Windows 10 Build 15007 or 15002 breaks Fences 3, same behavior in 15014

from Stardock Forums

Some aspect of the latest Windows 10 insider builds breaks something in Fences 3.03.  Icons contained within fences take 30-seconds to 2-minutes to launch, and there is no indication that anything is happening until the application associated with the icon finally launches.  Other desktop or tray icons not in fences behave normally.  On hard boot or restart, Fences does not appear to start automatically and has to be started again from the applications menu.  Rearranging and sorting icons in fences at startup can take considerable time.  Similar behavior is seen on two PC's and a laptop. Both PC's are x64, 4K, W10 Enterprise.  Laptop's also x64 high resolution.

Fences has performed without issue in W7 since the initial release, and the Windows 10 fast ring builds have not affected Fences performance until the latest builds.  Hope there is a solution because Fences is a great product.

fences
18,036 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

We have contacted MS about this as it appears to be their bug.

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The solution would be stop running insider builds. They break far too much stuff and MS doesn't care if it does, and they get free testers without themselves doing much internal testing.

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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

This is true which is why I never signed up for it.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

it also breaks on my current version 14393.693 W10PRO x64
Observed while having multiple  task open , while dragging a window over a fence that has the rollup feature activated.
Explorer freezes for a second and once refreshed Fences is gone.
However when I just relaunch Fences, it tells me that there is a problem- fences might need to be reinstalled.
But Fences works again after that message.
 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Running MS Win 10 Pro 10.0.14393 Build 14393 and experiencing similar problems on one of my two Win desktops after one of the recent Win updates. After a reboot Fences appears to load properly..functions as expected (I have not made note of a program launch slowdown. That does not mean it isn't happening, it just hasn't been an issue for me to the degree of making a note of it. I'm a patient kind of guy!) At some point during use of the pc, and I haven't figured out what triggers it, Fences appears to be no longer active (i.e the desktop icons are all stacked and the fences frames are gone). Manually starting the Fences gui program, get message "Fences does not appeal to be loaded. You may need to reinstall Fences." Fences does not appear to be running as a service so there is not service to restart. Stardock has not provided a manual way of starting the Fences program (starting the Fences gui/configuration program apparently does not start Fences). The only way to restore Fences functionality is to reboot.

A previous post suggests this is a Microsoft bug. Maybe yes, maybe no. In the interim can Stardock provide us with a way of manually restarting Fences so that functionality can be restored without rebooting the pc. I don't know about your other customers but my desktop is acting as a home server and my goal is 24hr availability. Rebooting several times a day is not desirable. There must be some way to load Fences as an executable or as a Windows service, that would restart and reinitialize the functionality without rebooting, until such time that someone accepts responsibility and provides a fix. