Hangs on Initializing User Interface

foosion · 02-20-2015, 01:47 PM

In recent weeks, calibre has sometimes been hanging on "initializing user interface". If I go to task manager and kill the calibre program process, then restart it, it will work fine. This happens about one launch out of four. Before this, I'd been happily using calibre for years without issue.

I'm on calibre 2.20 and windows 7 64.

Suggestions please.

theducks · 02-20-2015, 02:44 PM

since this is not a new to 2.20 issue,
I would suspect something is interfering with the startup tasks.
Is this hang right after a restart Calibre?

See the FAQ on the download site for the usual culprits

foosion · 02-20-2015, 03:36 PM

"Is this hang right after a restart Calibre?" Sometimes it hangs when I restart shortly after shutting down, sometimes when I haven't run it for a while.

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....ing-on-windows
I'm not on XP
I don't get an error message. It either brings up the initial splash screen, then nothing, or starts the main window, but it's blank and the title bar reports 'not responding'
I'll try running as administrator. In two tries, it didn't hang.

None of the things specified in http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....s-occasionally seem applicable.

It's the usual problem with intermittent issues - it's hard to track down when something only fails occasionally.

Did I miss something?

theducks · 02-20-2015, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foosion

"Is this hang right after a restart Calibre?" Sometimes it hangs when I restart shortly after shutting down, sometimes when I haven't run it for a while.

http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....ing-on-windows
I'm not on XP
I don't get an error message. It either brings up the initial splash screen, then nothing, or starts the main window, but it's blank and the title bar reports 'not responding'
I'll try running as administrator. In two tries, it didn't hang.

None of the things specified in http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....s-occasionally seem applicable.

It's the usual problem with intermittent issues - it's hard to track down when something only fails occasionally.

Did I miss something?

You may have a Race condition where the full shutdown has not completed before a restart fires.

Any cloud/backup software running?

Does it happen if you do a Quit (ctrl-Q), pause 15 seconds and start normally

foosion · 02-20-2015, 03:55 PM

It sometimes hangs when the last shutdown was a long time ago. I don't believe I've ever restarted in as short as 15 seconds.

No cloud/backup software running.

I usually shut down with ctrl-F4, but have done that for years without a problem.

breezee · 02-28-2015, 04:26 AM

The same problem. Just hangs on Initializing User Interface. I am able to start Calibre after several tries of killing and starting (usually 8-10 times) or just right after the computer restart. If I start it finally and then quit with Ctrl-Q + 15 sec then it doesn't solve the problem and to start in again I should restart my computer again.

FJames · 03-01-2015, 10:58 AM

Same here, just started doing it when I updated yesterday from an older version. I have to kill the task and try again, and it launches successfully the 2nd time. Win7, running Calibre for years on this computer.

breezee · 03-07-2015, 02:30 PM

I uninstalled the new 2.20 version and install an old one 1.48 that is available at download page on Calibre website. Everything is great now.

mdhuang · 04-19-2019, 08:48 PM

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but Google brought me here

Got the same problem, Calibre hangs at starting up "initializing user interface".
Solution:
1. Uninstall Calibre
2. Delete AppData\roaming\calibre (AppData is a hidden directory under your user home directory, normally C:\Users\[your_user_name].
3. Re-install Calibre

It should work now!

How did I find this out? The portable version always works on my PC, and I figured there was some old stuff which was not compatible with the newer version of Calibre. And I found that.

UPDATE: only delete gui.json under AppData\roaming\calibre is good enough for me.

theducks · 04-19-2019, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdhuang

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but Google brought me here

Got the same problem, Calibre hangs at starting up "initializing user interface".
Solution:
1. Uninstall Calibre
2. Delete AppData\roaming\calibre (AppData is a hidden directory under your user home directory, normally C:\Users\[your_user_name].
3. Re-install Calibre

It should work now!

How did I find this out? The portable version always works on my PC, and I figured there was some old stuff which was not compatible with the newer version of Calibre. And I found that.

Nekro Post 2.20 was a clue, if the last post date was not.
there are many reasons.

mdhuang · 04-20-2019, 07:23 PM

Yes there could be many reasons. For my situation, I am running Windows 10 Pro and the Calibre had no issues until an update last month (don't remember which version). Every time I started it, it just hung at the "Initializing User Interface" screen. I tried uninstall/reinstall, 32 bit/64 bit, nothing worked except for the portable version which I used for a couple weeks. But it still bugged me a bit why it didn't work.

Deleting AppData\roaming\calibre does work and it makes sense too. Some old stuff there was not compatible with the update.

Hope this post will help somebody in the future.

UPDATE: only delete gui.json under AppData\roaming\calibre is good enough for me.

BetterRed · 04-20-2019, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdhuang

Deleting AppData\roaming\calibre does work and it makes sense too. Some old stuff there was not compatible with the update.

Hope this post will help somebody in the future.

Do you have any insight into what 'old stuff' was not compatible.

Deleting the entire folder could be a drastic step for some people. having to redo global settings, customisations, templates, plugins etc etc etc would be a PITA.

