Odd behavior with Ancient Chief Architecture V10.08b (circa 2006)

[jmmilner]

Was updating a simple 2D drawing of a possible kitchen renovation for a family member.  Not sure why but when I opened a wall specification I clicked on the Layer tab and bang:

 

Assertion failed!

Program: ...10.0 Full Version\Chief Architect 10 Full.exe

File: .\source\walldlg.cpp

Line: 3309

Expression: convertHdl != NULL && viewSceneHdl 1= NULL

For information ....Visual C++ .. asserts

 

The three options, Abort, Retry, and Ignore all cause an immediate crash to the desktop.

 

At first I assumed I'd messed up the model in some fashion but, starting from a blank plan, drawing a single wall, and selecting the Layers tab of the Wall Specification dialogue produced the same results.  Even opening one of the sample plans that came with CA, in a new instance of the program, ended the same way.  After all manner of fooling with Windows 11 settings, I when back to Windows 10 and then to an old Windows 7 machine and it happened on both.  Before I spin up a VM or dig out an even older PC, can somebody please repeat the single wall test and tell me if I'm alone?

 

The attached JPG shows my test case on a Windows 10 Pro machine (i7-14700K, 32GB, RTX 5070, 2TB NVMe):

Edited February 20 by jmmilner

[PitMan71]

I don't have 10 or I would test for you.... I don't know for sure, but in my experience these things happen because of a graphics driver incompatibility. I would do some checking to make sure the GPU driver you are using works with the chief version you are using. 

[jmmilner]

It took some time and a bit of AI (Gemini in this case) but the issue with Windows 10 turned out to be ASLR - Address Space Layout

Randomization.  Once I turned this "feature" off for the Chief Architect EXE file, the issue disappeared.  The following shows the changed setting - first search for "Exploit protection" to find this tab:

 

 

I'm still working on the problem for Windows 7 and 11 but as the Windows 10 machine is my triple monitor 14700K primary desktop, I'm largely back in business.

 

TL:DR

 Address Space Layout Randomization is a technique used to combat various exploitations that depend on knowing the exact location of a program's code, data, and/or stack.  It works by scrambling (randomizing) where these are located each and every time the program is run.  The exploit can guess or try other methods to compute where the code or data they want to attack is located, but the odds aren't in their favor.  Apparently whoever coded the Layers tab of the Wall Specification also depended on knowing how the data was laid out, which at one time (long ago) passed as cleaver.

 

In the process of making this change, I also discovered that Acrobat.exe and assorted friends actually forced this feature on for their executables - likely because, unlike a niche program like CA, Acrobat is ubiquitous and therefore a prime target for exploits.