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Pegasus hangs on startup

It called itself a critical update. 

However I again rejoiced too soon. A couple of hours after my last post the problem returned, though this time Excel did work but Pegasus and Word didn't.

Realizing that drastic measures were required I transferred my mail to my new computer and have relegated the old old one to use on the boat (where I don't have an internet connection so don't need email).

So far all is working well.

I assume Microsoft know there is a problem as every time I try to start Word it tells me it is sending Microsoft the details. 

<p>It called itself a critical update. </p><p>However I again rejoiced too soon. A couple of hours after my last post the problem returned, though this time Excel did work but Pegasus and Word didn't.</p><p>Realizing that drastic measures were required I transferred my mail to my new computer and have relegated the old old one to use on the boat (where I don't have an internet connection so don't need email).</p><p>So far all is working well.</p><p>I assume Microsoft know there is a problem as every time I try to start Word it tells me it is sending Microsoft the details. </p>

Hi.

I am having a problem with Pegasus Mail freezing up when loading. The splash screen appears with "Restoring desktop layout.." at the bottom, then nothing more appears to happen.

I am running Pegasus Mail V4.7 on Windows 10. Windows has recently installed an upgrade and I suspect this may be something to do with the problem but Pegasus was working immediately after that.

I have tried removing all the .CNM files and renaming PMAIL.INI, as suggested elewhere in this forum, but then it freezes with the splash screen saying "Opening new mail folder ..."

Has anyone got any suggestions? Try not to get too technical please.

This has caught me a little by surprise as the software has been so reliable in the past.

<div>Hi.</div><div> </div><div>I am having a problem with Pegasus Mail freezing up when loading. The splash screen appears with "Restoring desktop layout.." at the bottom, then nothing more appears to happen.</div><div> </div><div>I am running Pegasus Mail V4.7 on Windows 10. Windows has recently installed an upgrade and I suspect this may be something to do with the problem but Pegasus was working immediately after that.</div><div> </div><div>I have tried removing all the .CNM files and renaming PMAIL.INI, as suggested elewhere in this forum, but then it freezes with the splash screen saying "Opening new mail folder ..."</div><div> </div><div>Has anyone got any suggestions? Try not to get too technical please.</div><div> </div><div>This has caught me a little by surprise as the software has been so reliable in the past.</div><div> </div>

Are you certain all .CNM files have been moved out of the new mail directory?  A hang during "opening new mail" is normally an indication of an unreadable new message file (.CNM).  It will likely be dated newer than the last successful start of Pegasus Mail.

 

<p>Are you certain all .CNM files have been moved out of the new mail directory?  A hang during "opening new mail" is normally an indication of an unreadable new message file (.CNM).  It will likely be dated newer than the last successful start of Pegasus Mail. </p><p>  </p>

Yes, they were all moved out, and they were all messages that had been there before the problem arrived, and all had been opened and read successfully.

Yes, they were all moved out, and they were all messages that had been there before the problem arrived, and all had been opened and read successfully.

The obvious is ruled out so please explain exactly what is happening. 

It's important to know whether you are you having to kill winpm-32.exe using task manager and, if you do, whether the "Opening new mail" window is sitting open and hung when you do.

<p>The obvious is ruled out so please explain exactly what is happening.  </p><p>It's important to know whether you are you having to kill winpm-32.exe using task manager and, if you do, whether the "Opening new mail" window is sitting open and hung when you do. </p>

The window remains open until it is removed. I can kill it with Task Manager, or by rebooting the computer, or if I click on it after a few minutes a Windows dialog opens saying it not responding and allowing me to close it.

The window remains open until it is removed. I can kill it with Task Manager, or by rebooting the computer, or if I click on it after a few minutes a Windows dialog opens saying it not responding and allowing me to close it.

Unfortunately, I'm at a loss for an explanation to a hang at the "Opening new mail" window when there aren't any new mail files to process.  Anyone else have any thoughts?

I think it would be worthwhile to confirm that Pegasus Mail is looking for new mail in the same directory from which you removed the .CNM files.  To do this from outside Pegasus Mail, open the current PMAIL.INI file with a text editor, find the entry for "New mailbox location", verify its path is as expected.

 

<p>Unfortunately, I'm at a loss for an explanation to a hang at the "Opening new mail" window when there aren't any new mail files to process.  Anyone else have any thoughts?</p><p>I think it would be worthwhile to confirm that Pegasus Mail is looking for new mail in the same directory from which you removed the .CNM files.  To do this from outside Pegasus Mail, open the current PMAIL.INI file with a text editor, find the entry for "New mailbox location", verify its path is as expected.</p><p>  </p>

The new mail directory is correct

 

It may be worth mentioning that the same fault shows up for all the users on the system.

