PB 11.5.1 application crashes on Win 10, but only on one laptop

[vlad1]

Hi,

So as the topic suggests, our PB 11.5.1 application (database hosted on SQL Anywhere 11 / 16) crashes, but so far only noticed on one Win 10 Pro machine, and this is an HP laptop. The error message is a "Windows" message, not the application message, the unhelpful "EXE has stopped working..." error. The error comes about from random clicking between several fields on the datawindow, and seems mostly to happen when clicking on one datawindow from another (losefocus, getfocus?), in about 5-15 click-arounds it will crash.

The thing is, this only happens on one Win10 Pro HP laptop, we have another Lenovo Win10 laptop which works perfectly OK and we are unable to reproduce the error on it, and another Win10 Pro desktop which is also working just fine. This leads me to believe that the problem may be related to some of the HP bloatware that is running on the laptop.

In fact, on this page I asked about a very similar error a few years back that was only happenning on Windows 8 and only if Touch Keyboard service was switched ON. Once it was switched off, our application happily works on Win 8 as it did on every Windows version ever encountered. Here is the link:

PB 11.5.1 application crash due to Win8 touchsc... | SCN

The thing is, I can't find the Touch Keyboard service on my Win 10 HP laptop to disable it I don't think it's installed or enabled on the laptop (anyone know a certain way to check? it doesn't show in services.msc), so I am looking towards what's different on that HP laptop to the other Lenovo laptop or the other desktop which show no signs of instability. Therefore I'm thinking that it could be some of HP-installed laptop software that it could be the cause, as this would not be present on Lenovo laptop or the other desktop?

In fact just for a laugh, I enabled the Touch Keyboard service on the Lenovo laptop, and the application is still very stable.

And yes, of course, I am fully aware that PB 11 is not certified for Win 10 (or even Win 8), but it seems very stable and I'm sure the fault is in some Windows service / software installed on that laptop, but it would be very neat if someone has experience with this and could offer some wisdom.

Thanks

Here is the extremely helpful Event Viewer log, at least it says that the fault is in pbdwe115.dll:

Faulting application name: demo.exe, version: 1.8.0.9, time stamp: 0x49f129d7

Faulting module name: pbdwe115.dll, version: 11.5.1.4011, time stamp: 0x49f6b4f6

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x001f9893

Faulting process ID: 0x2468

Faulting application start time: 0x01d1d214cc906647

Faulting application path: D:\PB11\demo.exe

Faulting module path: D:\PB11\pbdwe115.dll

Report ID: 5d775812-07b1-4eb0-b4ca-20c9c83c81f3

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

EventData

demo.exe

1.8.0.9

49f129d7

pbdwe115.dll

11.5.1.4011

49f6b4f6

c0000005

001f9893

2468

01d1d214cc906647

D:\PB11\demo.exe

D:\PB11\pbdwe115.dll

5d775812-07b1-4eb0-b4ca-20c9c83c81f3

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Vlad;

  Interesting ... its crashing in the DataWindow Expression Evaluator/Compiler module!

   First of all, I wonder if you are missing a deployment DLL. Check the PB 11.5.X help file under "Deployment" and see if you are missing the Microsoft C++ run-time DLL's or you have duplicate PB run-time (DLL's) somewhere.

Regards ... Chris

[vlad1 · Accepted solution]

Hi Chris,

I had a feeling you would be the first to reply

Sorry, but not entirely clear what should I look for under the help file. All the deployment DLLs have been copied straight from the other development PCs we have. They have not been referenced in the registry or anywhere, we have the copies of these in

1. compiled runtimes folder

2. development folder where the PBL files are

The application crashes in the same way as executed from the compiled runtimes or through the PB development. I have copied them over once more anyway, but if both the D:\Test\ crash and D:\PB_source\Test\ crash, I imagine it's not a corrupt DLL.

