Calibre locks entire machine for 1-2 mins on first startup

HarryT · 06-05-2015, 04:52 AM

32-bit Calibre 2.27 running on 64-bit Windows 7:

When I start Calibre for the first time after booting my PC in the morning, my entire PC completely "locks" for 1-2 minutes. When I say "locks" I mean that the entire Windows desktop becomes completely unresponsive, with no response to mouse clicks. Sometimes even the mouse stops moving. After 1-2 mins, everything springs back into life, and then about 20s later, the Calibre splashscreen and window appears.

After starting Calibre once, I can exit it, and subsequently restart it instantly. The issue is only occurring on the initial startup.

I guess this is due to the startup of the Qt framework that Calibre uses. I've added "calibre.exe" to the list of exclusions in my virus scanner, but that's made no difference whatsoever.

Can anything be done about this? It's certainly not a show-stopper, but it is mildly annoying. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

kovidgoyal · 06-05-2015, 05:01 AM

This will be because of your antivirus. I know you excluded calibre.exe but are you sure the exclusion is working? For instance, do you have multiple installs of calibre, and therefore multiple calibre.exe? Try excluding the calibre installation dir as well, if your A/V lets you.

HarryT · 06-05-2015, 05:28 AM

Hi Kovid,

I only have a single Calibre installation, and have tried adding both the "calibre.exe" and the entire Calibre installation folder to the exclusions list.

I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials. What I did was as follows:
1. Double click the MSE icon in the system tray.
2. Go to the "Settings" tab.
3. Select the "Excluded files and locations" item.
4. Add both the Calibre folder and the "calibre.exe" application to the list of exclusions.

If anyone can advise what else needs doing to solve this problem I'd be grateful.

Thanks.

DrChiper · 06-05-2015, 05:45 AM

This issue is an old one as I have seen this behavior since the 1.x series.

I remedy it by starting calibre at the very first opportunity right after starting-up my machine (win7 x64). Most of the time the delay then is just a couple of seconds without any freeze.

When I miss the sweet spot, then even the cursor seems to be frozen for some time

.

kovidgoyal · 06-05-2015, 05:51 AM

First confirm that it is your antivirus. Temporarily disable it and reboot your computer and see if the issue goes away (be careful to keep your computer disconnected from the net during the test).

If that does cause the issue to go away, then you can get down to trying to figure out how exactly to convince your antivirus to play ball.

If not, then try safe mode and see if that makes a difference.

BetterRed · 06-05-2015, 06:25 AM

KG, & Dr. C

Here's what I'd do - download the MSE install from MS and put it somewhere safe. Isolate the PC from the network. e.g. disconnect the ethernet cable, disable the wireless connection. Uninstall MSE via the control panel. Turn off the firewall, see ==>> Turn Windows Firewall on or off - Windows Help

Reboot - if the problem doesn't go away then at least you'll know what the cause isn't -- see 2 below

If it goes way, then re-enable the firewall and reboot, if the problem comes back it's a firewall issue. If not then reinstall MSE and reboot. If the problem comes back it's a problem with MSE, if not then maybe its fixed.

I saw something recently where a problem 'went away' after reinstalling the AV (can't recall which AV)

2 Problem exists after uninstall MSE and disable firewall

Re-enable the firewall, reinstall MSE, reconnect network.

Is calibre in your start up tasks, if it is then disable it from there. Then try starting calibre manually after a reboot once the other startup tasks are up and running.

The order in which tasks are executed at startup is a bit of 'catch as catch can' affair. Perhaps something has changed which has upset the apple cart - like the Windows 10 offer in the tray.

There are utilities that allow you to serialise and insert delays between starting tasks, I used one of them on Vista when two startup tasks were competing for the same resources - IIRC the problem went away when I moved to Win7.

Added : my experience is that 'disabling' MSE via its settings panel doesn't always survive a reboot. The only sure way I've found is to uninstall and reinstall it - sadly there's no export/import of settings - so screen shot your settings before you uninstall.

BR

HarryT · 06-05-2015, 06:42 AM

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll do some testing over the weekend.

chaley · 06-05-2015, 09:01 AM

@BetterRed: I might be the person who said the problem went away. What I said:

Quote:

My experience: I recently had to rebuild my windows 7 Pro/x64 computer. After all the updates etc were installed, calibre took forever to start, sometimes causing the entire computer to become non-responsive for 30 to 60 seconds. The solution: tell Windows Security Essentials to ignore calibre.exe. As soon as I did that the problem went away.

I note that what I said isn't what I actually did. Instead of telling MSE to ignore calibre.exe I told it to ignore the entire tree /Program Files/Calibre2 as shown in the attached screen capture.

