14 DAY TRIAL // Early adopters testing 64-bit versions of Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3) can experience issues with some applications, Microsoft confirmed.
According to the software giant, problems impact only testers running x64 Windows 8, and only if they also have installed a Visual C++ 2008 redistributable package.
In addition, only specific applications are impacted, the Redmond company stressed.
Essentially, users would need to “run a Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) application on the computer. The application is built in the Release mode of an x64-based platform,” Microsoft said.
In the eventuality in which the “application calls the LoadLibrary function to load a .dll file that loads another .dll file (…)[it] crashes when it calls the CWinApp::ExitInstance function.”
The scenario described above is pretty specific, as users can easily tell, and as such, the problems detailed by Microsoft are bound to affect only a limited number of users.
In this particular case, the Redmond company not only identified the source of the issue, but also put together a hotfix which is now available via Microsoft support.
“However, it is intended to correct only the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem,” the software giant stressed.
The hotfix might already be offered to early adopters testing Windows 8, but fact is that they need to contact Microsoft Customer Support Services in order to actually get it.
“To apply this hotfix, you must have Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed,” the company said.
It’s also important to note that Windows 8 is still in pre-Beta stage, and as such, problems should not be uncommon.
Microsoft will most likely resolve the vast majority of issues by the time it makes Windows 8 Beta available to the public.
Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3) is available for download here.