As for the Microsoft C++ run-time DLL, if you mean msvcp71.dll, I don't think that is the problem. I have had 5-6 experiences over the years with Win 7 PCs that didn't have it and when the download of msvcp71.dll solved the problem, however in their cases the manifestation was that the application would refuse to start point blank quoting the missing DLL, just like in the example here.

The strange thing about this crash is that I have only noticed it, so far, on only TWO windows. Initially I thought it may be the problem with DropDownListBoxes as Didier experienced here, because one window does have a few ddlbs, but the other does not - not a single one. In any case, the issue only happens on ONE laptop, the other two Win10 PCs seem to be fine, so I am certain that it is something to do with that one PC rather than the application being described as "unstable on Windows 10".

Cheers

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

FWIW: Don't forget .... libjcc.dll, libjutils.dll, MFC71u.dll, and atl71.dll   DLL's as well.  

[vlad1 · Accepted solution]

Oh yeah, of course - I didn't realise you meant those Basically, I just straight copy the entire runtime or source code folders from the machines that don't have a problem to this one. Those DLLs are very much there.

Grrrr, this is getting on my nerves now. Just tried "Run in compatibility mode for Windows 7", and "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings". All of a sudden - I cannot recreate the instability any more. So I'm all happy, thinking I fixed it, I try it without "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings", still all OK, and then I tried it with any compatibility settings switched off, just as usual - again, all works fine, today I cannot recreate it at all! There I thought that compatibility settings solved it, but now I think it had no effect, and for some strange reason, today I cannot recreate the crash

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Vlad;

  Good find   ... looks like a video driver issue! 

Regards ... Chris

[vlad1 · Accepted solution]

Oh if only it was that (Nvidia drivers), but I'm highly sceptical. I have changed nothing on the laptop today since last week, especially the video drivers, when the instability first occurred (last Monday). Also, it persisted through several reboots, and pretty much was there 3 days of last week. It basically used to crash on every 5-10 clicks between two datawindows (on only TWO windows!), activating the dropdown lists or just clicking into fields, and today just nothing - I am clicking away like a hamster on steroids, but cannot make it crash.

I even let the monitor time out now and log me out due to inactivity, just trying to think about *anything* that was happenning last week, and what could be the difference today... bah, can't think of much else.

Not happy, but I guess I'll leave it for now... though I hope someone else notices this thread who experienced something similar.

Thanks as always Chris!

[vlad1]

Hi Jim,

It just stopped happening on my Win 10 laptop, and while I can't say that I had a lot of mileage on it, I'm sure I would have noticed if it was still around. Unfortunately, for the life of me I can't remember anything that I particularly changed before the problem stopped manifesting.

Can you pls provide a screenshot of the exact service that you stopped from services.msc? I want to be 100% that when I look it up on the laptop we are on the same page.

I would also like to know is there another fix for this problem, disabling the Touch Keyboard service seems a bit of a workaround.

Thanks

[Former Member]

Vlad,

Here is the service

[vlad1]

Cheers Jim,

I will have my hands on that laptop tomorrow so I will get back to you is the service on it still ON or OFF.

In the meantime, if Chris Almighty can't help, I reckon we're pretty much left to it

[Former Member]

Vald,

I have the service off on the product PC so our QAs can continue testing.

On my laptop with it on I do not get the issue although my laptop is windows 8.1

[Former Member]

Hey Vlad and Chris,

I'm having the same error happen on production PC in windows 10. I can not get it to happen on a development PC or in a VM. This issue seems to be with the Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service. If I stop the service on the offending PC, it works fine.

Is there anything else I can try to see if I can fix this problem? We really don't want to have to stop the service.

Thanks for any help .

[Former Member]

Hi Jim;

  Other than trying PB 12.6 - I am not sure what else to suggest. The use of the Touch Screen and Hand Writing features of MS-Windows have been a sore spot for the PowerBuilder IDE for quite some time. Sometimes their application EXE's as well get affected. The exact reason seems to have eluded Sybase and SAP (unfortunately).

  Appeon is aware of this issue.

Regards ... .Chris