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Plugin Error screen = Complete PC Freeze/Lockout


NeoSpearBlade

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This is a bug/error/crash/whatever but the troubleshooting section is not for problems with plugins involved. I'm unsure if the plugin was involved at all to begin with but I decided to put it here.

 

Well, this is an odd one and it's the first time this happened to me.

 

First, the stats.

 

OS: Windows 7

Paint.NET Version: 4.0.5

 

Now, I was unaware that v.4.0.10 came out earlier this month when I got this error. That said, it might still be present in the new version.

 

So, what happened? Well, I went to the options screen to change my default settings when I noticed a new tab labeled Plugin Errors. I was not expecting this but I did install some new plugins yesterday. So I open it and the error is for CurtisBlack.Common.dll from Curtis' Plugin Pack. I click on it and it gave me some stats about the error that I didn't understand so I decided to remove that plugin just to be safe.

 

Only one problem. The entire PC froze/locked me out after the error information was shown. Anything that was working or animating in the background froze as well. The only thing I could do was move around the mouse but eventually that froze as well. Needless to say, it didn't generate a pdncrash.log file.

 

Also, I was not using my laptop PC. I was using a university PC with software installed and configured for game design and creation classes (Unreal, Maya, VS Express, ZBrush, etc.) so this isn't a weak PC although it's definitely more powerful than my 8-year-old laptop. I'm not sure if this info is relevant, though.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? Additionally, I'm not exactly motivated to try to replicate this crash on multiple PCs so can anyone verify this happening as well?

 

Regardless, one of my lingering issues with this is, was the problem with the specified plugin or the Plugin Error tab itself?

 

For the moment, I removed all recently-added plugins from the software.

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This is actually a bug in WPF. The "Plugin Errors" tab in the Settings dialog is implemented using WPF and for some reason that is completely baffling with respect to the entire history of the whole universe, it just doesn't work on some systems. Even though it's hard coded on the Paint.NET side to use *software* rendering, not hardware rendering, which should make it a slam dunk for compatibility.

 

Try running another WPF-based application and see if it does the same thing. GitHub has a desktop app that uses WPF, for instance.

 

Eventually I'll rewrite this to use regular WinForms, but this isn't actually a common glitch and so it hasn't been at the front of the priority queue.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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The topic's been moved to Troubleshooting so I guess the plugin was not involved. OK, glad to know that.
 

Try running another WPF-based application and see if it does the same thing. GitHub has a desktop app that uses WPF, for instance.

 

I can't exactly do that on university computers without someone raising an eyebrow about how often I ask for the password to log in to the computer after purposefully crashing it. (Campus policy; students should not know the computer login password.) Additionally, while my laptop isn't systematically fragile, I'm being more gentle on it the longer it lives since my old laptop died by attempting to run a software that was too powerful to handle so that's not an option as well.

 

Long story short, I don't have the the opportunities to do this, nor do I have the will. I get a minor panic attack when a computer I'm using suddenly freezes, intentional or not. Past nightmarish experiences did that to me and I don't wish to repeat it anytime soon.
 

.....this isn't actually a common glitch and so it hasn't been at the front of the priority queue.

 

So, it's uncommon in that not many people report it therefore it's not high up in priorities. OK, I understand that. But, the possible end result by encountering it is A COMPLETE TOTAL SYSTEM FREEZE. Unexpected things can happen when you get a system freeze when you don't expect it, especially if you had something important running in the background or were using it along with Paint.NET. God forbid you weren't currently saving or rendering something when the freeze happened.

 

I got off lucky as while I had something important running when I froze, I did a coincidental save to that project just prior to the freeze.

 

With all that said, I still understand why it isn't a top priority and I won't be mean to you because of that. After all, you have other things to do other than working on Paint.NET, right? However, the other Paint.NET users and newcomers should at least know that this is a possibility that can happen to them. Is this listed in the current v.4.0.10 bug list?

Edited by NeoSpearBlade
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A COMPLETE TOTAL SYSTEM FREEZE

And that's why it's in the list to begin with :) It's high severity, low frequency.

 

A fix probably won't be in the upcoming 4.0.11 release because I'm already winding that down and intentionally keeping its scope very small. But, definitely read the release notes for whatever comes after that. 

 

Pay attention to https://blog.getpaint.net/, in other words. And/or click "More Info" the next time you get an update notification on your own system. Look for anything regarding "Plugin Errors".

 

After all, you have other things to do other than working on Paint.NET, right?

Yup. And for the next month or two I'm going to be extra busy on non-Paint.NET things.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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