Problem running the updater

[Thomas Wolmer]

I have downloaded PAUpdater.exe but it fails to run correctly. It starts, but just gived me this message: "PAUpdater has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

I am running Windows XP SP2 and I have the following versions of .NET framework installed:

1.0
1.1
2.0 SP2
3.0 SP2
3.5 SP1

Maybe that's a bit too many...?

[heisenberg]

Having several versions of the framework installed shouldn't be a problem. I also have these and it still runs fine.

Searching around a bit for this error message I found this: Symantec Endpoint Protection was known to prevent every kind of .NET program to run properly. Either that or some similar program can be the cause. Another typical problem linked to this message is some kind of spyware/trojan program messing around on the computer.

An interesting question is how soon does the program manage to collapse? One of it's first task is to create a directory called "Books" next to itself. Did it do that, or died even sooner?

Another question related to this: is this the only .NET-based program that you cannot run, or all of them does this? Try to download Pindersoft's test program. If that fails too, then it's definately something else.

If all else fails, installing the SDK could still provide a solution. Right now I'm out of other ideas.

In the meantime I uploaded a different version of it. I don't expect it to solve this problem, but who knows? Could you please try that one too?

[Thomas Wolmer]

I am keeping Symantec crapware out of this machine so that shouldn't be the problem. Avast! is the antivirus I run, and I tried turning it off, but to no avail.

There's no "Books" directory created.

I get the same results with the new version.

I'm not very familiar with the .NET runtime... but shouldn't there be some way to trace program execution?

Edit: I tried Pindersoft's test program and it does work!

[heisenberg]

You can create a trace with CRL profiler, but I'm not sure how much help it could provide.

I have one last idea about what could cause this problem: I have uploaded a third one, see if it does the trick.

[Thomas Wolmer]

I installed the SDK and pressed the debug button in the error dialog when I ran the program. The debugger reports:

"An unhandled exception of type 'System.InvalidOperationException' occurred in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll

Additional information: Ett fel uppstod när formuläret skulle skapas. Mer information finns i Exception.InnerException. Felet är: Det gick inte att utföra den Visual Style-relaterade åtgärden eftersom inget visuellt format är aktivt för närvarande."

So, that last bit was obviously in Swedish... it basically means: "An error occused when the form was created. More information is found in Exception.InnerException. The problem is: It was not possible to perform the Visual Style related action because no visual format is currently active."

[Thomas Wolmer]

Ah, we're writing past each other... anyway, I now tried your latest version, but I got the same result.

[heisenberg]

That last message at least made some sense, but I'm worried about it's implications.

Now I uploaded a version that had the XP visual styles turned off. It makes the program much uglier but it should start now.

[heisenberg]

Okay, in the meantime I managed to recreate this error. After a right click-properties on the exe file, check out the compatibility tab. When I checked the disable visual styles (or something like that) checkbox and started the program, the exact same error appeared. When I removed it, the error also disappeared.

It also happened if one or more of XP's visual styles are turned off (I'm not sure which one's to blame exactly). Open Start menu, right click on My Computer, select Properties, open Advanced tab and click Performance's Settings button. Here, on visual effects, you can see several options. If one or more of these are not checked, it could also be the cause of the error message.

For now I'll leave the updater with the disabled XP visual styles on the site so you can confirm that one of these caused this particular problem.

[Dave]

The first error sounded like one I would get reports of if I accidentally packaged a debug version of the executable file. You might want to make sure you are making a "release" package.

[heisenberg]

To avoid such problems I only work with release versions even during development. If only that were the problem the installation of the sdk would have solved the problem. The reason it was so vague was because the redist package isn't fit for analizing the problem. With the addition of the sdk, the real cause of the problem became apparent (hence the more detailed message), and as such, trackable and solveable. I hope Thomas will be able to confirm this tonight.

I continued the investigation. Among visual effects, there's one key option: use visual styles on windows and buttons. This is the one that has to be checked, otherwise the Updater and later the program won't start.

[Thomas Wolmer]

I've now both tried turning on all visual styles, and the new version of the program, but there's no change.

[heisenberg]

Okay, I'm officially stuck with this problem. Later this week I'll try to rewrite it from scratch, maybe then I'll be able to figure out what's wrong...One last idea came to me for today. Try to download the updater now...

However, until I solve it for sure, let's try something else. I compiled a base package that can be downloaded from here. It contains the latest binaries (the ones the updater was supposed to download one by one). Give this a try please...

[Thomas Wolmer]

Breakthrough! The latest version works for me.

[heisenberg]

Finally!

Then at least half of the problem is solved. Although I'm still puzzled about why the error message appeared in the first place :S

What about the YAGaP itself?

[Thomas Wolmer]

I didn't have time to check it out much, I just started it and tested selecting a book (which worked).