Calibre Crashes On Start-up (Plus Workaround.)

[melchizedek]

Just upgraded to Calibre v. 2.0 (I'm running Manjaro Linux), and Calibre kept crashing after the start-up splash. So I ran it from a terminal using 'calibre' and it ran fine. So I went in and edited the Calibre shortcut using Xame and removed '--detach %F' from the start up command, leaving just 'calibre'. I saved, and now I can start Calibre from the program launcher.

Not sure why this is, just thought I'd mention it, and mention the fix which worked for me.

[kovidgoyal]

Interesting, I dont see any reason why detach should cause a crash, and it does not for me. All detach does is fork, then redirect stdout and stderr to /dev/null and call setsid().

https://github.com/kovidgoyal/calibr...init__.py#L877

What does

strace -f calibre --detach

output?

[melchizedek]

'strace -f calibre --detach' causes the terminal to go bonkers. Calibre starts, but the terminal won't stop filling up. If I hadn't closed Calibre, I dare say it would have gone on forever.

From typing in 'strace -f calibre --detach' to Calibre fully loading generated over 1400 pages of text. I've copied a little below to give you the gist. A lot seems repeated, and the forum won't allow me to provide the whole message.

strace -f calibre --detach
execve("/usr/bin/calibre", ["calibre", "--detach"], [/* 38 vars */]) = 0
brk(0) = 0x1321000
access("/etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/etc/ld.so.cache", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=202946, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 202946, PROT_READ, MAP_PRIVATE, 3, 0) = 0x7f75f3b82000
close(3) = 0
open("/usr/lib/libc.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\3\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\20 \1\2\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=2047384, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f75f3b81000
mmap(NULL, 3858192, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f75f35e6000
mprotect(0x7f75f378a000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f75f398a000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1a4000) = 0x7f75f398a000
mmap(0x7f75f3990000, 16144, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f75f3990000
close(3) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f75f3b80000
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f75f3b7f000
arch_prctl(ARCH_SET_FS, 0x7f75f3b80700) = 0
mprotect(0x7f75f398a000, 16384, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f75f3bb4000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
munmap(0x7f75f3b82000, 202946) = 0
readlink("/proc/self/exe", "/opt/calibre/calibre", 1023) = 20
brk(0) = 0x1321000
brk(0x1342000) = 0x1342000
execve("/opt/calibre/bin/calibre", ["/opt/calibre/bin/calibre", "--detach"], [/* 43 vars */]) = 0
brk(0) = 0x1c0b000
access("/etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/tls/x86_64/libcalibre-launcher.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/tls/x86_64", 0x7fff2c339320) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/tls/libcalibre-launcher.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/tls", 0x7fff2c339320) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/x86_64/libcalibre-launcher.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/x86_64", 0x7fff2c339320) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libcalibre-launcher.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\22 0\33\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=13936, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719ca4a000
mmap(NULL, 2133760, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719c622000
mprotect(0x7f719c625000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719c824000, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x2000) = 0x7f719c824000
mmap(0x7f719c825000, 24320, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719c825000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libc.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/etc/ld.so.cache", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=202946, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 202946, PROT_READ, MAP_PRIVATE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719ca18000
close(3) = 0
open("/usr/lib/libc.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\3\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\20 \1\2\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=2047384, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 3858192, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719c274000
mprotect(0x7f719c418000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719c618000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1a4000) = 0x7f719c618000
mmap(0x7f719c61e000, 16144, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719c61e000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/tls/x86_64/libpython2.7.so.1.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/tls/x86_64", 0x7fff2c3391b0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/tls/libpython2.7.so.1.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/tls", 0x7fff2c3391b0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/x86_64/libpython2.7.so.1.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
stat("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/x86_64", 0x7fff2c3391b0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/libpython2.7.so.1.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\32 0\34\4\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0555, st_size=1921376, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4080024, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719be8f000
mprotect(0x7f719c026000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719c225000, 258048, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x196000) = 0x7f719c225000
mmap(0x7f719c264000, 61848, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719c264000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/libpthread.so.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libpthread.so.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/usr/lib/libpthread.so.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0000 `\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=149301, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719ca17000
mmap(NULL, 2217104, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719bc71000
mprotect(0x7f719bc89000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719be89000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x18000) = 0x7f719be89000
mmap(0x7f719be8b000, 13456, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719be8b000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/libdl.so.2", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libdl.so.2", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/usr/lib/libdl.so.2", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\32 0\16\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=14672, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2109712, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719ba6d000
mprotect(0x7f719ba70000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719bc6f000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x2000) = 0x7f719bc6f000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/libutil.so.1", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libutil.so.1", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/usr/lib/libutil.so.1", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\20 \17\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=10688, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2105624, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719b86a000
mprotect(0x7f719b86c000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f719ba6b000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1000) = 0x7f719ba6b000
close(3) = 0
open("/opt/calibre/lib/../lib/libm.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/opt/calibre/lib/libm.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/usr/lib/libm.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\20 0U\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=1063360, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f719ca16000
mmap(NULL, 3158360, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f719b566000
mprotect(0x7f719b669000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0

[kovidgoyal]

redirect the output to a file, like this

strace -o trace.txt -f calibre --detach

and attach the file trace.txt

[melchizedek]

It's not so much I don't know how to do it, the forum only allows an attachment size of of 1 MB whereas the trace.txt file is almost 4.5 MB. I'll chuck it into my Dropbox folder for now. Let me know once you've downloaded it and I'll disable the link again.

*Link deleted*

[kovidgoyal]

I've got it, you can just compress the file, like this

zip trace.zip trace.txt

that will get it well under 1MB

[melchizedek]

Ha! Zipping it compressed it to 232 kb. I didn't think it'd compress it that much.

Thanks for the tip.

[kovidgoyal]

Hmm that strace has too much noise, I cant see where it is failing

[melchizedek]

It does seems a little verbose. As I seem to be the only one having this problem, can we assume that it's just me (for whatever reason), and that the workaround I'm using is okay? I mean, is not using 'detach' going to cause me any future problems or cause anything not to work?

[kovidgoyal]

There have been a few other reports of crashing on linux, https://bugs.launchpad.net/calibre/+bug/1360200

but no one has got back to me with any details as yet. In any case, running without --detach is fine. --detach is only needed if you launch calibre from a terminal and want to close the terminal and keep calibre running or if the GUI environment you are launching calibre from does not provide proper stdout/stderr streams.

[melchizedek]

Ah, thanks, Kovid. I should have really checked out the bug reports first. My bad.

And thank you for the help.

[ImaReader]

For me, running under strace doesn't result in a "crash". That is, "calibre --detach" doesn't work, but "strace -o trace.txt -f calibre --detach" does work. I'm guessing it may be some user-specific setting. I created a new user just to test, and "calibre --detach" does work for the new user. I'm not imaginative enough to hazard a guess what's happening.