Topic: MC24 Won't Start Normally (SOLVED) (Read 2358 times)

nwboater · « **on:** August 14, 2018, 05:57:33 pm »

When I try to start I get the error message shown in the attachment.

I have reinstalled the program as V.45 & 46 & both do the same thing. If however I click on a music file in Win File Manager it will open the program fine. I have reinstalled several times and it consistently returns the same error.

Log File sent to JRiver

Thanks for any help,
Rod

swiv3d · « **Reply #1 on:** August 14, 2018, 06:27:43 pm »

I would check the firewall/av settings for mc24 permissions.

nwboater · « **Reply #2 on:** August 15, 2018, 07:10:31 am »

Quote from: swiv3d on August 14, 2018, 06:27:43 pm

I would check the firewall/av settings for mc24 permissions.

Thanks for the suggestions. No joy though. I even turned Security off (firewall & AV) and it still wouldn't start. Maybe this is one for Jim's Weird & wonderful thread! It seems especially odd since it will start when I double click on a music file. Also I have MC23 still installed and it runs fine.

Cheers,
Rod

JimH · « **Reply #3 on:** August 15, 2018, 07:41:31 am »

I don't know gyazo and it wants javascript enabled. What is the message?

You can upload images as attachments here. Just edit your post.

nwboater · « **Reply #4 on:** August 15, 2018, 07:59:15 am »

Quote from: JimH on August 15, 2018, 07:41:31 am

I don't know gyazo and it wants javascript enabled. What is the message?

You can upload images as attachments here. Just edit your post.

Thanks Jim - I have edited the first post and sent Error Message as an attachment.

Cheers,
Rod

JimH · « **Reply #5 on:** August 15, 2018, 08:05:50 am »

I know that you disabled security, but that just smells like an antivirus problem. What are you using for antivirus?

What OS?

nwboater · « **Reply #6 on:** August 15, 2018, 09:12:23 am »

Quote from: JimH on August 15, 2018, 08:05:50 am

I know that you disabled security, but that just smells like an antivirus problem. What are you using for antivirus?

What OS?

I was using Norton Security. I have uninstalled it and am now running Windows Defender on my Win 10 PC. I temporarily disabled all Defender Security and it still gave the Error.

Thanks,
Rod

BradATIMA · « **Reply #7 on:** August 15, 2018, 10:06:35 am »

You could try downloading and installing Media Center again. Maybe Norton quarantined something it shouldn't have during an update or install.

JimH · « **Reply #8 on:** August 15, 2018, 10:08:19 am »

Good advice.

Make sure you reboot.

Windows Defender can also cause problems so don't assume it will play nice.

nwboater · « **Reply #9 on:** August 15, 2018, 11:44:22 am »

No Joy. Here is what I have done:
Removed Norton Security.
Disabled Defender AV and Firewall.
Uninstalled MC24.
Rebooted.
Confirmed Defender still off.
Installed MC24/46
Shut down MC 24 that was open from the install.

When I try to start MC I still get the same error. If I click on a music file in Explorer MC24 will open and play the music.

I still have MC23 installed & it is fine. Also when I do the uninstall of 24 I don't uninstall the library.

Do you suggest at this point to back up my libraries and do a full uninstall of 23 & 24, then reinstall 24?

Yesterday I emailed a log file.

Thanks,
Rod

JimH · « **Reply #10 on:** August 15, 2018, 12:11:31 pm »

Awesome Donkey has a Windows Defender thread here. There's a link at the bottom of this wiki page:

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Taming_Windows_Defender

nwboater · « **Reply #11 on:** August 15, 2018, 12:57:22 pm »

Quote from: JimH on August 15, 2018, 12:11:31 pm

Awesome Donkey has a Windows Defender thread here.

Are you suggesting that when I have Windows Defender AV & Firewall disabled that it could still cause the problem?

Thanks,
Rod

JimH · « **Reply #12 on:** August 15, 2018, 12:59:34 pm »

I've read enough about Windows Defender to believe that it can't be completely disabled. It comes back to life.

nwboater · « **Reply #13 on:** August 15, 2018, 01:01:53 pm »

Quote from: JimH on August 15, 2018, 12:59:34 pm

I've read enough about Windows Defender to believe that it can't be completely disabled. It comes back to life.

Sounds like our weed garden!

Thanks Jim.

JimH · « **Reply #14 on:** August 15, 2018, 03:16:45 pm »

May be a similar problem:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,117068.0.html

RoderickGI · « **Reply #15 on:** August 15, 2018, 07:40:26 pm »

I use Norton Security (their current version, after upgrading from Norton 360) and find that as long as it isn't set to Silent Mode, I get prompted for all firewall and other issues after upgrade or updates, or Norton automatically sets the rules correctly, but sometimes it takes a couple of attempts to catch all issues. As Jim mentions, Defender still runs at PC Boot time, even when Norton is the selected Firewall & Antivirus. Microsoft seem to do that now to prevent bad players getting a toe into your PC before a third-party security solution can launch.

