PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

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penguin
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PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by penguin »

Hello, I recently upgraded from 4.5.2 to 5.2.2 and the new version will not start at windows boot.

I'm running Win 10 pro, 21H2, 19044.1415

I verified it is set to start at windows boot in the program options, and I see it in autoruns as a startup item. I can start it manually after boot with no issues.

I use Sandboxie so I thought that might be an issue with start/run restrictions or forced programs but have ruled that out.

I see many older posts related to this indicating it could be the .ini file somehow?

I did change permissions on the .exe so users have full access because I was getting an error that my sandbox delete command required admin privileges (which it already had pretty sure).

The fact that I can start it after boot with no errors, but not at boot is puzzling to me. Any suggestions? Thanks all.
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

I've seen this happen with various programs (including POP Peeper, but also other companies' programs I run, like Discord) before. It usually starts happening after a Windows Update and even if it happens several reboots in a row, it eventually starts working again out of the blue.

The ini file could only be a problem if it was corrupt (and this caused PP to crash or something), but the fact that PP runs fine when run manually means it's not an ini problem -- based on my tests when it was happening to me, it didn't seem like Windows was even attempting to run it.

If it's not working again after 2-3 more days, let us know and we'll go from there.
penguin
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by penguin »

Yeah, still not working. I tried reinstalling 5.2.2.

I checked event logs for errors but saw none. Where can I look to see what is going on at boot?

Could this be a permissions or ownership thing? I did give users full access after an error in my sandbox.

I could try deleting PopPeeper and reinstalling but save the .ini and just swap it in after the install?
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mjs
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by mjs »

Have you tried, just as a temporary test - completely disabling Sandboxie prior to booting your computer (so that Sandboxie is not running as of when the boot occurs)?
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

if you run msconfig (or "system configuration"), there's a "boot log" under the "boot" tab. I'm not sure what all this records; the reference I found to it (https://www.windowscentral.com/how-enab ... windows-10) mentioned this was for device drivers, but I haven't tested it myself, so it could just be that the article was geared for that purpose. So give that a try and let us know.
penguin
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by penguin »

Some odd behavior today.

I removed all references to this program from the sandbox forced program and restrictions menu, and it started at boot just fine. I will also examine the boot logs (thx), but I believe it won't show there.
penguin
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by penguin »

Update:

Uninstalled PopPeeper including the roaming folder data files (kept the .ini)

Reinstalled and everything worked fine. Go figure.

I believe it may have been the permissions I changed on the .exe to allow full access for users.
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

Glad it's working again! You could very well be right; it does sound like it could have been related to permissions.
penguin
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by penguin »

Ok, another odd problem has popped up.

At boot today, this window popped up:
Capture.JPG
It's like the program does not remember any of it's settings.

I suspected the .ini file so I deleted it and copied in the original that had always worked. Same result.

The .ini path points to the roaming directory, and it's not read only.

When I take PopPeeper off my forced and restricted program list in Sandboxie, it starts fine and has my accounts in it like before.

This behavior never happened before today even with those sandbox settings? Any ideas?
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

I don't have any experience with sandboxie, so I'm afraid I can't provide much insight. My best guess would be that when you first start PP, that the folder structure hasn't been initialized yet by sandboxie, so the appdata folder is invalid?

Try using sandboxie again, and if you get the "setup wizard" again, immediately KILL the poppeeper.exe process (don't continue, as this could overwrite the ini file), wait a minute or so, and then try starting PP again.
jjgui1
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by jjgui1 »

I'm seeing something similar with my laptop load. I don't have any external devices or even a "sandboxie". For comparison, PP starts fine on my Windows10 desktop load. However, on my Windows10 laptop load, every time I start up the PC, the process/service is running as found in Task Manager. PP will not bring up the interface itself. If I find the process using Task Manager and kill it, I can then again click on the PP icon in my tray and this time PP starts just find and continues to work the whole time the PC is running. If I shut things down, PP will not work until I go thru this process again. Not certain what is different as the software should be the same. *puzzled* :shock: :?:
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mjs
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by mjs »

To clarify - after you boot your laptop you find the following:
1) What you mean by "every time I start up the PC" is when you boot-up your laptop that had previously been shut-down.
2) The PP process is running (based on Windows TM).
3) When you click on the PP icon in the tray -- the PP Interface fails to open.

In regards to this comment in your post: "If I find the process using Task Manager and kill it, I can then again click on the PP icon in my tray and this time PP starts".

If you actually "kill" the process using Task Manager then there should not be a PP icon in the tray to click (as the process is not running so the icon would not be present in the tray).

Can you elaborate more on the above - what exactly are you doing to start PP after you "kill" the PP process using Windows TM?

Are you saying you are starting PP again (after killing the process as a result of the computer boot-up) after which the tray icon will then respond to a click (that it previously failed to respond to when the computer was first booted up)- so ultimately it takes a PP restart to get the tray icon to work?

