IMatch Doed Not Start on a New MacBook

[moviemaker445]

Hi Mario,
I have been using IMatch on an Intel based Mac which is running Parallels Software and Windows 10.
It works beautifully. :-)

Last week I purchased a new MacBook Pro, updated the Parallels software and installed Windows 11.

I then installed IMatch on Windows 11 which went smoothly and completed successfully.

However, after the successful installation, when I try to launch the IMatch App, I get a spinning blue doughnut for a second or two then there is no further response.

I have just completed a support session with Parallels and they have suggested the issue is caused by incompatabilities between IMatch and Parallels/Windows involving ARM architecture and something called AVX.

They told me to ask you if you have an installer for 'Windows 11 ARM Edition' which may resolve the issue.

Warm regards,
Peter J 

[Mario]

ARM is a totally different processor architecture than Intel/AMD. IMatch is not designed to run on ARM processors or Windows for ARM. That's a niche platform.
If your hypervisor does not provide Intel/AMD compatibility, IMatch will not run on your proprietary M* Apple hardware, sorry. Or if it does, but does not provide support for the decade-old AVX processor feature, IMatch will not run.
IMatch expects AVX processor features to be present since IMatch 2021.
AVX is around for more than 10 years, after all. It helps IMatch to speed up AI features like face recognition and other things.

Apple cut all ties to Intel in favor of their own M* processor family, willingly breaking compatibility with all "Run Windows software on Mac" software products around. Apple does not want this, because it cuts into their profit margin.

[moviemaker445]

Thanks for your detailed reply Mario,
IMatch is my 'go to' solution for managing my media these days and is indispensable.
Thankfully, I have around a month to return the Macbook and get a refund.

My next option is to purchase a Windows Laptop to use IMatch and network it to my iMac. I was a 30 year PC user but switched to Mac around 15 yrs ago so have lost touch with PCs. I know you publish minimum equipment requirements for IMatch, but could you please suggest a brief spec for a Windows Laptop on which IMatch would 'fly'? :-)

Cheers
Peter

[Mario]

I've just purchased a very fast Dell Inspiron and IMatch and my development environment work very well on it.
The laptop runs Windows 11 Pro, has 10 processor cores, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, a 16" 2560 pixel HDR non-touch screen, a very usable keyboard, multi-touch touch pad and a fast Intel on-board GPU and secondary NVidia GPU with 8 GB RAM for games and AI.

The 32GB RAM and the good keyboard are most important for me.
I type a lot and run many memory-hungry applications like Photoshop or containers. I've paid less than 1,300€ (~1,400US$) during Black Friday Week. For a 'professional' developer machine, this is a very good price.

This laptop performs about as well as my 4 year old workstation PC!

Basically all computer vendors like Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, MSI etc. offer similarly systems for similar prices. You can even get systems with 64GB RAM and 4 TB SSD and 4K touch screens. Almost all can drive two or even three external monitors with 4K via Displayport, Thunderbold or HDMI 2.1

Since I've purchased a Dell, I can swap the RAM, the SSD, the Wi-Fi card, the battery, the fans and many other parts myself with a screw driver. It's even explained in detail in the owners manual. Looking at you, Apple

I needed a laptop "now" as a backup for my main computer since the old backup died
I've purchased a reasonably priced system (for professional use), but did not go for the high-end.

Because Intel has just released a new mobile processor generation which is a rival to Apple's M3 line.
Much faster, less energy-hungry than the current Intel line-up and with integrated AI performance features.
I think we'll see new laptop generations using these chips from all companies in spring or summer. If you can wait, wait until then.

[moviemaker445]

Thank you so much. I very much appreciate your thoughts Mario.

My need is not urgent so I will heed your advice and wait till machines with the Intel processors become available.
Cheers
Peter

[voronwe]

The problem is really that Parallels does not work that well on the Mac-M. This is because it has to simulate the x86-Architecture, which is of course a problem.
I had the same problem with other programms, so I have to stay on my x86-Mac as long as possible.

[moviemaker445]

Hi Mario,
I came across this statement on the internet today and am wondering if the Windows 11 H242 'Prism emulator' may now enable IMatch to run an M Series Mac using Parallels.
(I hope so as it will save me a lot of inconvenience of running IMatch on a PC and somehow networking it with my Mac to access the media managed with IMatch)


The Statement is:

""" Yes, you can install and run most Windows apps on Windows 11 Arm-based PCs just as you would on other Windows 11 PCs.  Apps do not need to come from the Microsoft Store in Windows.

Apps that have been rebuilt for Windows Arm-based PCs will have the best performance.  Many of the top Windows apps have been rebuilt for Windows Arm-based PCs already and more are on the way.

Other apps that have not been built for Windows Arm-based PCs will run seamlessly using emulation.  Windows 11 Arm-based PCs running Windows 11 24H2 include the Prism emulator for improved performance for emulated applications. """

Cheers.

[Mario]

The Intel-Emulator Microsoft supplies with their ARM-Models works for some software, not for others.
I have not purchased a computer running ARM-WIndows because I don't need one and I don't want to spend 1000 bucks now. The market is too volatile and new ARM-Laptops are released every month, with better specs.

Many of the top Windows apps have been rebuilt for Windows Arm-based PCs already and more are on the way.

