After installing the latest version of MPICH2, it was possible to rebuild pman_vis and get it to run from VS'  !   button. A console came up and its buttons operated as they apparently should.

However, using mpiexec for one or two nodes yields a hung process. No console appears. There must be something still that I am missing.

To run a two-node version, I used the following command:

   C:\Program_Files\MPICH2\bin\mpiexec -pwdfile Options.txt -exitcodes -hosts 2 familycomputer raethserver pman_vis

Options.txt contains:

   \Peter Raeth
   wickedale

The two nodes are connected via a cross-over cable and the firewall is turned off on both machines. (There are no outside connections.)

This process works just fine for cpi.

As always, thank you very much for your insights.