Program doesn't open. .EXE Shows up in processes tab but not application tab.

Question

I have an HP laptop running windows 7 pro 64.  I have a program called Bowser Electronics (OBDII code reader for cars).  It worked fine a few months ago and works on two other windows 7 computers, one is pro and one is ultimate. 

When I try to start it up the computer "things" like it normally does when you click on an application but no window is opened.  If I go to task manager, I see the exe running in processes tab but not in the application tab.  I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling multipul times. I've also tried uninstalling with the help of revo uninstaller to clean up the registry at the same time.  I am doing this as adminsitrator with full permissions.  

Any other suggestions?

Answer 1

I tried method 1 and 2 with no luck.  I then tired uninstalling and reinstalling with both method 1 and 2 still implemented, with no success.  Thank you for trying to help.  Any other suggestions?

Answer 2

hi there 

how am i supposed to do any of the step if i could not see the program as it doesn't want to show up 

my situation is now critical as any program i open even control panel doesn't show up but it only show in the tab that it is running. My ctrl alt dlt too could not show up it will only show me a black screen. 

Please help

Answer 3

Hello Mary -

Thanks for the response.  I am in contact with Bowser electronics as well.  I've tried running in xp with the same result.  I've checked the prolific usb/serial driver and have updated it to the newest version.  I also did this to the two other computers running windows 7 and this program to verify that it works.  I tried uninstalling my USB devices from device manager and reinstalling them.  Any more help would be greatly appriciated!  Thank you thus far for the help.

Kenny

Answer 4

Hello Nichol77,

Thank you for visiting the Microsoft Answers Site.

In addition to Shekhar's reply, you may try running the Program Compatibility troubleshooter and then check the issue as there does not appear to a program installation file for Windows 7 provided by the program vendor. To do this, please see the link below:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Make-older-programs-run-in-this-version-of-Windows

You may also view the link below provided by the program vendor for additional steps to help troubleshoot the issue:

http://www.bowserelectronics.com/troubleshooting.shtml

I hope this information is helpful.

Thank you,

---

Mary

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Answer 5

Hi,

Method 1.

a. You may also disable the User Account Control and the security software temporarily and check.

User Account Control (UAC) can help you prevent unauthorized changes to your computer.

Refer to the article below for steps about disabling the User Account Control.

Turn User Account Control on or off

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Turn-User-Account-Control-on-or-off

Important Note: We don't recommend turning User Account Control off. If you do turn it off, you should turn it back on as soon as possible.

b. Refer to the article below which explains how to disable the Antivirus software on your computer.

Disable antivirus software

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Disable-antivirus-software

Important Note: Antivirus software can help protect your computer against viruses and other security threats. In most cases, you should not disable your antivirus software. If you do have to temporarily disable it to install other software, you should re-enable it as soon as you're done.

Method 2.

I also suspect that another third party application is causing the conflict with this application. Perform Clean Boot troubleshooting to find the root cause of the issue.

Refer to the article below for steps and more information on clean boot.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Note: When the troubleshooting is over do not forget to reset the computer to normal startup. Follow the step 7 in the above article.

Hope this helps.

---

Thanks and Regards:

Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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