For me, no matter how long I waited after a reboot (I once waited 90 minutes), the first startup was horrible. My suspicion is that the problem comes from MSE scanning the pylib.zip file perhaps more than once. The improvement could come from it keeping track of what it scanned so it happens only once. As I said, after the above change calibre went back to starting lickety split.

HarryT · 06-05-2015, 09:15 AM

Thanks, Chaley. I too have added the folder "C:\Program Files (x86)\Calibre2" (I'm running 32-bit Calibre, not 64-bit) to the exclusions screen, but unfortunately it hasn't made any difference.

It's not a particularly big deal - I only run Calibre once every few days when I want to add or remove books, or change the content of my Kindle. More a minor inconvenience.

BetterRed · 06-05-2015, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaley

@BetterRed: I might be the person who said the problem went away. What I said:

@chaley - yes - that's the one I had in mind - but couldn't recall the where and the who. At the time I thought that's strange, I run MSE and I don't have any exclusions, I also run MalwareBytes, no exclusions in it either.

Why would it be scanning pylib.zip when a calibre starts, if the zip is unpacked then I guess it would scan the files.

Perhaps you could test your suspicions by excluding all archives and removing the folder exclusion

Click image for larger version

Name: Capture.JPG
Views: 473
Size: 69.7 KB
ID: 139041

Yet another itc mystery

BR

cybmole · 06-06-2015, 12:49 AM

i suggest the lock effect my be due to a scan for connected devices/ USB ports.
I hypothesize this as I used to experience the same lock out in Win 7 ( cannot use mouse etc for 1 minute+ ) from a different program when it was set to run at start up ( not from calibre) , and i know that calibre scans for connected devices.
This could explain why disabling av/ firewall makes no difference ?
maybe calibre tries to scan a USB port that has not fully woken/activated & the whole PC gets put on hold until that port responds.
dunno what the fix would be, if that is the cause though.

BetterRed · 06-06-2015, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybmole

i suggest the lock effect my be due to a scan for connected devices/ USB ports.
I hypothesize this as I used to experience the same lock out in Win 7 ( cannot use mouse etc for 1 minute+ ) from a different program when it was set to run at start up ( not from calibre) , and i know that calibre scans for connected devices.

good point - this sort of thing can happen at any time if a usb device has gone to sleep - usually a disk drive that spins down after no usage.

My file manager will take longer to start in that situation, ~10 seconds rather than 1-2secs; At one time it it was up to 3 or 4 minutes if a shared drive was unavailable, which was eventually reduced to ~10 seconds.

BR

kovidgoyal · 06-06-2015, 02:08 AM

Device scanning happens in its own thread, it cannot lock up the main thread, regardless of how long a scan takes.

BetterRed · 06-06-2015, 02:20 AM

Supposing the library was on a sleeping disk, SATA disks can be made to spin down when not in use. I do it with mine to reduce noise, they wake up almost instantaneously - but is that true with all controllers and disks.

BR

kovidgoyal · 06-06-2015, 02:48 AM

The OP is reporting a lock before the splash screen appears, which means long before the library is opened. The only files being accessed at that point are from the program files directory and possibly the calibre config folder.

@HarryT: Which gives me another idea, you can try excluding the calibre config folder as well and see if that makes a difference (Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open config directory)

06-05-2015, 04:52 AM	#1
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Calibre locks entire machine for 1-2 mins on first startup 32-bit Calibre 2.27 running on 64-bit Windows 7: When I start Calibre for the first time after booting my PC in the morning, my entire PC completely "locks" for 1-2 minutes. When I say "locks" I mean that the entire Windows desktop becomes completely unresponsive, with no response to mouse clicks. Sometimes even the mouse stops moving. After 1-2 mins, everything springs back into life, and then about 20s later, the Calibre splashscreen and window appears. After starting Calibre once, I can exit it, and subsequently restart it instantly. The issue is only occurring on the initial startup. I guess this is due to the startup of the Qt framework that Calibre uses. I've added "calibre.exe" to the list of exclusions in my virus scanner, but that's made no difference whatsoever. Can anything be done about this? It's certainly not a show-stopper, but it is mildly annoying. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Thanks,

