4.130 appears fragile on Windows

itimpi · 01-24-2009, 08:00 AM

I am finding that I am getting a lot of occurences of Calibre just crashing and dying with the 4.130 build on Windows XP SP3. There is no calibre style exception message - the calibre process just disappears from Task manager (typically leaving calibre-parallel still running)

It appears to happen primarily if a conversion is in progress and I click on the GUI, and in particular after I have used the drop-down to change the output format (I regularily toggle between LRF and EPUB). I have not yet got a step-by-step repeatable process down that causes this error.

It is possible it is just my system, but I thought it was worth mentioning it here to see if others are seeing the same symptoms?

DDHarriman · 01-24-2009, 09:05 AM

Rock solid here with XP SP2.

kiklop74 · 01-24-2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itimpi

I am finding that I am getting a lot of occurences of Calibre just crashing and dying with the 4.130 build on Windows XP SP3. There is no calibre style exception message - the calibre process just disappears from Task manager (typically leaving calibre-parallel still running)

It appears to happen primarily if a conversion is in progress and I click on the GUI, and in particular after I have used the drop-down to change the output format (I regularily toggle between LRF and EPUB). I have not yet got a step-by-step repeatable process down that causes this error.

It is possible it is just my system, but I thought it was worth mentioning it here to see if others are seeing the same symptoms?

It can also happen if you have agressive antivirus/antispyware software. For example I had problems with nod32 antispyware feature.

kovidgoyal · 01-24-2009, 10:38 AM

If there's some equivalent of strace on windows, it might help to get a stack trace

kiklop74 · 01-24-2009, 10:45 AM

There is a tool called dependency walker which can be used to generate trace log. You can get it from here http://www.dependencywalker.com/

itimpi · 01-24-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

If there's some equivalent of strace on windows, it might help to get a stack trace

A good thought - I will try running it with ProcMon (Process Monitor) active to see if it indicates what was happening at the time things went wrong. It will generate reams of output, but only the bits near the end should be relevant.

It certainly seems to be related in some way to the fact that I am changing the output format. If I refrain from doing that I do not seem to get any crashes.

hidari · 01-25-2009, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

If there's some equivalent of strace on windows, it might help to get a stack trace

Also Having trouble with my up date 4,130. Tried it twice on my Vista and on my XP. Neither worked. Never had that problem before. It installs, but then says there is an error that has occurred.

In the end the installation does not work.

hidari · 01-25-2009, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hidari

Also Having trouble with my up date 4,130. Tried it twice on my Vista and on my XP. Neither worked. Never had that problem before. It installs, but then says there is an error that has occurred.

In the end the installation does not work.

I stand corected it now works. Ta Kovidgoyal...

itimpi · 01-25-2009, 07:04 AM

I have tried running with ProcMon and so far the output is not pointing at anything obvious.

One thing I have confirmed is that if I never change the output format things seem to be stable. Since I have both a Sony PRS-500 and Stanza on an iPhone I want outputs in both LRF and EPUB format so my typical work pattern is:

Add several books to the library
Correct their metadata and covers to the values I want
Start bulk conversion to one format
When that conversion has started running, switch the output format to the other one I want
Start the bulk conversion on the other format (conversion to other format is still running)
With the conversions running as background jobs attempt to do other things in the GUI

It is possible that this is not the standard work pattern for those who were reporting no problems, particularily if they only are producing one output format as they only have one ereader device.

The other thing I have noticed is that if conversions are running in the background the GUI periodically freezes for a while. It looks as though this is when a conversion of a particular book completes. I am guessing at this point there is something happening in the GUI relating to that completion?

I now have my source install up and running nicely, so if you want me to look for specific items at that level let me know what they are.

kovidgoyal · 01-25-2009, 01:48 PM

The GUI freezing is when it is is adding the converted book to the database.

I've made one change that affects the output format combobox, can you update your source to the latest from trunk and try?

itimpi · 01-25-2009, 06:57 PM

Been out all day - will update now and try it.

