LR 2.3 crashing again on XP PC

[BostonRott]

LR 2.3 crashing again on XP PC -- is there any reason for this???

I had asked for help with this previously, and went through the trouble-shooting / delete Prefs file solution. That worked for awhile. Now it's back to crashing. I can't tell you how angered I am that I have spent money on a program which does not reliably work. :evil::evil::evil:

I have upgraded from 2.3RC to 2.3. The program sometimes will load, sometimes will just stick at the point where the grey box tells you all the names of who made it. If it gets past that point, I can work in the library module. As soon as I try to click on develop, it locks up, with my cursor being stuck as an hour glass.

Once this happens, the only way to get the stupid thing to re-open is to completely reboot my computer.

..........

Ok, so after 3 more re-starts of my computer, I have again (for the 5th time in 2 days) deleted the Prefs file, and STILL LR will not allow me to use anything but the Library module.

I am seriously looking at uninstalling and selling this program. I'm worried it's trashing my computer by destabilizing it. When this "doesn't work" issue comes up, and I use CTL ALT DEL, the CPU usage is upwards of 5'% (with only LR running) and sometimes as high as 85% AFTER I have closed it down (by using the End now function).

Are they any known issues with LR2.3 and instability?? This is very maddening, I can't tell you how angry I am at the money I've spent on a program which doesn't work.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi Gretchen, sorry to hear you're having trouble. Most people are having no trouble with 2.3.

If you've trashed the preferences, I'd suspect catalog issues. Try starting a fresh catalog (hold down Ctrl while starting LR) and start a clean one somewhere. Try importing a few test images into it, and let us know if that solve it. If it does, we can work from there.

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Gretchen, I hear you loud and clear......... Point is there must be something on your system that is the underlying cause as what is happening for you does not happen for others.
So, we need to work through this. Personally I won't be much use as I am a Mac user. There will be one of the gurus who will help though........

Hang in there honey, you are worth it!!

 

[BostonRott]

Victoria,

I tried to make a new catalog, and got the dialog box to do so. However, at that point, the program then just hung (it wouldn't start). I shut down the computer again, rebooted, deleted the Pref file again, tried the CTL button when starting, and it allowed me to make a new catalog file name, and then hung at the box which asks whether I want automatic or manual updates. I can't get any further than that.

Will uninstalling and re-installing do any good? Something is VERY wrong at this point. I am unable to start the program at all, and after it crashes, my PC is screwed up and has to be rebooted. :(

 

[Brad Snyder]

Uninstall/reinstall is the next step Gretchen.

The symptoms you're having are not very common, and are mostly repaired with the new preferences or new catalog steps. So, as Geoff says, it's likely something else is involved as well.

If you've told us more details about your computer and setup, I've lost track. What's your setup like? Relatively modern machine? Plenty of memory? Are your disks anywhere near full? Have you ever had Lr 1.x installed?

 

[BostonRott]

Thank you Brad. I will try the uninstall/re-install next.

The computer is 18mos old (HP), It has 2Gb of memory. The disk is about 6'% full at this point. No, never owned/ran LR1. Machine runs XP, and to my knowledge is fully upgraded on Windows updates.

 

[Brad Snyder]

One other thing I can think of that you mentioned in the PM to me. Video adapter problems can cause trouble with the module switch from Library to Develop.

I'd suspect that your HP machine has an integrated mother board video adapter. You might want to investigate whether you have the most recent driver for that from HP or the the chipset mfgr. There are many reports of the automated Microsoft Windows Update process accidentally installing outdated drivers over newer current drivers.

Do you happen to know any of the CPU details/specs?

 

[billg71]

Gretchen,

I think an uninstall/reinstall might be your best bet. After uninstalling, I'd suggest you set a restore point and then download and run a cleaning program like CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com/download , run it in both the cleaner and registry modes and restart. Also, Windows Update may not load the latest drivers, I'd check the HP site for any newer drivers, especially for video. Video driver problems seem to have an affinity for screwing up photo-processing programs, it never hurts to check for newer versions occasionally.

If you're being good about backups you might want to run a full one and then defrag the hard drive before the reinstall. You can use the Windows defrag utility or, my preference, a third-party utility like Diskeeper (you can download a trial version: http://www.diskeeper.com/diskeeper/home/trialware.aspx?RId=1&SId=2&CId=1&Aeid='&Apid=' ).

I'd also disable any security programs except the basic antivirus before installing.

It sounds like there's something goofing up your system so that's why I'm suggesting the housekeeping chores. Windows installs get sort of gunked up over time if you don't do a little routine maintenance, a good cleaning can sometimes help.

Hope you get it up and running smoothly!
Bill

P.S. Adobe has a troubleshooting TechNote for system problems: http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb4'4'99&sliceId=1

 

[Brad Snyder]

Thanks Bill, I think we need all the help we can get with this one.