This is what I would do if I was in you current situation:

1. Backup your library.
2. Uninstall both MC23 and MC24.
3. Delete the MC23 and MC24 program directories.
4. Reboot.
5. Reinstall Norton Security, check settings to make sure it isn't in Silent Mode by default. The remaining defaults are probably fine, but up to you.
6. Reboot.
7. Run Windows Update.
8. Reboot. Let any updates complete.
9. Run Windows Update again.
10. Reboot. Let any updates complete again. Check there are still no MC program directories. i.e. Nothing has been restored as per point 13 below.
11. Install MC24. Respond appropriately to any prompts from Norton Security.
12. Reboot.
13. Check MC24 starts fine. If not, something really weird is going on, like Windows is restoring protected files after they are deleted during an uninstall. Or perhaps if you have a Backup solution running, it has similar functionality and is restoring deleted components silently.
14. If point 13 was all fine, restore your library including settings, stop and restart MC24 to make sure all is good. (Optional reboot here.) Play music, video, TV, Panel, Gizmo, etc. if you use them, and respond to all Norton Security prompts as appropriate.

I suggest the above because I have seen Windows restore out of date protected files, and I have seen Windows forget which version of MC components it should be using through file associations. Not to forget Windows Defender is often a mystery in itself!

Oh, while doing the above there maybe be a step;
3a. Delete the "C:\Users\[UserID]\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 24\Plugins" directory, particularly if you use any non-standard plug-ins. It wouldn't hurt to do it anyway, as MC will redownload LAV, madVR, etc. as required. You would just need to be sure you had sources for any non-standard plug-ins.

Good luck.

nwboater · « **Reply #16 on:** August 15, 2018, 11:23:40 pm »

Hi RoderickGI,

Thanks very much for all the thought, thoroughness and effort you put into you put into your post here. I really appreciate it!

I was getting close to doing your steps 1-4, but had certainly not thought through the rest as you so helpfully laid out for me. I will soon be doing it all.

BTW this copy of MC is used on my office desktop Win10 PC. Nothing exotic about the application except that besides the Main Library, it is at times a Client of our MC Server where all our media is stored. It has a third library that I use to keep a large collection of music that goes on SanDisk Clip players for residents of a local care facility. Each residents player has its own Playlist of music that is tailored to their particular tastes, especially from their youth.

Thanks again,
Rod

RoderickGI · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2018, 02:03:20 am »

No problem Rod.

I normally like to find and fix problems rather than go through an uninstall/reinstall process, but Windows 10 is doing strange things after updates these days, so sometimes a clean sweep is a good idea. No doubt the underlying problem on your PC could be found and fixed, but it would take a certain amount of time, and remote diagnosis is a difficult thing. I still never reinstall Windows itself though, as stuff can always be fixed if you can find the issue!

My Office workstation PC has about the same use as yours. Often a Client on the HTPC Server, but also has a couple of local libraries for testing stuff, and a local library for syncing a certain range of songs to my phone.

I hope the process works for you.

nwboater · « **Reply #18 on:** August 18, 2018, 05:35:13 pm »

Hi RoderickGI,

I totally followed your procedure and it went without a glitch. All is working fine now!

Only slightly unusual thing is that I didn't get any prompts from Norton Security.

It still seems odd that MC24 had been working fine and then all of a sudden wouldn't start. I agree with you that it's usually better to try to find the cause of a problem, but in this case I felt it appropriate to 'shotgun' it. And very glad I did!

Thanks again for all your help with this.

Cheers,
Rod

RoderickGI · « **Reply #19 on:** August 18, 2018, 06:33:34 pm »

Excellent!

There have been lots of reports of Windows Updates breaking functionality in MC, and in other software. It seems pretty random and is probably due to the combination of software installed on a PC, and the versions installed. Microsoft is doing a lot more to customise how updates occur, and I think they just get it wrong sometimes.

Norton may have already remembered what rules to set up during the last installation, and retained those in the registry or somewhere after the uninstall. If you haven't played all media types in MC yet, there may still be some alerts to be displayed. Or you may not see any until MC25 is installed!

Regardless, it worked, so all is good in the world again.

JimH · « **Reply #20 on:** August 18, 2018, 11:47:42 pm »

Quote from: nwboater on August 18, 2018, 05:35:13 pm

Only slightly unusual thing is that I didn't get any prompts from Norton Security.

You may need to change a Norton setting. It should be in "verbose" mode so that it tells you when it does something dumb.

nwboater · « **Reply #21 on:** August 19, 2018, 08:57:35 am »

Quote from: JimH on August 18, 2018, 11:47:42 pm

You may need to change a Norton setting. It should be in "verbose" mode so that it tells you when it does something dumb.

Hi Jim,

I believe what you are referring to is 'Silent Mode' in Norton Security. It has been unchecked so Silent should not be enabled.

Thanks,
Rod

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Author Topic: MC24 Won't Start Normally (SOLVED) (Read 2358 times)

swiv3d