Any specific modules I should be looking to refresh - or is a general refresh of everyhting best?

kovidgoyal · 01-25-2009, 07:15 PM

a general refresh is best

itimpi · 01-25-2009, 07:23 PM

What is the command for that?

I have done a bzr co type command to get my initial source set as mentioned in the calibre guide for setting up the calibre development environment. Which bazaar command simply refreshes it to the latest? I could not spot it in my quick perusal of the bazaar documentation.

I could delete my current source and check it out all again, but that seems a bit unnecessary.

kovidgoyal · 01-25-2009, 07:24 PM

bzr merge lp:calibre

itimpi · 01-26-2009, 08:40 AM

I THINK things may be more stable

To be more certain I probably want to run from binaries rather than source. What is the command I need to run to produce the Windows binaries.

01-24-2009, 08:00 AM	#1
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	4.130 appears fragile on Windows I am finding that I am getting a lot of occurences of Calibre just crashing and dying with the 4.130 build on Windows XP SP3. There is no calibre style exception message - the calibre process just disappears from Task manager (typically leaving calibre-parallel still running) It appears to happen primarily if a conversion is in progress and I click on the GUI, and in particular after I have used the drop-down to change the output format (I regularily toggle between LRF and EPUB). I have not yet got a step-by-step repeatable process down that causes this error. It is possible it is just my system, but I thought it was worth mentioning it here to see if others are seeing the same symptoms?

01-25-2009, 07:04 AM	#9
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	I have tried running with ProcMon and so far the output is not pointing at anything obvious. One thing I have confirmed is that if I never change the output format things seem to be stable. Since I have both a Sony PRS-500 and Stanza on an iPhone I want outputs in both LRF and EPUB format so my typical work pattern is: Add several books to the library Correct their metadata and covers to the values I want Start bulk conversion to one format When that conversion has started running, switch the output format to the other one I want Start the bulk conversion on the other format (conversion to other format is still running) With the conversions running as background jobs attempt to do other things in the GUI It is possible that this is not the standard work pattern for those who were reporting no problems, particularily if they only are producing one output format as they only have one ereader device. The other thing I have noticed is that if conversions are running in the background the GUI periodically freezes for a while. It looks as though this is when a conversion of a particular book completes. I am guessing at this point there is something happening in the GUI relating to that completion? I now have my source install up and running nicely, so if you want me to look for specific items at that level let me know what they are. Last edited by itimpi; 01-25-2009 at 07:07 AM.

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01-24-2009, 09:05 AM	#2
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Rock solid here with XP SP2.

01-24-2009, 10:38 AM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,609 Karma: 28549044 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	If there's some equivalent of strace on windows, it might help to get a stack trace

01-24-2009, 10:45 AM	#5
kiklop74 Guru Posts: 800 Karma: 194644 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Argentina Device: Kindle Voyage	There is a tool called dependency walker which can be used to generate trace log. You can get it from here http://www.dependencywalker.com/

01-25-2009, 01:48 PM	#10
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,609 Karma: 28549044 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The GUI freezing is when it is is adding the converted book to the database. I've made one change that affects the output format combobox, can you update your source to the latest from trunk and try?

01-25-2009, 06:57 PM	#11
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	Been out all day - will update now and try it. Any specific modules I should be looking to refresh - or is a general refresh of everyhting best?

01-25-2009, 07:15 PM	#12
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,609 Karma: 28549044 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	a general refresh is best

01-25-2009, 07:23 PM	#13
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	What is the command for that? I have done a bzr co type command to get my initial source set as mentioned in the calibre guide for setting up the calibre development environment. Which bazaar command simply refreshes it to the latest? I could not spot it in my quick perusal of the bazaar documentation. I could delete my current source and check it out all again, but that seems a bit unnecessary.

01-25-2009, 07:24 PM	#14
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,609 Karma: 28549044 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	bzr merge lp:calibre

01-26-2009, 08:40 AM	#15
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	I THINK things may be more stable To be more certain I probably want to run from binaries rather than source. What is the command I need to run to produce the Windows binaries.