BR

theducks · 04-20-2019, 09:03 PM

I had the update last week. Calibre ran fine.
A few reeeeely old apps needed a helping hand, but even they are running.
Monitors or drives changing internal ID, is more likely

kovidgoyal · 04-21-2019, 01:49 AM

Most likely all that needed to be deleted was gui.jons and/or dynamic.pickle that is where window sizes/locations are stored.

mdhuang · 04-21-2019, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Do you have any insight into what 'old stuff' was not compatible.

Deleting the entire folder could be a drastic step for some people. having to redo global settings, customisations, templates, plugins etc etc etc would be a PITA.

BR

That's a good point. Unfortunately I don't have much insight into that. In my use, I only have some custom columns which are saved to the calibre library location, not in the AppData location.

I agree that for people having a lot of customized stuff, they should not delete the whole folder. Instead, try to move some items out of the foldr. If that doesn't help, move them back and try some other items...

02-20-2015, 01:47 PM	#1
foosion Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 4562 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Pixel 4a	Hangs on Initializing User Interface In recent weeks, calibre has sometimes been hanging on "initializing user interface". If I go to task manager and kill the calibre program process, then restart it, it will work fine. This happens about one launch out of four. Before this, I'd been happily using calibre for years without issue. I'm on calibre 2.20 and windows 7 64. Suggestions please. Last edited by foosion; 02-20-2015 at 01:54 PM.

04-19-2019, 08:48 PM	#9
mdhuang Bookworm Posts: 113 Karma: 154 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony CLIE NX80V, PRS-500	The real solution Sorry to bring up this old thread, but Google brought me here Got the same problem, Calibre hangs at starting up "initializing user interface". Solution: 1. Uninstall Calibre 2. Delete AppData\roaming\calibre (AppData is a hidden directory under your user home directory, normally C:\Users\[your_user_name]. 3. Re-install Calibre It should work now! How did I find this out? The portable version always works on my PC, and I figured there was some old stuff which was not compatible with the newer version of Calibre. And I found that. UPDATE: only delete gui.json under AppData\roaming\calibre is good enough for me. Last edited by mdhuang; 04-21-2019 at 04:34 PM.

04-20-2019, 07:23 PM	#11
mdhuang Bookworm Posts: 113 Karma: 154 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Sony CLIE NX80V, PRS-500	Yes there could be many reasons. For my situation, I am running Windows 10 Pro and the Calibre had no issues until an update last month (don't remember which version). Every time I started it, it just hung at the "Initializing User Interface" screen. I tried uninstall/reinstall, 32 bit/64 bit, nothing worked except for the portable version which I used for a couple weeks. But it still bugged me a bit why it didn't work. Deleting AppData\roaming\calibre does work and it makes sense too. Some old stuff there was not compatible with the update. Hope this post will help somebody in the future. UPDATE: only delete gui.json under AppData\roaming\calibre is good enough for me. Last edited by mdhuang; 04-21-2019 at 04:34 PM.

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02-20-2015, 02:44 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,800 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	since this is not a new to 2.20 issue, I would suspect something is interfering with the startup tasks. Is this hang right after a restart Calibre? See the FAQ on the download site for the usual culprits

02-20-2015, 03:36 PM	#3
foosion Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 4562 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Pixel 4a	"Is this hang right after a restart Calibre?" Sometimes it hangs when I restart shortly after shutting down, sometimes when I haven't run it for a while. http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....ing-on-windows I'm not on XP I don't get an error message. It either brings up the initial splash screen, then nothing, or starts the main window, but it's blank and the title bar reports 'not responding' I'll try running as administrator. In two tries, it didn't hang. None of the things specified in http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/faq....s-occasionally seem applicable. It's the usual problem with intermittent issues - it's hard to track down when something only fails occasionally. Did I miss something?

02-20-2015, 03:55 PM	#5
foosion Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 4562 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Pixel 4a	It sometimes hangs when the last shutdown was a long time ago. I don't believe I've ever restarted in as short as 15 seconds. No cloud/backup software running. I usually shut down with ctrl-F4, but have done that for years without a problem.

02-28-2015, 04:26 AM	#6
breezee Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2015 Device: Sony PRS T3	The same problem. Just hangs on Initializing User Interface. I am able to start Calibre after several tries of killing and starting (usually 8-10 times) or just right after the computer restart. If I start it finally and then quit with Ctrl-Q + 15 sec then it doesn't solve the problem and to start in again I should restart my computer again.

03-01-2015, 10:58 AM	#7
FJames Addict Posts: 320 Karma: 320941 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Touch & Aura	Same here, just started doing it when I updated yesterday from an older version. I have to kill the task and try again, and it launches successfully the 2nd time. Win7, running Calibre for years on this computer.

03-07-2015, 02:30 PM	#8
breezee Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2015 Device: Sony PRS T3	I uninstalled the new 2.20 version and install an old one 1.48 that is available at download page on Calibre website. Everything is great now.

04-20-2019, 09:03 PM	#13
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,800 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	I had the update last week. Calibre ran fine. A few reeeeely old apps needed a helping hand, but even they are running. Monitors or drives changing internal ID, is more likely

04-21-2019, 01:49 AM	#14
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,857 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Most likely all that needed to be deleted was gui.jons and/or dynamic.pickle that is where window sizes/locations are stored.