Base 3 system utility download for PC

I'm pretty sure that the old VB installer expects a 32 bit subsystem.  When you look for VB on an ARM64 computer, it states that the installer fetches ARM specific runtimes.  However, the current Visual Studio Installer looks nothing like the installer that is supplied with the package.

I have seen several other applications I've installed with the old installer, so probably my success was due to the stuff already being there.  I also still have an older version of Visual C++ installed as well, but I haven't used it recently.

Doesn't look seamless to me.

This is a very big program.  Trying to get it downloaded to see if it will help. . . . I'll let you know.

Here is another problem with B3SU, you can only see the created backup files with B3SU.  Windows file explorer can not display them / see them.  I assume it is because of the 5 digit extension '.B3dat'.  And yes I went to view and told it to display all files and hidden files, no help.  So if you like to back up your files to a thumb drive, it is kinda hard to do when you can't see the files. Why could they just not leave them as '.hex' extensions like Lionel used for the LSU backups.  They are visible to file explorer and you can move them around because they are visible.  Sometimes I just don't understand.

@rplst8 posted:

My guess is that Windows PCs that have been upgraded from earlier versions will work.  Clean installs and newer PCs that don't have the older libraries might not work.

It could also be that some other piece of software installed the libraries while before, but now the newer virus definitions and security patches have disabled the ability to install the older libraries.

Another possibility could be different antivirus software reacting differently to the older libraries.

One more… I think there are ARM based Windows PCs now and also some Intel that dropped 32-bit app support. If the Lionel software expects a Win32 subsystem to be there, newer devices might not be able to install the software.

Mine is a brand new install I did it myself Windows 11 on a mini pc. I installed it with no special  routine.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I'm pretty sure that the old VB installer expects a 32 bit subsystem.  When you look for VB on an ARM64 computer, it states that the installer fetches ARM specific runtimes.  However, the current Visual Studio Installer looks nothing like the installer that is supplied with the package.

I have seen several other applications I've installed with the old installer, so probably my success was due to the stuff already being there.  I also still have an older version of Visual C++ installed as well, but I haven't used it recently.

Doesn't look seamless to me.

Didn’t even occur to me I wonder this is why I couldn’t get it to work on my windows 11 computer because it’s 64bit 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

64 bit windows can still run 32 bit programs dating back to the windows 95 era. It won't run 16 bit applications from the windows 3.11 vintage.

@Reading RR posted:

Here is another problem with B3SU, you can only see the created backup files with B3SU.  Windows file explorer can not display them / see them.  I assume it is because of the 5 digit extension '.B3dat'.  And yes I went to view and told it to display all files and hidden files, no help.  So if you like to back up your files to a thumb drive, it is kinda hard to do when you can't see the files. Why could they just not leave them as '.hex' extensions like Lionel used for the LSU backups.  They are visible to file explorer and you can move them around because they are visible.  Sometimes I just don't understand.

Not sure what you are doing but I can see the backup file fine just like before with the 990 LSU.

You got something else going on there.

Thanks for the info Sean,  I will try a newer laptop.  All I know is I have never had a file not show up with file explorer.  I'm sure I am not the only one having this problem.

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

Not sure what you are doing but I can see the backup file fine just like before with the 990 LSU.

You got something else going on there.

I agree with Sean, I see the Base3 database files as well in Windows Explorer.

So after I saved the backups to a directory under the root directory, it all works now.

Help, I am trying to install The new Base 3 System Utility on my computer. The computer is a Windows 11 Operating System. I have tried to follow the instructions in the Lionel web sit and they don't work at all. Anyone else with Windows 11 had any lucl installing B3SU.

Thanks

I’m using a 2019 MacBook Pro with 2.3 Ghz Quad-Core i5 processor.

I've had no problems loading or running the B3SU. Backups work fine and when I look for the B/U files in File Explorer they show up just fine in a folder named "Base3 Backups"

@Howard Reed posted:

Help, I am trying to install The new Base 3 System Utility on my computer. The computer is a Windows 11 Operating System. I have tried to follow the instructions in the Lionel web sit and they don't work at all. Anyone else with Windows 11 had any lucl installing B3SU.

