Sorry for such a slow reply! I gave up and worked on a different computer instead.
But I would still like this sorted for future projects...
When running the .exe files:
._vcredist_vs2008SP1_x86
and
._vcredist_x86
I get the message: The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need x86 (32 bit) or x64 (64 bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.
However, when running them 'AS ADMINISTRATOR', I get:
Windows cannot find 'C:\Users\Hannah\Downloads\Vectorworks2010SP2SeriesEENGFull\Vect...\._vcredist_x86.exe'
Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.
Running vcredist_vs2008SP1_x86 (.exe) opens Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Setup with the option of repair or uninstall. (seems fine).
Running vcredist_x86 (.exe) , I'm asked to accept the license agreement for Visual C++ 2005, and then allow the program to make changes to the computer (user center thing). again seems fine.
Thanks for your replies so far! hope we can get to the bottom of it!
Hannah
(I now have 4GB RAM)