[Windows] Calibre Appears to Not Run, But Uses 10% of CPU

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What is it that doesn't work with 22H2?

With how much you care about people being on the latest OS version, I'm wondering if you work for Microsoft.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

With how much you care about people being on the latest OS version, I'm wondering if you work for Microsoft.

We did find out that if your version of Windows 10 is not updated enough, Calibre 6 won't work.

With the new change to DLLs in Calibre 6, maybe Windows 11 needs to be up-to-date. I cannot say for sure as I am up-to-date.

[enuddleyarbl]

The things that I can remember specifically about 22H2 is the re-introduction of AMD SCEP certificate errors and the complete breakage of the built in Backup software. There were several other annoying things here and there. But, it turns out that when I'd reported them my Microsoft Account ID was associated with the Insider program (even though I'd left it years ago). I've since managed to clear that up. But that means I can no longer see those reports (apparently the apocalypse will occur if people see reports from people in other programs).

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

First try excluding the calibre installation folder. Then the calibre configuration folder and finally the calibre library folder.

I updated to Windows 11 version 22H2 and still had this problem (along with more of the Windows 22H2 problems). So, I re-installed Windows with a fully updated version. And, along with 22H2 problems, this problem with Calibre apparently being blocked by Windows Security (Defender) continues. I've now added an exclusion to Defender for all of C:\Program Files\Calibre2. I just tried editing a book and got the same problem. So, my next exclusion should be the "calibre configuration folder." Is that ...\AppData\Roaming\calibre?

[kovidgoyal]

The configuration folder can be accessed via Preferences->Miscellaneous

[enuddleyarbl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

The configuration folder can be accessed via Preferences->Miscellaneous

Thanks, Kovid. On my system, that points to AppData/Roaming/calibre.

[enuddleyarbl]

Well, I'm at a loss. Still using that new install of Windows 11 (22H2). I've got exclusions for the Calibre program folder (C:\Program Files\Calibre2), the configuration folder (...AppData\Roaming\calibre) and my book libraries (D:\CalibreLibrary and D:\CalibreTestLibrary). Yet, I just tried editing an epub in the Calibre editor and the editor refused to start (same symptoms as above). Turned off Real Time Protection, shut down Calibre, stopped the orphaned Calibre process in Task Manager, started both Calibre and the editor for the book and it works fine. Turned RTP back on and it still works fine (but, it'll probably stop working after a couple of boots). Nothing in Protection History.

The ONLY thing I can find in the Event Viewer at the time of the event involving the issue is a weird one. There's an Event 1014, DNS Client Events Warning that reads:

Name resolution for the name www.nealasher.co.uk timed out after none of the configured DNS servers responded. Client PID 12640.

The book I was trying to edit was "The Voyage of the Sable Keech" by Neal Asher. But, there's nothing in the book that I can find with any kind of similar URL in it. I've got to assume the Editor somehow tried to access the internet for something about the book. But, how it would get that address, I don't know.

[ownedbycats]

If you right-click the author in book details and open "Manage Authors," it's possible to add a link there; I'm not sure if there's any way to auto-populate this (aside from FanFicFare for fanfics) and I don't know how that could break things.

[enuddleyarbl]

Interesting. Under Manage Authors, there are no links populated. But, in Details, the author's name is hyperlinked. Since it's pointing to his Goodreads page, maybe the Goodreads PI I've got loaded doing that. Still, I can't find anything for that URL that popped up.

I don't think that's the issue, though. It's just the only thing that shows up anywhere near the time I was doing this.

I've got to wonder if this is something to do with Microsoft's turning Credential Guard on by default in 22H2. Of course, if it were just that, I'd have thought someone else in the world would be seeing this kind of behavior. My next thought is it has something to do with my AMD system. The confluence of 22H2, AMD and Calibre might be a small enough of a set to only have me show up with an issue.

EDIT: Oops. No. This started before I went to 22H2. I was hoping 22H2 would actually fix the issue. Oh, well.

[ownedbycats]

In Preferences > Look & Feel > Book details, there's option to decide what happens when clciking an author link. Default is Goodreads I think.

[enuddleyarbl]

I had more fun with whatever's causing this last night. I was getting the issue with the Calibre Editor and hit the Edit button multiple times to see what would happen. It looks like after the first one fails to show up, later instances do show up. But, each one takes about 10% of the CPU. So, by the time I started shutting them down, the various Calibre Editor instances (doing nothing) were using around 50% of my CPU.

I've got Windows Security exclusions on all of Calibre's folders and nothing shows in Protection History. And, since runs after the first one seem to launch correctly, I'm thinking this isn't a Windows Security issue. And, since I first started seeing this before 22H2, I guess it's not that. I guess I'll look into reverting my AMD Chipset Driver to the previous version and see if that might be the problem.

[enuddleyarbl]

This might possibly be solved with:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...57&postcount=7

[ownedbycats]

Huh. I didn't think of it at the time, but there was a brief period when Calibre intermittedly got stuck in background, or made a blank white window - then the NVIDIA drivers updated and it stopped happening. Seeing as disabling GPU fixes it, maybe something similar to that was happening here.

[enuddleyarbl]

Aargh. Nope, disabling hardware acceleration as noted in my earlier post didn't work. I just had the issue happen again when trying to start an editing session within Calibre.

[enuddleyarbl]

I'm just adding a comment for what I'm currently doing so I don't forget it later (in case it's relevant). I finally got fed up with Windows 11 and went back (clean install) to Windows 10. My first editing session in Calibre went fine. But, Windows Security just let me know that Reputation-Based Protection (Windows Security > App & Browser Control) wasn't on. I turned it on and my very next session with the Calibre editor refused to open. I've now turned off Potentially Unwanted App Blocking (Block Apps, not Block Downloads) in that area and will see how things go. The Calibre Editor started up just fine this time. But, since it's a sporadic problem, that really doesn't mean all that much.

EDIT: Nope. Turning off Potentially Unwanted App Blocking (Block Apps) didn't work. Calibre Editor wouldn't launch on the second book I tried editing. Looking at the other things on that Reputation-Based Protection page, they all look like they're involving downloads and not apps installed on the computer. I don't know what else to try turning off. I'll have to look things over some more.