Thanks

If you look at the specs at the Lionel Power and Control web page you will see that the B3SU was made to be compatable with Win  7 up to Win 10. I have a Windows 10 and a Windows 11 computer. It installed and ran fine on the Windows 10. It would not install on Windows 11. It shows Lionel is not a software company and these days with virtually all new PCs having Windows 11 as the operating system why they would create and release an application incompatable with Windows 11 is beyond me. And Windows 10 is approaching its end of life next year. So it has an expiration date. Lionel needs to come out with a Windows 11 version soon. Also the thing is so old fashioned in its inferface it's like something made for Windows 98 or Windows Vista. I have a Base 3 but I don't use it. It's not worth it.

@Dave 69 GTEL posted:

If you look at the specs at the Lionel Power and Control web page you will see that the B3SU was made to be compatable with Win  7 up to Win 10. I have a Windows 10 and a Windows 11 computer. It installed and ran fine on the Windows 10. It would not install on Windows 11. It shows Lionel is not a software company and these days with virtually all new PCs having Windows 11 as the operating system why they would create and release an application incompatable with Windows 11 is beyond me. And Windows 10 is approaching its end of life next year. So it has an expiration date. Lionel needs to come out with a Windows 11 version soon. Also the thing is so old fashioned in its inferface it's like something made for Windows 98 or Windows Vista. I have a Base 3 but I don't use it. It's not worth it.

It installed on Win 11 fine for me.   So, it does work.

In general, most apps will install on Win 11 even if not technically supported.   You might want to check your antivirus, or firewall settings.  If using Windows Defender, turn it off while installing.  You did not show what actually happened when you said it won't install.  Running installation as Admin is also a good idea.

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

It installed on Win 11 fine for me.   So, it does work.

In general, most apps will install on Win 11 even if not technically supported.   You might want to check your antivirus, or firewall settings.  If using Windows Defender, turn it off while installing.  You did not show what actually happened when you said it won't install.  Running installation as Admin is also a good idea.

It just starts to execute and then quits. Both PCs have Defender and Norton setup the same way. I'll experiment and turn off Norton on the Windows 11 and try it. Although I don't need to run it on the Windows 11 at this point. Did you do anything to set the compatability with Windows 10 that the application ran as?

@Dave 69 GTEL posted:

It just starts to execute and then quits. Both PCs have Defender and Norton setup the same way. I'll experiment and turn off Norton on the Windows 11 and try it. Although I don't need to run it on the Windows 11 at this point. Did you do anything to set the compatability with Windows 10 that the application ran as?

No compatibility settings were needed.  Also, Windows Defender is notorious for stopping application installs.  Plus, usually if you have full Norton antivirus, Defender is not needed.   My guess is the .exe is being stopped.  You can disable Norton and Defender to run it.  Then re-enable them.  See if that works.

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

No compatibility settings were needed.  Also, Windows Defender is notorious for stopping application installs.  Plus, usually if you have full Norton antivirus, Defender is not needed.   My guess is the .exe is being stopped.  You can disable Norton and Defender to run it.  Then re-enable them.  See if that works.

I don't know how you did it because Windows Defender is disabled by Norton and disabling Norton virus and firewall protection does not help. Windows 11 does not have a compatability tab on this intallation program. Windows 11 has limited support for older program compatability. And it turns out Compatability Mode is being retired. You must have something set just right for it to work and I can't imagine what it is. If it is really compatable with Windows 11 it shouldn't be this difficult to install.

Thanks for your help Sean.

@Dave 69 GTEL posted:

I don't know how you did it because Windows Defender is disabled by Norton and disabling Norton virus and firewall protection does not help. Windows 11 does not have a compatability tab on this intallation program. Windows 11 has limited support for older program compatability. And it turns out Compatability Mode is being retired. You must have something set just right for it to work and I can't imagine what it is. If it is really compatable with Windows 11 it shouldn't be this difficult to install.

Thanks for your help Sean.

One other thing.  It is downloaded from Lionel's site as a zip file.  You are not trying to run it directly out of the zip file, correct?

If so, you should extract it first to your desktop or somewhere, then run the install program.

Just verifying simple stuff.

Others have installed on Win 11 too, so it definitely works not just for me.

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

One other thing.  It is downloaded from Lionel's site as a zip file.  You are not trying to run it directly out of the zip file, correct?

If so, you should extract it first to your desktop or somewhere, then run the install program.

