Paint.net no longer loads

[Trevthom]

When trying to open Paint, I get a System failed notification (see attached).  I tried to "repair", didn't work.  I removed the old program and downloaded it afresh, didn't work.  Really don't know what to do now.  I use the program often, and am rather disappointed that I can no longer access it.  I need assistance that is easy to follow please.  Other than trying to reload paint.net, there are no other changes to my computer that I'm aware of.

[IHaveNoName]

What PDN version are you trying to launch? What Windows version are you using?

 

Is PDN set to automatically update?

 

If it is: it could well be that PDN was updated some time during your previous session and on restart you found this problem.

 

That would suggest the current version of PDN (v4.1.1) may not be compatible with your system. If you check the manual download page for PDN you will see that it has certain system requirements specified. It says it will automatically install Microsoft's .NET Framework 4.7.2 if it is not already on your system. Check that it is -  the method for this (might be different for Win10) is to use Control  Panel and then click on Programs > Programs & Features  That will list all programs installed on your PC: look for Microsoft .NET Framework and it will show the precise version installed.

 

Programs which list all installed software, like Revo Uninstaller, maybe even more convenient to use for the same information.

 

If it is not something like that I've found plenty of threads here reporting similar error messages here from 2017 and as far back as 2014. First suggestion is that it is some GPU update/driver problem. Second, more plausible, is that the PaintDotNet.SystemLayer.Native.x64.dll being used is old or faulty. How this happens? Who knows but, just a wild guess, would be that with automatic updates not all the old PDN installation's components are always replaced with newer versions. 

 

Go to your installed 64 bit programs (usually C:\Program Files\Paint.net) and look through the contents for that DLL. It should be alongside a 32bit equivalent x86.dll of the same name. The 64 bit file version info shown if you hover over it should be 4.101.6828.39058.

 

That is what it is on my 64bit system which was updated last week to PDN v4.1.1 and working fine so if the DLL version shown is not the same then it would be a good guess, bearing in mind the earlier threads about this DLL, it is the problem.

 

How to sort it? Unless somebody here can offer a simpler solution: thoroughly uninstall  PDN using Revo Uninstaller employing its advanced uninstall scan after its own uninstaller has run and it should get rid of everything PDN related on your PC. Then reinstall the new version of PDN from the approved link here.

 

Hopefully that will fix the trouble.

 

 

[Rick Brewster]

You should make sure you're caught up on all Windows Updates. The 0x8007045A error code is DLL_INIT_FAILED, so it looks like UIAnimation.dll isn't able to load.

I'd also run sfc /scannow at an elevated command prompt, because a system file (e.g. UIAnimation.dll or one of its dependencies) may be corrupted.

[Rick Brewster]

5 hours ago, IHaveNoName said:

Go to your installed 64 bit programs (usually C:\Program Files\Paint.net) and look through the contents for that DLL. It should be alongside a 32bit equivalent x86.dll of the same name. The 64 bit file version info shown if you hover over it should be 4.101.6828.39058.

 

 

Paint.NET verifies the versions for its DLLs at startup. So, this would be caught.

 

The exception in the screenshot above is from the Setup Wizard, so things haven't even installed yet ?

[IHaveNoName]

The OP's first post said that he first received this message when trying to open PDN. This was not a completely new installation of PDN it was a previously working one which, by the sound of it, out of the blue suddenly refused to launch. 

 

Something had changed. It could be a system file matter either corruption or incompatibility as suggested but the most typical cause of such problems is not a system fault but an automatic update of the program itself.

 

When it happened he tried the obvious thing: first using Repair, presumably meaning Windows program repair tool, and then uninstalling/reinstalling.

 

There is the possibility that if the whole program wasn't properly ie. fully uninstalled (using Revo or similar) and if it is a PDN problem, rather than a Windows system file issue, that the problem file is still there. Any future attempts to install and launch PDN will have the same result.

 

The information I found online on that 0x8007045A error ID was typically unhelpful but seems to be a general one for any failed "initialization routine".

 

What I would have done is exactly what was suggested: use System File Checker (and Check Disk too) and check that Windows was fully updated particularly .NET Framework ones which are usually optional.

 

If no help then I would have used a restore point prior to the problem. Failing that I'd have to assume that it was a program automatic update fault but, obviously, that would require auto-updating to be enabled. If we assume it was then rolling back PDN to the previous working version would confirm it one way or the other.

 

So I'd suggest doing this by finding an installer (FileHorse, FileHippo) for the earlier version of the PDN Trevthom was using which would likely be v4.1. If that or other earlier versions report the same error then the PDN v4.1.1 update can not be to blame and we're back to square one.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2018 by IHaveNoName

[Ego Eram Reputo]

5 hours ago, IHaveNoName said:

When it happened he tried the obvious thing: first using Repair, presumably meaning Windows program repair tool, and then uninstalling/reinstalling.

 

Paint.net installs its own repair tool in the installation folder: pdnrepair.exe. Hopefully that was what @Trevthom tried first.

 

The error message shown is not the original problem. As Rick pointed out, it's from the Setup Wizard.

 

Trevthom: follow Ricks suggestions first & report back the results (if any)

[IHaveNoName]

The reason I assumed he used the Windows repair tool was because with my installation there is no PDN repair (or uninstall) shortcut in the Windows Start menu. Usually when you install a program it provides shortcuts to such tools in its Start menu folder.

 

PDN appears in my Start menu as standalone launcher shortcut ie. no repair or uninstall options. That is unusual and a few quick searches suggest that has caused problems in the past when users wished to uninstall PDN for whatever reason.

 

However after that useful post ^ I checked and indeed there is a repair tool in the PDN folder but did Trevthom actually use that? It is not obvious it is there.

 

I also looked through the PDN folder and I could not find any uninstaller.exe. If it is there in the C:\Program Files\Paint.net folder it is well hidden.

 

Obvious question: why is there no shortcut to the repair tool in the Start menu and, apparently, no specific uninstall tool and shortcut to that too? 

 

Even if he did use the provided PDN repair tool how did he delete the original installation other than by using Windows Add/Remove/Repair Programs?

 

The fact is PDN was installed and working before a problem occurred. He tried repair and when it did not work he deleted the existing PDN installation and tried a new install. However if the uninstall was done only using the Windows tool it will always leave stuff behind that may cause problems with any 'fresh' install.

 

Couldn't that be the reason why he's now getting the error message identified as being from the PDN Set Up Wizard? 

 

I absolutely agree with Ego Eram Reputo too; it would be foolish not to follow Rick B's advice before doing anything else. 

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by IHaveNoName

[toe_head2001]

4 hours ago, IHaveNoName said:

However if the uninstall was done only using the Windows tool it will always leave stuff behind that may cause problems with any 'fresh' install. 

Couldn't that be the reason why he's now getting the error message identified as being from the PDN Set Up Wizard? 

 

No, that would have no effect in regards to his particular issue.

[IHaveNoName]

It is a pity Trevthom has not been back here since his OP. I'm quite interested to find out more about the problem and if any of the advice given here actually helps fix whatever it is.