06-05-2015, 06:25 AM	#6
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,637 Karma: 29710510 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	KG, & Dr. C Here's what I'd do - download the MSE install from MS and put it somewhere safe. Isolate the PC from the network. e.g. disconnect the ethernet cable, disable the wireless connection. Uninstall MSE via the control panel. Turn off the firewall, see ==>> Turn Windows Firewall on or off - Windows Help Reboot - if the problem doesn't go away then at least you'll know what the cause isn't -- see 2 below If it goes way, then re-enable the firewall and reboot, if the problem comes back it's a firewall issue. If not then reinstall MSE and reboot. If the problem comes back it's a problem with MSE, if not then maybe its fixed. I saw something recently where a problem 'went away' after reinstalling the AV (can't recall which AV) 2 Problem exists after uninstall MSE and disable firewall Re-enable the firewall, reinstall MSE, reconnect network. Is calibre in your start up tasks, if it is then disable it from there. Then try starting calibre manually after a reboot once the other startup tasks are up and running. The order in which tasks are executed at startup is a bit of 'catch as catch can' affair. Perhaps something has changed which has upset the apple cart - like the Windows 10 offer in the tray. There are utilities that allow you to serialise and insert delays between starting tasks, I used one of them on Vista when two startup tasks were competing for the same resources - IIRC the problem went away when I moved to Win7. Added : my experience is that 'disabling' MSE via its settings panel doesn't always survive a reboot. The only sure way I've found is to uninstall and reinstall it - sadly there's no export/import of settings - so screen shot your settings before you uninstall. BR Last edited by BetterRed; 06-05-2015 at 06:38 AM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Is it safe to allow calibre scan my entire device?	drmadhupk	Calibre	13	08-11-2014 12:56 AM
Calibre locks up since last update	MikeFortkamp	Devices	6	03-15-2014 11:27 PM
Calibre Locks up Laptop during news D/L	yocalif	Devices	5	03-25-2011 12:16 AM
Please Help - My Entire Calibre Library Disappeared	Marcy	Calibre	17	08-14-2010 09:56 AM
Did Calibre really just delete my entire collection?!	GavinZac	Calibre	12	02-06-2009 10:23 PM

06-05-2015, 05:01 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,208 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	This will be because of your antivirus. I know you excluded calibre.exe but are you sure the exclusion is working? For instance, do you have multiple installs of calibre, and therefore multiple calibre.exe? Try excluding the calibre installation dir as well, if your A/V lets you.

06-05-2015, 05:28 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Hi Kovid, I only have a single Calibre installation, and have tried adding both the "calibre.exe" and the entire Calibre installation folder to the exclusions list. I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials. What I did was as follows: 1. Double click the MSE icon in the system tray. 2. Go to the "Settings" tab. 3. Select the "Excluded files and locations" item. 4. Add both the Calibre folder and the "calibre.exe" application to the list of exclusions. If anyone can advise what else needs doing to solve this problem I'd be grateful. Thanks.

06-05-2015, 05:45 AM	#4
DrChiper Bookish Posts: 1,006 Karma: 2003162 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: PC, t1, t2, t3, Clara BW, Clara HD, Libra 2, Libra Color, Nxtpaper 11	This issue is an old one as I have seen this behavior since the 1.x series. I remedy it by starting calibre at the very first opportunity right after starting-up my machine (win7 x64). Most of the time the delay then is just a couple of seconds without any freeze. When I miss the sweet spot, then even the cursor seems to be frozen for some time .

06-05-2015, 05:51 AM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,208 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	First confirm that it is your antivirus. Temporarily disable it and reboot your computer and see if the issue goes away (be careful to keep your computer disconnected from the net during the test). If that does cause the issue to go away, then you can get down to trying to figure out how exactly to convince your antivirus to play ball. If not, then try safe mode and see if that makes a difference.

06-05-2015, 06:42 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thank you for the suggestions. I'll do some testing over the weekend.

06-05-2015, 09:15 AM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Thanks, Chaley. I too have added the folder "C:\Program Files (x86)\Calibre2" (I'm running 32-bit Calibre, not 64-bit) to the exclusions screen, but unfortunately it hasn't made any difference. It's not a particularly big deal - I only run Calibre once every few days when I want to add or remove books, or change the content of my Kindle. More a minor inconvenience.

06-06-2015, 12:49 AM	#11
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	i suggest the lock effect my be due to a scan for connected devices/ USB ports. I hypothesize this as I used to experience the same lock out in Win 7 ( cannot use mouse etc for 1 minute+ ) from a different program when it was set to run at start up ( not from calibre) , and i know that calibre scans for connected devices. This could explain why disabling av/ firewall makes no difference ? maybe calibre tries to scan a USB port that has not fully woken/activated & the whole PC gets put on hold until that port responds. dunno what the fix would be, if that is the cause though.

06-06-2015, 02:08 AM	#13
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,208 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Device scanning happens in its own thread, it cannot lock up the main thread, regardless of how long a scan takes.

06-06-2015, 02:20 AM	#14
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,637 Karma: 29710510 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	Supposing the library was on a sleeping disk, SATA disks can be made to spin down when not in use. I do it with mine to reduce noise, they wake up almost instantaneously - but is that true with all controllers and disks. BR

06-06-2015, 02:48 AM	#15
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,208 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The OP is reporting a lock before the splash screen appears, which means long before the library is opened. The only files being accessed at that point are from the program files directory and possibly the calibre config folder. @HarryT: Which gives me another idea, you can try excluding the calibre config folder as well and see if that makes a difference (Preferences->Miscellaneous->Open config directory)

Advert

Advert