 

Are we concentrating too much on the "Opening new mail"? The original indication was when the PMAIL.INI file was active and it froze while "restoring desktop layout" (also the same for all users).

 

 

<p>The new mail directory is correct</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It may be worth mentioning that the same fault shows up for all the users on the system.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Are we concentrating too much on the "Opening new mail"? The original indication was when the PMAIL.INI file was active and it froze while "restoring desktop layout" (also the same for all users).</span></p><p> </p><p> </p>

You are probably correct.  I am befuddled by the fact that the problem occurs for all users though.  A problem like this is usually associated with a configuration file but each user has their own configuration files so affecting all is surprising.  What is your setup?  Multiple users on a single machine?  Network with users running a shared install?

 If single machine, is the install to default locations...

...programs in C:\PMAIL\PROGRAMS

...mailbox directories in C:\PMAIL\MAIL?

 

<p>You are probably correct.  I am befuddled by the fact that the problem occurs for all users though.  A problem like this is usually associated with a configuration file but each user has their own configuration files so affecting all is surprising.  What is your setup?  Multiple users on a single machine?  Network with users running a shared install?</p><p> If single machine, is the install to default locations...</p><p>...programs in C:\PMAIL\PROGRAMS</p><p>...mailbox directories in C:\PMAIL\MAIL? </p><p> </p>

The program files are in C:\pmail\pmail\programs

Mailboxes are in C:\data\pmail\mail

 

My setup is all on a single machine. Mercury collects the mail and puts it in the mailboxes then the users open Pegasus in the relevant mailbox. This setup has worked OK on this machine for the past 5 years, and on very similar systems on other machines since Windows 3.1.

 

The only significant change recently is a Windows update last week, but immediately after the update Pegasus was still working OK. 

 

<p>The program files are in C:\pmail\pmail\programs</p><p>Mailboxes are in C:\data\pmail\mail</p><p> </p><p>My setup is all on a single machine. Mercury collects the mail and puts it in the mailboxes then the users open Pegasus in the relevant mailbox. This setup has worked OK on this machine for the past 5 years, and on very similar systems on other machines<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> since Windows 3.1.</span></p><p> </p><p>The only significant change recently is a Windows update last week, but immediately after the update Pegasus was still working OK. </p><p> </p>

I'm at a loss.  I keep coming back to a bad message file.  IIRC, opening new mail occurs immediately after restoring desktop layout (it happens so fast on my machines that I can't tell for certain) so a bad new mail message file could make the hang appear to occur at "restoring desktop layout" or "Opening new mail".  I need someone to chime in who's not suffering from my mental fixation disorder.

I'm at a loss.  I keep coming back to a bad message file.  IIRC, opening new mail occurs immediately after restoring desktop layout (it happens so fast on my machines that I can't tell for certain) so a bad new mail message file could make the hang appear to occur at "restoring desktop layout" or "Opening new mail".  I need someone to chime in who's not suffering from my mental fixation disorder.

If Pegasus Mail hangs with the status "restoring desktop layout" this may happen while loading extensions (add-ons) since unfortunately there's not status indicating this explicitely. So you should look for any fff-files in Pegasus Mail's "programs" subdirectory and rename them temporarily for figuring out which one could be involved.

If all this doesn't help the last resort would be creating a dump file using my Minidump extension: If properly installed it can be launched from its start menu group while Pegasus Mail hangs by clicking Minidump's Snapshot entry. Since Pegasus Mail doesn't start any more you would need to check Windows' Temp directory for a .dmp file or a .cab file (the latter containing the compressed .dmp) which should be sent to <beta-reports [at] pmail.gen.nz> for inspection. This could reveal the exact program code section that Pegasus Mail executes while freezing.

&lt;p&gt;If Pegasus Mail hangs with the status &lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt; &quot;restoring desktop layout&quot; this may happen while loading extensions (add-ons) since unfortunately there&#039;s not status indicating this explicitely. So you should look for any fff-files in Pegasus Mail&#039;s &quot;programs&quot; subdirectory and rename them temporarily for figuring out which one could be involved.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;If all this doesn&#039;t help the last resort would be creating a dump file using my Minidump extension: If properly installed it can be launched from its start menu group &lt;b&gt;while&lt;/b&gt; Pegasus Mail hangs by clicking Minidump&#039;s &lt;i&gt;Snapshot&lt;/i&gt; entry. Since Pegasus Mail doesn&#039;t start any more you would need to check Windows&#039; Temp directory for a .dmp file or a .cab file &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;(the latter containing the compressed .dmp) &lt;/span&gt;which should be sent to &amp;lt;beta-reports [at] pmail.gen.nz&amp;gt; for inspection&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;. This could reveal the exact program code section that Pegasus Mail executes while free&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;zing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:10pt;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
			Michael
--
IERenderer's Homepage
PGP Key ID (RSA 2048): 0xC45D831B
S/MIME Fingerprint: 94C6B471 0C623088 A5B27701 742B8666 3B7E657C

Bingo!