Just verifying simple stuff.

Others have installed on Win 11 too, so it definitely works not just for me.

No it was extracted on my Widows 11 laptop and after unsuccessful execution I tranferred the extracted app to my Windows 10 desktop via a USB drive and copied it to a drive and it installed without a problem.

@Sean's Train Depot posted:

One other thing.  It is downloaded from Lionel's site as a zip file.  You are not trying to run it directly out of the zip file, correct?

If so, you should extract it first to your desktop or somewhere, then run the install program.

Just verifying simple stuff.

Others have installed on Win 11 too, so it definitely works not just for me.

Do you have Windows 11 Home or Pro?

I just completed the download  and "unzipping" of the Base 3 System Utility to my Win 11 PC. It did not require disabling any functions installed on the computer. Possible the problems encountered are Computer brand/configuration specific.

I also just purchased a new iPad Mini A17Pro and installed the Cab 3 app on it, then paired it with the Base 3 in Access Point mode. So far no issues. Also paired the large iPads with the LCS App to the Base 3. Next step is to make a Black Module with all my 990 Base files for transfer to the Base 3. The new iPad Mini is really nice, but expensive. Its the right size for me to use the controls.

I loaded the B3SU on my windows 11 home.   The install file had to be on the C: drive.  Not run from a USB or other drive.  It started and failed quickly when not on the C: drive.

My best guess on the failure to install on Win11 is the Microsoft C++ support files you have installed.    These are the ones on my computer, maybe some of the ollder x86 ones are needed.   I had some older software that needed the 2008/2010 era files.   The files for the B3SU are from 1998 to 2024 from the setup file list.

@VHubbard posted:

I loaded the B3SU on my windows 11 home.   The install file had to be on the C: drive.  Not run from a USB or other drive.  It started and failed quickly when not on the C: drive.

My best guess on the failure to install on Win11 is the Microsoft C++ support files you have installed.    These are the ones on my computer, maybe some of the ollder x86 ones are needed.   I had some older software that needed the 2008/2010 era files.   The files for the B3SU are from 1998 to 2024 from the setup file list.

I think you're on to something there with one of those redistributable packages or some other "shim" package that either the installer or the B3SU program itself requires be present.

The best thing would be for Lionel to package the required dependencies with the application, or at least state what must be installed already for both the installer and program to work.

@AmFlyer posted:

I just completed the download  and "unzipping" of the Base 3 System Utility to my Win 11 PC. It did not require disabling any functions installed on the computer. Possible the problems encountered are Computer brand/configuration specific.

I also just purchased a new iPad Mini A17Pro and installed the Cab 3 app on it, then paired it with the Base 3 in Access Point mode. So far no issues. Also paired the large iPads with the LCS App to the Base 3. Next step is to make a Black Module with all my 990 Base files for transfer to the Base 3. The new iPad Mini is really nice, but expensive. Its the right size for me to use the controls.

My Win 11 Home laptop is a Dell Alienware m16 R1. Dell is known for having proprietary hardware and software so maybe the laptop itself is blocking installation for some reason. However I still think Lionel needs to look at the Win 11 compatability of the B3SU because while some are successful there have been others saying they could not install it. And Lionel does not apparently guarantee Win 11 compatability.

Assuming you have the necessaary serial cable, or LCS WIFI to connect your Base2 to your PC to create the black module engine roster it might work better to upload a backup of your roster to the PC from the Base2 and then link to the Base3 with the B3SU to download the whole thing at once from the backup file. Otherwise you would have to do each engine individually from the black module which could be tedious.

@VHubbard posted:

I loaded the B3SU on my windows 11 home.   The install file had to be on the C: drive.  Not run from a USB or other drive.  It started and failed quickly when not on the C: drive.

My best guess on the failure to install on Win11 is the Microsoft C++ support files you have installed.    These are the ones on my computer, maybe some of the ollder x86 ones are needed.   I had some older software that needed the 2008/2010 era files.   The files for the B3SU are from 1998 to 2024 from the setup file list.

My Dell PC only has a single 1TB M.2 SSHD so everything goes to C:. Knowing Dell you may very well have something with the Visual Basic C++ files. The B3SU installer ought to pack the needed VB C++ files in it, if it doesn't, to be sure the user has it.