Are using a PP shortcut to open PP?

What happens if after the boot-up of your laptop is done you do a right-click on the PP tray icon and select "Open POP Peeper" at the top of the (right-click) context menu? -- Does PP open when you do this?
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
jjgui1
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by jjgui1 »

Clarifying - this isn't complicated; just as it sounds; it works on another Windows system; standard Windows steps and procedures.

Boot PC - just as it sounds, starting the PC from being off, waiting for Windows to stabilize and present the desktop.
Starting PP - where I click is irrelevant. I can either click on it in the task bar location (pinned icon), or use a desktop icon (pinned to the desktop), or even try the start menu selection = same result. The running process found in Task Manager has nothing to do with the icons.
Even though a PP process can be found with Task Manager, the app does not respond and show the tool - it seems to be stuck. All I can say about it is that the tool never shows up so I can use it. Killing off the process is just that - it shuts off the process just like killing any other process in Task Manager.
I attempt another start of PP (methods described above) and the process starts again as found in Task Manager and soon after the tool runs and I can interact with it.
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

When it doesn't load at startup, do you see a loading window in the taskbar? This would normally be shown in the taskbar when PP takes longer than approximately 5s to load. When PP loads normally, roughly how long does it take before the main window appears?

How many accounts do you have (this may factor into how I approach debugging this)?


Note: if PP never starts, then I'd recommend disabling run at windows startup (main menu: Tools / Options / General) and start it manually. Killing the process could lead to data corruption, which is a possible reason why it's not starting as expected now (although, the fact that you can start manually is contradictory). Otoh, if it's a permissions issue like the OP had, then I wouldn't expect PP to be listed in Task Manager.
jjgui1
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by jjgui1 »

Ok, I will try to clarify some more and answer those questions - does anything appear in the taskbar? No, nothing changes up on the laptop screen or the taskbar, even with another attempt. (See my comment below about the PP difference between desktop and laptop.)

I have PP configured to start on boot on both systems. I have scheduled a 60sec delay before trying to run out and check the remote email. On the laptop, I have it only checking 2 email locations (1 hotmail, 1 yahoo). On the desktop, I have MANY mailboxes. Regardless, the application should at least come up while it then waits for running out to check for incoming things. This is how it "normally" works on the desktop system. Now with the laptop, not so much. :cry:

This might be a clue, but maybe not:

On the desktop, I have a large monitor with plenty of room to show things on the taskbar if they are running. PP (pinned) is on the taskbar but shows in a smaller size. When the app comes up, the icon grows wider. If I minimize PP, then the icon shrinks down again.

On the laptop, I'm using the laptop screen. WHEN PP is running, the icon never changes shape. However if there is an active session, then a small grey or blue bar appears under the icon to show I have the app running. When I minimize PP, the bar under the icon goes away. I can expand and minimize all day long with no problems as long as I get beyond the initial starting issue the very first time.

On a fresh laptop boot, once I kill off the daemon/process and I go back to pick on any of the icons, PP then comes up within a couple seconds. This is how it works from that point on until I shutdown the laptop. PP is fully functional and interacts during that time. I can minimize or I can close the application (file/exit) , but leave the process running (verified by seeing POP Peeper Email Notifier (32 bit)). Using any of the icons to start the application works just fine as long as I keep the laptop running.

I hope that is clear to understand. :shock: If not, ...
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

mjs and I have had an email chat about this issue and he brought up a good point that I had missed earlier. Earlier, you had said this:
jjgui1 wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:06 pm where I click is irrelevant. I can either click on it in the task bar location (pinned icon), or use a desktop icon (pinned to the desktop), or even try the start menu selection = same result.
If those are the only icons you've clicked, then you're right -- those clicks are all the same. They all open a new instance of PP -- which, by design, should tell the running instance to open.

But mjs had specifically asked you to right-click on the tray icon (ie. right-side of the taskbar) and I had missed that you didn't include this in your list. The fact is, this needs to be tested and confirmed because this is a more direct way to interact with the *existing* instance of PP, rather than second-hand by running another instance. Odds are, attempting to right-click the icon won't have any difference, but if it does, then we need to take a different approach to figure out the cause of the problem.

That being said, I wrote the following text before I had read mjs's last message to me; so you should only proceed with this if right-clicking the tray icon does not respond.


====================

Since you only have 2 accounts on the problematic computer, let's try this:

Ideally, do this before you need to reboot.

