PixInsight startup error

[tomshaull]

I recently downloaded, installed, received a license for and used the following file:
PI32-win-01.00.51.357-nsi-20071213.exe

All was well until I tried to start the application yesterday and received the following message:
"Access violation: invalid memory write operation at address 016BEAF8".  This was immediately after double clicking the application .exe file.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the file but received the same message.

I restored my XP machine to an earlier state using the System Recovery capability but still received the same message.

Any ideas as to what has caused this error and how can I fix it?

Tom S

[Carlos Milovic]

Just a thing to discard.... is there enough free disk space?

Another possible cause may be a corrupted window's registry. If you feel comfortable editing it, you may try uninstalling PixInsight, delete all entries by it in the registry, and then install it again. Consider it as a "brute force, last resource". Let's see if Juan has another suggestion.

[tomshaull]

Carlos,

This machine has 96gb  of free space on it's drive.  I do not think that is contributing.  Also, the machine has 2gb of RAM.  

I found the license file and it was last written to on 12/18 which corresponds to the last time I think I used the program.  Do you think I should rename the file and try to create a new one?

Tom S.

[tomshaull]

Recieved new license info from Juan.

I deleted the existing license file.  Started the application and did get the registration window to display.  Entered the new license information then immediately received the following:
"Access violation: invalid memory write operation at address 016EB200"

A new license file was not created.

I will try the brute force method but am still puzzled why suddenly the program does not work.

Tom S.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Tom

What version of Windows are you running? 32 or 64 bits?

For Windows XP PixInsight requires Service Pack 2.

[tomshaull]

Windows XP Pro, Version 2002, Service Pack 2.  This is a relatively new machine (Aug 2007).  It is a Gateway NX570X, 2.16ghz dual core, 2 gb RAM.  It is current on XP updates.

[Juan Conejero]

Tom,

No problem with your computer and O.S.

Please try the following: Press the Ctrl key and hold it while you run PixInsight. This runs the application in "uninstall mode". When a dialog appears asking you to erase all configuration data, select Yes. This will remove all information associated to PixInsight from your Windows registry. Now run the application normally, enter the license data, and I hope it will work.

Hope this will fix the problem.

[tomshaull]

Actually, I tried that this morning with no joy.  I just completed Carlos' suggested brute force method.

1. Uninstalled pixinsight using uninstaller.
2. Veified that c:/pcl was deleted.
3. Used regedit to remove all references to pleiades and pixinsight
4. rebooted machine
5. ran windows search for pixinsight and deleted any file not used to install.
6. reinstalled program
7. It displayed registration workbox, entered information
8. received Fatal Error: Access violation: invalid memory write operation at address 016EBF48.

No joy!

Tom S.

[tomshaull]

Also, it did not write a new license file either.

[Juan Conejero]

This is very strange. What is *really* strange is that PI was running on your machine.

Could you please try with another computer?

Just to discard odd things, can you verify that the MD5 checksum of the installation file is:

4db2abbde4796898e3a7b27e2ec23eb1 *PI32-win-01.00.51.357-nsi-20071213.exe

Anyway, the probability of a corrupted installation file is remote, since it includes a self-verifying routine.

I can't figure out a reason for this problem. Please tell me if you can activate your license on another machine. If you can, then copy the .pixinsight-license file to your personal directory on the problematic computer, and try to run PI. If there is a valid license file, PI won't show you the registration box.

[tomshaull]

OK.  I will try that on my desktop machine.  I am beginning to suspect this machine is the source of the problem.

[tomshaull]

Works like a champ on my desktop machine!  It appears that the notebook is the problem. Now comes the effort of figuring out why.

Thanks
Tom S.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Tom,

I'm glad to know that PI works on your desktop machine.

Now to figure out what the problem comes from on your notebook, you may think on what has changed since the last time you ran PI on it. There's something new (or something that is no longer) that is preventing PI from running. Any new antivirus/firewall program? Some new software that runs on the background? Some new hardware?

Thank you for your help. Hope you enjoy PixInsight.

[tomshaull]

Thank you for your help.  I am wondering if it is worth the effort to chase down before the commercial version is released.  I plan to purchase the commercial version when it is available.  The desktop is a much more powerful machine (3.8 ghz & 4gb RAM).  When will the commecial version be available? I check daily.

Tom S.

[Juan Conejero]

Tom,

Thanks! The commercial version is being finished right now. It will be available at the beginning of the next week; January 7 - 8 if all goes well.

We are also authoring a basic documentation for the core application. I hope we'll have at least a few documentation sections ready next week. The whole documentation will be completed during January and February.