PSP X4 Clone tool crash

[arturox]

PaintShop Pro X4 SP1
I've had this happen a few times before, but now it's beyond a joke, in that any time now I attempt to use the Clone tool, an empty script error message presents, and PSP is either frozen dead or just vanishes from the screen.

Win XP Event Viewer reports:
Faulting application corel paintshop pro.exe, version 14.1.0.92, faulting module corecmd.dll, version 14.1.0.18, fault address 0x0000dd54.

How is this rubbish sorted please?
Ax

FWIW. PSP X2U on the same machine works its clone tool okay.

Ah well! back to a JASC version of PSP 9 that does actually work for more than part time use.

Ax

[brucet]

Not sure I can help. But I use the clone tools all the time. Many times a day. On 16bit 450 meg files with as many as 10 layers. Never had a problem.

I would think it's not in x4 but rather a conflict with x4 and your system.

But then I'm only guessing.

Regards

[df]

Can you try turning off the scratch disk in the preferences and see if that gives you any improvement?

[arturox]

Can you try turning off the scratch disk in the preferences and see if that gives you any improvement?

Thanks for that thought.
I have now turned Off scratch disk but that doesn't make any difference.

Activate an image in X4 Click on the Clone tool icon, an empty script output window displays, the MS do you want to report this error to MS, displays, I click No and PSP X4 vanishes.

Thereafter, any attempt at running X4 results in the Splash screen freezing on "Updating Cache settings" a small window displays with the legend... "Failed to create empty document". (This only happens on the first attempt to re-run).

Click that away and the MS do you want to report this error... arrives.
Click that away with No and the frozen splash screen vanishes.

After the initial failure of the clone tool, PSP X4 cannot be run successfully at all, every attempt fails.
Obviously a machine re-boot sorts it, and as long as the Clone tool is not used will run okay...

BTW.The Scratch remover tool works okay.

Whenever I attempt to activate the clone tool an empty script window arrives, I'm assuming this might be a Python problem, so I've tested a couple of other things that involve scripts and they all work okay.

Purely by serendipity...
After the continual failure of X4 I went to X2U which as I previously noted works okay, had a play with that, and then returned one last time to X4 which this time (No machine reboot) ran okay (Clone tool is as always sh one tee).

Having now tested this multiple times, I find it holds true.
X4 Clone tool crashed, X4 is thereafter will not run.

Run X2U, close X2U and thereafter X4 is runnable and usable (Sans Clone tool of course).
This is always the case.

After that I'm at a loss for an answer.
Ax

FWIW. Both X2U and PSP 9.01 work correctly on this machine.

[LeviFiction]

Have you tried resetting your workspace to factory defaults?

When first opening PSP from the desktop hold down the Shift key and double-click on the desktop icon. It should ask if you want to reset your workspace to default. It's a basic step to try when PSP freaks out weirdly like this. For some reason the workspace is so poorly designed that any random corruption of it causes the program either in a large or small way to act ku-ku.

Doesn't solve the issue most of the time but it's a nice place to start. Since it mentions the cache I would start there or if you go to File -> Preferences -> Reset Preferences and select the "Cache Files" option. See if that helps at all by forcing PSP to recreate the cache files from scratch.

[arturox]

This is getting very very annoying.
Yes indeed, resetting the Workspace back to the install default did appear to sort the problem, then reintroducing the old Workspace reintroduced the fault. Thanks for that thought.

Each time I get a new version of PSP I *recreate* for the new version, the same personalised workspace I have on all my versions.

So it works perfectly okay in PSP 9.01 and X2U why is it getting uppity in X4?
Nothing particularly complex is set up, a few tool icons moved, two small tool bars with my most used tools on them, a couple of other minor movements of things, and that's it.

So now, I've not only got to re-create the Workspace, but I've got to re-do all the settings, like file locations AGAIN as some dick head programmer changed the default location to AllUsers.

Ax

[LeviFiction]

I understand the annoyance but X4 is uppity because there was a fault with the workspace.

Once you have the workspace set up, save it again and then back up this file somewhere else so that it doesn't get corrupted. If the workspace gets corrupted again you can just copy this file from its backup and use it.

The big thing you run into is that for whatever reason there are settings inside the workspace definition that PSP requires to run reliably. And are apparently customizable to some degree. When the workspace definition becomes corrupted a lot of really weird things are possible. We've had paint brushes that won't paint, we've had clone brushes that act like saturation brushes. It makes no sense at all but the checks and balances are apparently not there to prevent this sort of malfunction should the workspace become corrupted.

[teknisyan]

Aside from the things that have been suggested already... have you downloaded and installed the PSP X4 SP1? If not, then you can download and install it from http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index. ... id=3000009

[arturox]

Aside from the things that have been suggested already... have you downloaded and installed the PSP X4 SP1? If not, then you can download and install it from http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index. ... id=3000009

Yup! SP1 was installed back when it first became available.