 

[BostonRott]

Brad,

You know....I think that there was some sort of Windows update (overnight) this past week, and problems started after that. I believe you're correct about the integrated set. I'm not very facile with the minute details of systems, but when I did buy this one, I had been looking at putting my own together (for less $$). The integrated video card stands out in my <fried> brain.

I just tried uninstall, but I don't think it really worked. I couldn't find a LR uninstall via the start menu, so I just used the Windows control panel. After the uninstall was done, there were still LR folders (and lots of them!) in /Aplications Data/Adobe/LR. I then installed the 2.3 version that I DL'd the other day, and my catalog was instantly back in the program. So did it not really uninstall?

I do disk defrags every few weeks (I shoot RAW, and am shooting daily, so upload/delete a lot of large photo files). Today I also ran a CHKDSK (took 3.5+ hrs). Those have come out ok.

I've never set a restore point before, but will look that up, and then see about running the program that Bill suggests. I will also check for updated drivers.

I very much appreciate all the help here!!! There's a lot going on in life right now, and to sit down this afternoon and still be having LR issues (after about 3 days) and no time to trouble-shoot, my frustration levels are high. :(

 

[billg71]

Hey, Brad, I'll try.. I ran LR on XP up until around November when I switched to Vista, never had any problems at all. We don't hear too much about problems with LR just flat refusing to run, that's why I think you're right about it being a system problem.

Maybe a reinstall will work, let's see what Gretchen has to say.

Bill

 

[BostonRott]

Here's a dumb question about reinstalling: shouldn't it re-ask me for the S/N? When I re-installed the 2.3 version (my disks that I purchased are 2.'), it just loaded up, with my photos from last import down in my filmstrip.........like it had never been gone.

Did I not properly uninstall?

 

[billg71]

Gretchen, it should have uninstalled from the Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, it's normal for some programs to leave settings files in AppData. Hopefully, your presets are still there.

Don't remember how to get to System Restore in XP but I think it's in Start-Accessories-System Tools.

Glad to hear you're up and running! Now if it will just stay that way...
Bill

 

[BostonRott]

Here is a paste of the Systems info (via LR):

Lightroom version: 2.3 [xxx]
Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 26'')
Version: 5.1 [26'']
Application architecture: x86
System architecture: x86
Physical processor count: 2
Processor speed: 3.3 GHz
Built-in memory: 2'47.3 MB
Real memory available to Lightroom: 716.8 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 245.1 MB (34.2%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 245.8 MB
Memory cache size: '.' MB
Serial Number: x x x
Application folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3
Library Path: C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat

 

[BostonRott]

Gretchen, it should have uninstalled from the Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, it's normal for some programs to leave settings files in AppData. Hopefully, your presets are still there.

Don't remember how to get to System Restore in XP but I think it's in Start-Accessories-System Tools.

Glad to hear you're up and running! Now if it will just stay that way...
Bill

No, it's not running yet. I did one uninstall/re-install and it still doesn't run. Will uninstall again, then run CCleaner (after setting a restore point) and re-install and see what happens. It did just start for me, but I'm afraid to hit Develop (Library is running, but Develop seems to hang/crash right now). I did re-install the NVIDIA driver from HP.

 

[BostonRott]

Ok, so final update for the night: it still does not work.

Removed, ran CCleaner, rebooted, re-installed. Made a new catalog, tried to click on Develop and it locked up again. Wouldn't even close with CTL ALT DEL, had to force the PC to shut down. It said "End now" but when I clicked on that, it still didn't work and the hourglass stayed locked in the LR screen.

It was giving me problems 2 days ago, but after the Pref file deletion, I got it working again. Yesterday and today, doesn't work at all.

I have no idea what else to do.

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Down here we would say Bu^%$#er!!

Anyone else have any ideas - who wants to pop over to Boston and sort out Gretchen and her dogs!!:lol::lol:

 

[Brad Snyder]

Sorry, Gretchen. I'm still stuck on the video thing.

Have a look and see if you have nVidia's nView desktop manager running. That causes trouble, and you should shut it down.Access that thru Windows display properties or the control panel. Also have a search here on the forum, for keyword 'nVidia', there are a couple of threads discussing 'settings' changes. I'll post the links in the AM (US east coast for me) but it's getting past my bed time for searching tonite.

 

[BostonRott]

Yes, nView is running. The last time I let it spin (just to see how long it would spin), I finally got a message from nView talking about "this program is not running." Need to get coffee and pancakes going for the a.m., will try to find nVidia's nView later. Will also peruse the forums more later (probably not til kids' naptime).

Thank you Bill and Brad for your continued help on this!

 

[billg71]

Gretchen,

I did some checking on my XP machine and the Microsoft site, it looks like MS pushed out some non-security updates on 2/25 which, coincidentally, happens to be the date you started having this problem....

"LR 2.3RC crashing on XP PC - '2-25-2''9, 1':15 PM
I had problems with LR2.' not running very well when I first purchased it about a month ago. I upgraded to 2.2 and after suggestions here, to 2.3RC (Thanks Victoria! ). It has been running fine, in that, each time I go to use the program, it starts right up.

