I do remember installing version 1.0 but caused a lot of problems. I just purchased Trainz 2006 & that requires .NET as well as the latest ccc part of ATI Catalyst drivers, having trouble with Trainz CMP so I may have to re-ghost anyway.
Thanks. :dead:
Yeah, the .NET Framework is a dog. But, I suppose it is where we are heading...

There's many ways to repair your installation, however *I* would:
-uninstall all previous versions of the .NET Framework, in reverse order (as the updates are cumulative, I'd expect to see a "can't uninstall cause files are missing" message for the earlier versions);
-then manually do a Windows Update and select the v1.1 .NET Framework (it will be v1.0.3705);
-install/reboot and then do another manual Windows Update and select the recommended .NET Framework Service Pack 1 (this is v1.1.4322);
-install/reboot and then do another manual Windows Update and select the recommended .NET Framework HotFix;

You'll then be back to where you started and can search on how to get both versions working together (if you still so desire :)).

Of course Reece, with the above suggestion comes the usual disclaimers (if you're computer catches fire it's your fault ;)). If concerned, try reading the "How to repair the .NET Framework" page at microsoft.com. It won't be as drastic as ghosting an old image.