Slight interesting aside to all this before I get around to re-doing my Workspace and all the rest.

Double clicking either the shortcut or even the main PSP X4 exe eventually brings forth the problems.

However, double clicking the X4 Workspace file, runs PSPX4 but without the problems.

I must play some more, if I can find the time.

Ax

[arturox]

Okay, produced some time to make a start, reverted PSP X4 back to defaults.

This gets rid of the freeze during the splash screen start up, so we get into PSP and for the most part it appears to work okay.
I've re-configured nothing at this point.
Display a picture and attempt to activate the clone tool, we are still in the same place as before, an empty script window displays and PSP X4 fails and dies.

So while PSP can now be started whenever required, the clone tool is still Always failing.

Ah well! back to PSP 9.01 again.

Next suggestions please?
Ax

[arturox]

Right...
I've been playing some more, and it's not good.
On this back to default version.

Sometimes the Clone tool will work, other times not, so it fails and PSP fails and vanishes.
This can also happen with the Lighten/Darken brush tool.
Sometimes PSP will load, other times not.

Usually if a tool causes PSP to fail and crash out, it will fail at the splash screen "Updating Cache settings" again when re-run.

I did wonder if there was some other app running in the background that might be causing a clash of some sort, particularly as I have Ashampoo Magical Defrag 3 running in the background.

I switched that off totally, *no* change in the errant PSPX4 behaviour.

So what next, will I have to switch of my AV running in the background.
Well I did just that switched it out for 10 minutes, no difference PSP X4 still acting like a Tu*d.

Before I finally declare, as I have done before with Corel PSP X, X1, X2, X3 and X3U that I've again been taken and wasted my money, I could try one last thing.
Completely uninstall, then reinstall again... Unfortunately one hears, that because of this Protexis Sh one t, often you can't do a reinstall.

So folks, please, any advice on that thought before I do it?

Thanks
Ax

[arturox]

Having a bit of spare time before I headed off to my pit for the night, I did the deed and unistalled PSP X4

Rebooted the computer and proceeded to install the version I downloaded when I purchased online (Version 14.0.0.345)

Installed successfully, and thereafter would run when double clicked, and worked without failing... The Clone tool problem did not occur at any time while I was playing.

So far so good, now to install SP1
The Install went as it should, the app ran okay, but the very first time I attempted to use the clone tool, the empty Script window arrived, PSP froze, and after clicking away the MS "do I want to inform MS..." window, PSP X4 vanished.

So after all that work, here we are back at square 1.
Ax

[df]

I feel for you. Are you using a mouse or a tablet? Do you have another you can switch out to try?

On a whim here. Go into preferences and dumb the program down to see if this will change anything.
Undo tab - uncheck Enable the undo system.
View - uncheck Fin window to image.
Presentation - uncheck everything.
Miscellaneous - check Disable pressure support for puck-type pointing devices. Clipboard data on Exit : Delete.
Warning - enable or disable all, whichever is a change from your present status.
Auto Action - set everything to always, or prompt, or never. Whichever isn't done now.
Manage - File Format Exclusions. Exclude all. Uncatalogued folders, the whole computer. X3 had a problem before sp1 or sp2 where it would be so busy cataloging stuff you couldn't get anything done.
Auto-Preserve - turn it off.
Default workspace - keep last.

If this doesn't work, wait for SP2, X5, or buy PSE 10.

[arturox]

Thanks for the thoughts, at least another thing to try...

I'm using a mouse... Nothing fancy just a bog standard mouse.

I went through your list and did the business, unfortunately no change, X4 will still run but trying to use the Clone tool etc, still brings forth the empty script window, the freeze, then the vanish.

You say:
"If this doesn't work, wait for SP2, X5, or buy PSE 10."

Three snags with that proposition.
1) Will there ever be a SP-2?
The usual Corel method is, release new app version,a bit later release a sop fix (SP-1), later to fix even more broken bits, they release a completely new version and we have to cough the lolly again.

2) I've been waiting ever since Corel bought out PSP for a satisfactory version, that is paid money for every Corel version since X and I still have to continue using the last JASC version (9.01) to get any work done.
That's a lot of wasted dough.

3) The UI of both Photoshop and PSElements are among the worst UIs I've ever used, and I'd rather give up digital image work than use them.

As I say, for working I'm still using PSP 9, but if I was forced to move on, I would move over to Serif and PhotoPlus X5 (Of which I do have a copy installed on another machine).

FWIW. Different computer, Same OS XP SP3 and the Serif app doesn't fall over when the clone tool is used.

Ax

[arturox]

As a next move, I've installed PSP X4 on my Win 7 Laptop.
Bog standard install works okay, but as soon as SP 1 is applied the Clone tool and others bring forth the blank script window, and crash we're dead again.

I've had a couple of thoughts... I'll test them out tomorrow, and report back again.

Ax