TIFF file formats gone after last upgrade

[jeffweiss9]

PI 1.08.00.1071 Ripley (64) on my Win7 Pro 64 bit machine was working fine yesterday but today I did the latest update:

20131220-windows-x86_64-module.zip   CometAlignment module version 1.06.31 (bugfix)

and I developed a great big bug:

TIFF files have vanished from being visible to PI.  They are no longer in the Format Explorer list of formats and if you try to open a tif file that I last worked on just yesterday so its still in the file/recent images list, I get:

No installed file format can read '.tif' files:
C:/ST2000XM/sh2-155/Pixinsight/sh2-155LRGBps1cCR4-1013.tif

What the hey happened?  Can these please be restored so I can continue working on my project?
 This may have not had anything to do with the update but the code worked yesterday and that's the only change I know about.
After this, I'm going to be very gun shy about doing updates every time I'm asked by the automatic updater.

Thanks for your help.
-Jeff

[georg.viehoever]

Reset the PI settings, either from the Windows Start Menu, or by starting with <ctrl> key pressed.
Georg

[jeffweiss9]

That worked.
Thanks, Georg.  Any idea how that might have happened? 
-Jeff

[georg.viehoever]

Given the frequency we see for this problem, I think it is a bug (or undesirable feature).
Georg

[Juan Conejero]

I don't think so. Note that these problems are always reported on Windows. Most likely this is a problem with an application (such as an antivirus for example, or perhaps a resident virus) blocking access to some files during PI startup. If the core application cannot access a module at startup, it cannot install it. If the module can't be installed, it is removed from the list of currently installed modules for security reasons, and has to be re-installed manually (Process > Modules > Install Modules).
 

[georg.viehoever]

Hi Juan,

note that this kind of problem even occurs if the module that has been updated has nothing to do with the module that seems to be missing afterwards. The module updated in this thread was "CometAlignment module version 1.06.31", and TIFF was missing afterwards. I find that strange...

I sometimes wonder if it may be related to the multiple instances problem. I have sometimes to wait for 15 seconds until an instance actually terminates-even if the GUI already closed. Could it be that updates triggered from a second or third instance somehow mess up the configuration for other instances?

Georg

[Juan Conejero]

I find that strange...

Antivirus programs and Trojans can cause really strange things to happen on Windows. The PixInsightUpdater.exe program runs with elevated privileges. This can be detected by an antivirus or firewall application, and may trigger unusual background procedures on the folders where the updater has just changed data, which in turn can lead to file access problems when the core application is re-launched.

The whole virus-antivirus thing is a vicious circle without solution on Windows. Concentric layers of "protection" for an intrinsically insecure system. Compare it to the simplicity and efficiency of setuid on UNIX/Linux.

Could it be that updates triggered from a second or third instance somehow mess up the configuration for other instances?

That cannot happen by design. If there are more than one running instances of the core application, the update process cannot run. Just launch two instances and select Resources > Updates > Check for Updates from any of them. On the other hand, configuration settings are completely isolated among instances; they cannot be merged, also by design.

[georg.viehoever]

Would it be possible to add a "Reset Settings" entry to the PI File menu? Would it be possible to add a "check setting integrity" menu option?

Since we all have to live with the way that Windows works (or not), we should at least make it easier for users to detect and fix problems - instead of hoping that they remember obscure key-combinations such as holding down <ctrl> while launching PI.

Georg