Win11 64x, Ludicrous specs, more cores and ram than any program can use, backed up by a 4080.
EDIT:
Again, I DID intentionally already have GIMP set up to run two different versions.. Which I doubt you guys support, but I have no idea WHY it did what it did with the auto-update nonsense.
Furthermore, I'm probably going to need some instruction to try to salvage my 2.8.x add-ons and filters, to get them working back under 2.8, without making a nightmare out of trying to reinstall all of them. :P Some of them already took some manual tweaking to get them working in 2.8, so I don't really want to have to try to scratch my head at it and have to sort it all back out again.
EDIT2:
Yeah, I think I'm hosed. Recuva Professional can't find a 2.8 folder under AppData/Roaming/GIMP, so I assume the auto-updater deleted it (or renamed it..?) before installing the new version(s) of GIMP. :'(
I mean.. I'm assuming that 2.10 would have done SOMETHING to the contents of those folders, to prepare them to work in 2.10, yes? I dunno, it's been a while since I set all of that stuff up in 2.8.
The installers in one stable branch remove the previous versions in their branch, simply to prevent the casual user from having e.g. both 2.10.36 and 2.10.38, and not knowing which one is run.
But it just takes copy&paste in Windows Explorer to preserve any installed version - e.g. copy the GIMP 2 directory, paste and rename GIMP 2.10.36, then run the 2.10.38 installer which will replace the GIMP 2 by itself, done.
I would have to check if the 2.10 installers are trying to remove GIMP 2.8, but even if they do so, any files which aren't part of the original 2.8 installers should remain. All the installers back to the 2.4 versions are available from https://download.gimp.org/gimp/, too.
The 3.0.x version from the Microsoft Store is so far the only version to have an auto-updater, but that should leave any other version alone.
Well.. I normally use Classic Start Menu, because I can't stand the Win10-11 menu. I just discovered that Windows is doing it's level best to try to hide the 2.10.36 install, and the 2.10.38 install. If I type "GIMP", it autofills 3.0.0 and tries to not let me see the 2.10.38 version. If I "FIX" the auto-search, it still won't show me the 2.10.36 version. Since it doesn't consider the 2.10.36 version an "App", and won't even show it to me, I'm relatively certain that the Microsoft Store installer is the one that hosed everything.
There's the question whether you installed GIMP for all users or just for your user. This is one case where you can end up with multiple 2.10 versions on one system, for example.
I'm not at all sure how to figure out how I handled it back when I made it dual install 2.8 and 2.10, since the 2.8 install is utterly gone, now. I suppose I could sniff around the registry for leftovers. If the Microsoft Store did bork the auto-update, there ought to be a pile of junk left scattered around the registry.
Currently, the version I installed as a program is 2.10.36. it does not show up in the Win11 Start Menu at all. The 2.10.38 version was installed as an app. It does show up in the Win11 Start Menu, if I make it show me it.
I'm pretty sure somebody could replicate that, and install one version as a program, and one as an app, without depending on the Microsoft Store to bork it up.
Personally, I avoid installing ANYTHING with the Microsoft Store, if I can avoid it. I've ran in to various issues with it, from practically non-uninstallable items to serious privacy concerns related to apps escaping their little MS app sandbox. I actually keep two different commercial uninstallers on my system, to make sure that I can rip anything Microsoft tries to force on me back off of my system, like a rotten tooth.
Any plug-ins and other add-ons would usually go into your personal GIMP profile directory, so these may still be there, and as I wrote, getting all the 2.8 installers is still possible.
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u/schumaml GIMP Team 12d ago
What platform are you on?