And the prize goes to IERenderer.fff. 

I assume this is something to do with Internet Explorer. As I don't use IE can I just delete this file? 

Thanks a lot, I was beginning to get worried. 

 

&lt;p&gt;Bingo! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And the prize goes to IERenderer.fff.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I assume this is something to do with Internet Explorer. As I don&#039;t use IE can I just delete this file?&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thanks a lot, I was beginning to get worried.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Whoops, I cheered too soon. It now gets as far as displaying the New Mail folder, but when I try to open a message it hangs again.

Is this because it can now no longer find the IERenderer.dll file?

I tried sending myself a simple text message but when I tried to read it that also caused it to hang.

 

&lt;p&gt;Whoops, I cheered too soon. It now gets as far as displaying the New Mail folder, but when I try to open a message it hangs again.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;Is this because it can now no longer find the IERenderer.dll file?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;I tried sending myself a simple text message but when I tried to read it that also caused it to hang.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Comming late to this thread as I live more on the mailing list

Have you tried adding "-O" to your shortcut (or make a test shortcut with it), that should let you start Pegesus without it trying to download,

I don't ever use IERenderer, just rename IERenderer.fff to IERenderer.ff_

don't delete IERenderer.dll (at least untill you rename IERenderer.fff)

&lt;p&gt;Comming late to this thread as I live more on the mailing list&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Have you tried adding &quot;-O&quot; to your shortcut (or make a test shortcut with it), that should let you start Pegesus without it trying to download, &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I don&#039;t ever use IERenderer, just rename IERenderer.fff to IERenderer.ff_ &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;don&#039;t delete IERenderer.dll (at least untill you rename IERenderer.fff) &lt;/p&gt;

Adding "-O", with IERenderer.fff active showed the same problem that I started with.

 With IERenderer.fff disabled I get as far as the New Mail screen. Here I can move and delete posts, but cannot read an existing post or write a new one. Trying either of these causes it to hang and, eventually, I get a Windows "program not responding" dialog and I can shut it down.

 

&lt;p&gt;Adding &quot;-O&quot;, with IERenderer.fff active showed the same problem that I started with.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;With IERenderer.fff disabled I get as far as the New Mail screen. Here I can move and delete posts, but cannot read an existing post or write&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;a new one. Trying either of these causes it to hang and, eventually, I get a Windows &quot;program not responding&quot; dialog and I can shut it down.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

[quote user="al66"]With IERenderer.fff disabled I get as far as the New Mail screen. Here I can move and delete posts, but cannot read an existing post or write a new one. Trying either of these causes it to hang and, eventually, I get a Windows "program not responding" dialog and I can shut it down.[/quote]

Please never do this since it inevitably leads to an uncontrollable situation for Pegasus Mail. IERenderer is linked into Pegasus Mail in a way that will cause issues like described above if not using the proper way for removing it. If you don't want to use IER you should always use the Windows application uninstall screen accessible via Start Menu => Control Panel => Programs => Programms and Features (or Uninstall a Program) which should contain an entry called Pegasus Mail HTML Renderer ... (& its current version). Using this mechanism will cleanup your Pegasus Mail installation so it will run properly without using IERenderer.

But I'm almost sure this will not solve your original issue with Pegasus Mail not opening properly. Nevertheless give it a try before installing my Minidump tool. This (latter) would also help to figure out any issues for future users as well. BTW: Did you install your current version of Pegasus Mail using its installer or did you copy an existing installation to your current system? If you did the latter it might help to run its most recent installer for updating Pegasus Mail once again. You may want to try this in the first place ...

