Quote: "I would need more information."
Here you go.
Without exception the failing exe files give the following error report:
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 17/07/2017 21:36:54
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: (100)
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: DESKTOP-6I7I0DT
Description:
Faulting application name: landscapeShowcase.exe, version: 1.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x4d460aea
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
[quote=]Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00000000
[/quote]Faulting process ID: 0x2b38
Faulting application start time: 0x01d2ff3c6ceb6f68
Faulting application path: C:\Users\jimbu\Documents\My Games Software\Dark Basic Professional\Talks\Launceston Computer Club\LandscapeShowcase\landscapeShowcase.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report ID: 8ceb4e73-fea9-40f9-9c03-c4358aa455f3
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Application Error" />
<EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>100</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2017-07-17T20:36:54.510612600Z" />
<EventRecordID>2860</EventRecordID>
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>DESKTOP-6I7I0DT</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>landscapeShowcase.exe</Data>
<Data>1.0.0.0</Data>
<Data>4d460aea</Data>
<Data>unknown</Data>
<Data>0.0.0.0</Data>
<Data>00000000</Data>
<Data>c0000005</Data>
<Data>00000000</Data>
<Data>2b38</Data>
<Data>01d2ff3c6ceb6f68</Data>
<Data>C:\Users\jimbu\Documents\My Games Software\Dark Basic Professional\Talks\Launceston Computer Club\LandscapeShowcase\landscapeShowcase.exe</Data>
<Data>unknown</Data>
<Data>8ceb4e73-fea9-40f9-9c03-c4358aa455f3</Data>
<Data>
</Data>
<Data>
</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Obviously the precise details will vary but two things stay the same, i.e. these two lines:
Quote: "Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00000000
"
I've looked up the meaning of that Exception code but am no nearer a convincing explanation.

Could it be caused by a hardware issue of some sort? I'm presently trying to see what, if anything, the failing exe's have in common (other than the fact that I wrote them of course

). At the moment, the main contenders are the use of Advanced Terrain and the use of IanM's version on the "make object plain" command. Interestingly, those two commands do something very similar, i.e. create multi-segmented plains. I don't yet know if other functions are implicated yet - certainly many of my other shader demos work perfectly. so it's not just a shader complexity issue and in fact shaders are not necessarily implicated at all. For example, the following very simple program is failing at the moment (yet the same exe works perfectly on my laptop):
set display mode desktop width(), desktop height(), 32
sync on : sync rate 60: sync
autocam off
position camera 0, 200, 0
point camera 0, 0, 0
color backdrop rgb (0,0,0)
make object plane 1, 100, 100, 24, 24
color object 1, rgb(0, 255, 0)
repeat
sync
until spacekey()
end