Today, I came down to find my computer had rebooted (no idea why, don't think we had a power blink, but who knows what occured in the middle of the night). I went to start LR, and it won't start. All it does is come up with the initial large grey box that lists the developers, and that's it. This is exactly what it was doing when I had problems before.

It does not lock up the PC, though it seems to run rather slowly after this occurs. I tried both a re-start and a complete shut down of the PC. I've scan disk'd and clean disk'd. Nada. Still won't start. "

I'd be willing to bet something in this update FUBAR'd your Lightroom installation. To see what got downloaded, go to Add/Remove Programs, check the "Show Updates" box at the top, and scroll down to the "Windows XP Software Updates" section and look for anything installed on 2/25. The only update for XP that got pushed into Auto Update was KB967715, which addressed an issue with Autorun. There's a whole laundry list of complaints and problems with this update on the Windows Update discussion group: http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?query=kb967715&cboDiscussionGroup=en_US_2231886c-4c59-45b'-92e'-8881ddf5f4'b%3Amicrosoft.public.windowsupdate%3Aen%3AUS%3A%3A%3A%3A&=Go&dg=microsoft.public.windowsupdate&cat=en_US_2231886c-4c59-45b'-92e'-8881ddf5f4'b&lang=en&cr=US&pt=&catlist=&dglist=&ptlist=&exp=&sloc=en-us so it might be causing your LR problem.

Do you have LR set to "Show import dialog when a memory card is inserted..." ? If so, that uses the Windows autorun function and that could be a problem. Try deselecting it in Preferences-Import and see if there's any change.

You could try uninstalling the KB967715 update from Add/Remove Programs, reboot and see if LR works. If it doesn't, first try renaming the prefs file and, if that doesn't help, do the uninstall/reinstall with Lightroom again.

If Lightroom runs after uninstalling the KB9677115 update, you'll need to prevent Auto Updates from downloading it again. If you run Windows Update manually and select the Custom option, you'll see it in the list of updates and you can check the "Don't show this update again" box, which should keep it from downloading in the future.

If Lightroom still doesn't run, you can do a System Restore to the 2/25 date and see if that helps. It's found in Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools and you should have a restore point available for 2/25. If Lightroom runs after the restore, you'll know the problem was due to something that happened after this date and you can run Windows Update in custom and install the security updates one at a time. If that's the case, you can PM or email me and we'll see if we can get you through this. System Restore is something I try last when troubleshooting, it won't lose data but you will lose any programs or updates installed after the restore point.

If all this doesn't help, I'm out of ideas but I can't help thinking something happened right before you first noticed the problem and the Windows updates are the first thing that comes to mind. Let us know what happens.(or doesn't... :frown: )

Bill

EDIT: Saw your post about the nView control panel, try disabling that before you try my suggestions above. You may be able to disable it by right-clicking on the icon in the Taskbar or deleting it from the Start-All Programs-Startup folder, if not go to Start-Run..., type in "msconfig" and click OK. That takes you to the System Configuration Utility, click on the Startup tab and you'll see all the programs that load at startup. You can uncheck it there and restart. HTH!

 

[BostonRott]

Wow Bill! I sincerely appreciate your time and effort in researching all this!!!!! I hope this afternoon I can get this all straightened out. Will start with the nView disablement (Is that a word?!) and then proceed to the Windows update removal if things still aren't smooth.

 

[Brad Snyder]

And here are the links I promised to find for the nVidia settings.


[COLOR=#''''ff]http://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/showthread.php?t=5724[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#''''ff]http://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/showthread.php?t=3186&highlight=nvidia[/COLOR]

http://www.thejohnsonblog.com/2''8/'9/'6/lightroom-2-and-nvidia-performance/

 

[BostonRott]

Ok, I seem to be back in business!! My Develop module is again active!

I tried to remove nView Desktop manager via the Remove/change hardware function, but it wasn't listed there. All that I read around the 'net said that it should be. There was an Nvidia driver, which I removed, and I think is now re-installed.

I finally found it by right-clicking on the desktop, and there was something there about nVidia (or nView??)....I can't remember it's exact wording. It had a fly-out menu, which I followed, and then found a simple button to disable nView desktop manager completely. That whole option/flyout is now gone from my desk-top right-click......but I'm not worried, I have no wish to ever reinstate that silly thing.

Apparently a lot of software has issues with nView.

Thank you gentlemen for all of your help!!!!

I'm SOOO happy to not be relegated back to Bridge <shudder>. LR's Library function is just a God-send when working in the 2nd year of "Picture a day" projects.

One other thing I noticed last night: Library module was active, but at that point, Develop was not working. However, while in Library, I was able to use the Quick develop settings to adjust WB (didn't try anything more than that).

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Hopefully,xxx.
This has been an issue with others but haven't seen it lately!!:cheesy::cheesy::mrgreen::mrgreen:8)

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Brilliant news Gretchen, hope it carries on working!