1) In PP, go to main menu: Tools / Options; Storage
2) Double-click the text "data path" near the top -- this will open File Explorer to the appropriate location
3) Close the Options and then exit POP Peeper (main menu: File / Exit)
4) In the opened File Explorer, you should see 2 folders with the name of your 2 accounts. Each of these folders will contain a file named 'data.db'. These files contain the messages for each account. You can either rename or delete both of these files. If you rename them, you can restore them if you want; if you delete the files, the messages can still be sync'd from the server, but you may lose certain attributes of the messages (user-flags, if you've responded to the messages, etc.). So that's up to you.
5) Reboot your computer and see if PP is able to start.

fyi: the reason I asked about the "loading window" -- because it comes up after 5s of attempting to load, then its presence (or lack thereof) can give a clue as to what's going on. The fact that you don't see it tells us that PP is very likely locking up during or before the loading of messages.
jjgui1
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by jjgui1 »

Ok, the statements made previously by mjs were not clear (to me). Woops. Putting together all that was typed previously, I thought I should clarify some more. Thanks for pointing out a few things - let's start:

Time for some terms and definitions:
Task bar = area at the bottom of the screen where running tasks or pinned icons show up; Immediately to the right of the Windows "Start" icon and the "Task View" icon (if enabled).

System Tray, Notification Area, Hidden Icons = far RH side of the taskbar where the usual suspects reside (time/date, sound volume, network, etc.). The " ^ " up arrow hidden icons are in a pop-up menu when the arrow is selected. PP can hide in this menu or drop down to the System Tray spot just below it.

I almost never (that I can recall) interacted with PP in the Hidden Icons or in the System Tray spot on the far right end of the bar. Knowing that PP is over there (now), I can RH click on the icon and Open/Start PP from that spot. Surprise. #-o IF I've done that, then the icons in the far-to-the-left Task Bar area or on the desktop itself will function from that time forward. Odd. :roll: I'm not clear why it behaves somewhat differently on the laptop than the other system, but at least I have insight now. I think I will just delete all of the other pinned icons from the desktop and task bar. BTW, if I RH click on the icons I do not have options to open/start PP as I do with the hidden icon in the notification area. That is the difference in what happens and what Windows does with that instruction. Mystery solved???

I also pursued your steps above, Jeff, regarding the data.db. I moved them aside and then rebooted. PP had no saved data at this point, so the accounts came up empty. I checked mail and things came down from the server, as expected. No issues there. Was it a corrupt database??? Perhaps. (Sidenote: Oauth2 error popped up today indicating time had expired for the Hotmail account. I reset the authentication and that error disappeared. This was not part of the issue we are/were troubleshooting in this thread.)

Let's consider this resolved and I will continue to monitor. Thanks mjs and Jeff for your assistance in troubleshooting.
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mjs
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by mjs »

Good to hear the issue is resolved - if you have any more issues opening the PP interface by clicking on the PP tray icon (or any other way) - let us know.
jjgui1 wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 8:10 pm ... BTW, if I RH click on the icons I do not have options to open/start PP as I do with the hidden icon in the notification area....
The reason for this is that the "Task Bar" (that you defined correctly) resides on the computer Desktop hence a right click on any of the "pinned" short-cut icons that reside on the "Task Bar" produce a Windows (right-click) context menu provided by the Operating System -- as opposed to when you click on the PP icon in the "System Tray" area (that you also defined correctly) produces a (right-click) context menu that applies to the PP application itself (PP is coded for this, right-click "System Tray" menu) which is why it is different (just as all other icons that reside in the "System Tray" that are a product of the relevant application that corresponds to the "System Tray" icon will do, including those that happen to be "hidden"). Btw, if you prefer an icon to display as opposed to being "hidden" you can drag the icon to the visible "System Tray" area and visa versa if you prefer to have an icon hidden do the opposite - drag it to the "hidden" area of the "System Tray".

In regards to the use of a "pinned" PP short-cut icon on the "Task-bar" - clicking on this short-cut icon will open the PP main interface providing you do not have any PP windows (i.e. the main interface or any "message" windows) that are already open (which should perform similar to a "Desktop" short-cut icon as well). If you close the main PP interface and still have any open "message" windows you can always open the PP main interface by clicking on the PP tray icon. There are settings to change from a double-click on the Tray icon to a single-click to do this as well. Also if you have a number of "message" windows open all at the same time you can close all open "message" windows at the same time by going to "Messages" > "Close close all message windows" from the main PP menu (just a few of the many options you have using PP) :wink:
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
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Jeff
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Re: PopPeeper 5.2.2 will not start

Post by Jeff »

For various reasons, I personally do not like pinned icons and they also cause a disturbance in the... program that I use to manage the taskbar (shoutout to 7+ taskbar tweaker) -- it puts a permanent gap in the taskbar until I reboot. That being said, it is a weird issue and not sure what would cause that behavior...

Glad the problem was resolved, though. Here are a few relevant tips in case they help:
- You can move the PP icon from the "hidden" area to wherever you want in the main tray by drag&dropping it
- You can set PP to open with a single-click on the tray icon -- main menu: Tools / PPtweaker / Misc (4th option from the top)
- My personal preference (but I'm a keyboard guy): you can create a keyboard shortcut that opens/hides PP -- main menu: Tools / PPtweaker / Hotkeys

Hope that helps.
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