This statement refers to software from BIG houses, aka Microsoft and Adobe (Photoshop has an Arm-Version, Premiere has not).

"Rebuilt" sounds so simple, but it is not.

Making IMatch run natively on ARM may not require a rebuilt, but massive changes in the code base. And all 3rd party components and libraries and open source code I use would also have to be migrated to ARM, and I don't see this happen. ExifTool should run, since it is Perl. The Chromium browser engine should be available or ported soon.
IMatch makes have use of the Microsoft Foundation classes, which seem to have many issues when running on ARM. Only Microsoft can fix that - if they even bother.

In short, don't expect an ARM-Version of IMatch to appear soon.
If you have an ARM-Laptop, let me know how IMatch behaves.

[moviemaker445]

Thank you for the feedback Mario. I am still using my x86-Mac (like voronwe) after returning the Macbook because it had other issues as well as not running IMatch.

I hope those malicious DoS attacks have ceased. It must be so frustrating to be subjected to that situation.

Cheers

[Mario]

I hope those malicious DoS attacks have ceased. It must be so frustrating to be subjected to that situation.

There is no adjusting, unfortunately.
Unless you pay big bucks to specialized vendors to deal with the massive traffic, you cannot do anything, Thousands or tens of thousands of computers accessing the community at the same time for malicious reasons, that's not something a reasonably priced server can handle.

[philburton]

I hope those malicious DoS attacks have ceased. It must be so frustrating to be subjected to that situation.

There is no adjusting, unfortunately.
Unless you pay big bucks to specialized vendors to deal with the massive traffic, you cannot do anything, Thousands or tens of thousands of computers accessing the community at the same time for malicious reasons, that's not something a reasonably priced server can handle.

You would need a robust firewall to protect all your servers.

DoS attacks are part of the overall nasty parts of the Internet, which include ransomware, identity theft, and theft of confidential information.  Some of the actors are state-sponsored, others are criminal organizations.

[moviemaker445]

P.S. I forgot to mention that I think the new graphics in the latest release of IMatch are fantastic. I find it much easier with the larger text in the drop down menus and especially the clarity of the new icons overlaid on the thumbnails.

[Mario]

P.S. I forgot to mention that I think the new graphics in the latest release of IMatch are fantastic. I find it much easier with the larger text in the drop down menus and especially the clarity of the new icons overlaid on the thumbnails.

Thanks! I have already googly eyes from drawing all the new icons for IMatch 2024/2025. But I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Currently I'm reworking ~200 help pages to include new screen shots where needed because of the new ribbons, menus and icons used

[moviemaker445]

Mario, my local electronics shop has a deal going at the moment on a laptop with an Intel Ultra 9 chip inside.

Bearing in mind your earlier comment:
"In short, don't expect an ARM-Version of IMatch to appear soon.
If you have an ARM-Laptop, let me know how IMatch behaves."

Is there a possibility that IMatch might run on this machine?

I know its probably not the best PC for full blown media work, but I am considering it as a backup so I can keep working with IMatch in case my Intel i9 iMac dies and is away for repair. I would only buy if the dealer guarantees I can return it if IMatch won't work (The screen res, RAM, and SSD are similar to your Dell laptop but graphics chip might be a bit laggy. The OLED screen is lovely to look at though.)

Its full specs are:

    Processor: Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Processor 185H 2.3 GHz (24MB Cache, up to 5.1 GHz, 16 cores, 22 Threads); Intel® AI Boost NPU

    Operating System: Windows 11 Pro

    Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X on board

    Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD

    Graphics: Intel® Arc™ Graphics

    Display: 14-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) 120Hz OLED 16:10 aspect ratio Touch Screen and comes with Stylus

Cheers
Peter

(Hope your googly eyes are holding up ok - I am looking forward to seeing the new graphics in IMatch 2024/2035 :-

[Mario]

This look likes a very fast computer. It should run IMatch very fast.
The PCIe 4.0 SSD is very fast and that's really helpful for applications like IMatch.

Modern laptops usually surprise users. My 1,000US$ Dell laptop with an i7, 32GB RAM and a separate NVIDIA GPU is as fast, if not even faster, as my 4 year old workstation PC.

I went for the extra NVIDIA graphic card (the integrated Intel Arc GPU is used for displaying stuff to screen) because it allows it to run modern AI loads (aka AI running locally) faster than the NVIDIA GPU I currently have in my workstation PC. And that's important for me. Running AI locally will become more and more important. Other people may want this because they are gamers. If a second graphic card is an option for your new laptop, consider it.

If you work a lot with movies (encoding), a dedicated graphic card is very desirable. The Intel Arc series is fine for displaying stuff on screens and maybe light gaming, but for video-encoding and AI work, NVIDIA mobile graphic cards run circles around Arc. Not to mention separate NVIDIA graphic cards you can plug into desktop PCs (and which easily cost as much or twice as much as your entire new laptop).

[lbo]

ExifTool should run, since it is Perl.

Nah. I doubt you will find Perl for Windows running on Arm

[Mario]

There are Perl versions for ARM. There are Linux versions of ExifTool.

[lbo]

There are Perl versions for ARM. There are Linux versions of ExifTool.

Perl developers are reluctant regarding Windows. I really doubt there will be Perl for Windows-ARM soon.

[RobiWan]

Phil has changed his Exifool distribution