I purchased a not-for-resale copy of 3Ds Max 4.X many moons ago (2004). I primarily do software development and website design, so the functionality in that software is all I’ve ever needed.  I’ve been starving for work all year (seriously, the job market is a mess!).  I can barely pay my electric bill, nevermind plunk down the cash on a new copy of the latest and greatest. 

I’m down to owning one computer with Windows XP on it.  Obviously, Autodesk doesn’t support my software.  Autodesk basically told me I was on my own. 

I tried installing Max 4.2 on a Vista machine.  The Vista OS blew up (fatally) in what was probably an unrelated hardware error. (I could not get the drive to boot even after formatting it).  I’m tempted to try again but nervous that C-Dilla licensing may have initiated the problem.  I don’t know if anyone on the planet has tried installing 4.2 under Vista.  The only hits I found on Google with other people using 4.2 are the people with pirated versions, and I’m certainly not going to take their advice on Vista installations.  Honestly, why would anyone pirate 4.2 for Vista?  That’s like stealing a two day old half eaten cheeseburger to eat with a bottle of fine wine.  Nevermind, don’t answer that.

Question #1)
Is it worth trying to install 3Ds Max 4.2 on Vista again, or do I need to plan on keeping an XP Pro computer just for 3DS Max?

Question #2)
Assuming I earn enough money in the next year to justify purchasing it, what is the earliest / least expensive version of Max I can attempt to track down and purchase that might work on Vista/Windows 7?

Question #3)
If there isn’t an entry level priced version of Max, what is the least expensive competitor on the market that is Vista/W7 compatible and might give me similar functionality to what I’m currently getting?  (Remember, I’m already happy with an ancient version of 3DS, so perhaps there is something out there for a few hundred dollars that will do the trick).

I’m really hoping I can get 4.2 working on Vista.  I hope to upgrade in a year or two but for now I just want 4.2 running on the same machine as my Visual Studio, Lotus Notes and Adobe products.

you can try running virtual pc don’t if its going to work
max 4 came out years before vista i doubt you will be able to install it on vista without huge problems
1.) probaly better to keep xp if you don’t plan on upgrading your max to the latest version
2.) max 2010 is the latest version it is vista compatible right now it is not supported on win 7 because it has not been released to the public yet (0ct. 22) is when it is being released

The cheapest legitimate version of Max you can get is a student version, but there are loads of restrictions on those, primarily commercial (or Non-commercial, which ever way you look at it), BUT, you MUST be able to prove you’re a student before they let you buy one. This site: students.autodesk.com allow free downloads of student liscenses (I’m assuming.), but again, they won’t let you register to that site without proof of bieng a student (such as a college/school supplied e-mail address), I’m no longer a student (finished collage last year), so i can’t look around that site.

For a low cost/free alternative, that has just as much functionality (if not slightly more so) than the latest version of Max, try Blender, it’s free, learning curve is steap as hell though.

There are a few other alternatives that aren’t free, but, I think, don’t cost as much as Max, (the price of which is ridiculess, I’m sure Autodesk are trying to get rid of the hobbyist users like myself.)

These apps are:

Cinima 4D/Body paint - Maxon. The latter is the same as Cinema 4D, but comes with 3D painting and texture editing, came before Zbrush and Mudbox.

SoftImage XSI - Autodesk. Not sure how much this is, but there is a free version called Mod Tool, but again, that’s for non-comercial use.

Corrara 7 Pro - Daz Productions. Fairly cheap (compared to those I mentioned above), nice modeling toolset (I’ve only played around with version 5, and then, not oftern.) It’s primerily geared towards character creation/texturing/rendering, but it can do other things too.

Those are the ones i can think of off the top of my head.

Most of these will work with Vista out of the box, I’m sure support for Windows 7 will be added after it’s released.

I myself am using Max 8, and am thinking of eventually upgrading to Win 7 X64 bit to take full advantage of the Quad-core I have, I tried the trial versions of both 2009 and 2010, liked them both quite alot, but can’t aford them, and what I do anyway is primarily a hobby, so I don’t think i could justify paying 3 grand for a hobby, which brings me back to what i said earlier about Max’s ridiculess price for a single liscense.

My 3D work: here and here.

3ds Max 8 SP3 Educational Version (got it while in college)
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Win 7 Pro X64
Q6600 Intel 2.4GHz Quad Core CPU
8 GB DDR2 RAM
Samsung 400GB SATA2 Hard Drive
Asus Std Motherboard
ATI Radeon HD 3800 (I’m not sure how much memory this thing has now, dxdiag says it has 3GB, Sys info says 512MB....wierd)

I doubt that any kind of virtualization software will work for Vista or 4.2, either… Sorry.  Much easier to find an old PC with Win2K on it.

--Cy--