 

&lt;p&gt;[quote user=&quot;al66&quot;]With IERenderer.fff disabled I get as far as the New Mail screen. Here I can move and delete posts, but cannot read an existing post or write&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;a new one. Trying either of these causes it to hang and, eventually, I get a Windows &quot;program not responding&quot; dialog and I can shut it down.&lt;/span&gt;[/quote]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Please &lt;i&gt;never&lt;/i&gt; do this since it inevitably leads to an uncontrollable situation for Pegasus Mail. IERenderer is linked into Pegasus Mail in a way that will cause issues like described above if not using the proper way for removing it. If you don&#039;t want to use IER you should always use the Windows application uninstall screen accessible via &lt;i&gt;Start Menu =&amp;gt; Control Panel =&amp;gt; Programs =&amp;gt; Programms and Features&lt;/i&gt; (or &lt;i&gt;Uninstall a Program&lt;/i&gt;) which should contain an entry called &lt;i&gt;Pegasus Mail HTML Renderer&lt;/i&gt; ... (&amp;amp; its current version). Using this mechanism will cleanup your Pegasus Mail installation so it will run properly without using IERenderer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But I&#039;m almost sure this will not solve your original issue with Pegasus Mail not opening properly. Nevertheless give it a try before installing my Minidump tool. This (latter) would also help to figure out any issues for future users as well. BTW: Did you install your current version of Pegasus Mail using its installer or did you copy an existing installation to your current system? If you did the latter it might help to run its most recent installer for updating Pegasus Mail once again. You may want to try this in the first place ... &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
			Michael
--
IERenderer's Homepage
PGP Key ID (RSA 2048): 0xC45D831B
S/MIME Fingerprint: 94C6B471 0C623088 A5B27701 742B8666 3B7E657C

Uninstalling IER with Control Panel appeared to leave me in the same position as renaming the IER .fff file. That is Pegasus opened to display the New Mail folder and allowed me to move and delete messages. However trying to read a message or write a new message caused it to hang.

Updating Pegasus using the install file (w32-472.exe), and thus reinstating IER, reverted to my original fault where the splash screen froze at "Restoring Desktop layout"

Where can I find your Minidump tool? And how can I get the dump file to you while my email is not working? 

&lt;p&gt;Uninstalling IER with Control Panel appeared to leave me in the same position as renaming the IER .fff file. That is Pegasus opened to display the New Mail folder and allowed me to move and delete messages. However trying to read a message or write a new message caused it to hang.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Updating Pegasus using the install file (w32-472.exe), and thus reinstating IER, reverted to my original fault where the splash screen froze at &quot;Restoring Desktop layout&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Where can I find your Minidump tool? And how can I get the dump file to you while my email is not working?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

[quote user="al66"]Where can I find your Minidump tool? And how can I get the dump file to you while my email is not working? [/quote]

Minidump can be downloaded using this link. It might also be worth to update IER to its latest version. But maybe there's another issue at work: It might be worth trying to run Pegasus Mail  after changing Windows' default printer to Generic / Text Only, see below (on German Windows 7):

&lt;p&gt;[quote user=&quot;al66&quot;]Where can I find your Minidump tool? And how can I get the dump file to you while my email is not working?&amp;nbsp;[/quote]&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Minidump can be downloaded using &lt;a mce_href=&quot;/files/folders/community_add-ons_for_pegasus_mail/entry12763.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;/files/folders/community_add-ons_for_pegasus_mail/entry12763.aspx&quot;&gt;this link&lt;/a&gt;. It might also be worth to update IER to its &lt;a mce_href=&quot;/files/folders/community_add-ons_for_pegasus_mail/entry24145.aspx&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;/files/folders/community_add-ons_for_pegasus_mail/entry24145.aspx&quot;&gt;latest version&lt;/a&gt;. But maybe there&#039;s another issue at work: It might be worth trying to run Pegasus Mail&amp;nbsp; after changing Windows&#039; default printer to &lt;i&gt;Generic / Text Only&lt;/i&gt;, see below (on German Windows 7): &lt;/p&gt;
			Michael
--
IERenderer's Homepage
PGP Key ID (RSA 2048): 0xC45D831B
S/MIME Fingerprint: 94C6B471 0C623088 A5B27701 742B8666 3B7E657C

Sorry for the delay in reporting back.

 I seem to have fixed the problem.

It turns out that Pegasus Mail was in no way to blame.

The clue came when I discovered that both Word and Excel both also froze at their flash screens when starting up. By removing the recent Windows "critical update" (after several tries) the problem seems to have gone away.

Many thanks to Brian, Shades and idw for your input, I am just sorry I was wasting your time. 

Moral: assume it is Microsoft's fault until proved otherwise.

 

&lt;p&gt;Sorry for the delay in reporting back.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I seem to have fixed the problem.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;It turns out that Pegasus Mail was in no way to blame.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;The clue came when I discovered that both Word and Excel both also froze at their flash screens when starting up. By removing the recent Windows &quot;critical update&quot; (after several tries) the problem seems to have gone away.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 10pt;&quot;&gt;Many thanks to Brian, Shades and idw for your input, I am just sorry I was wasting your time.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Moral: assume it is Microsoft&#039;s fault until proved otherwise.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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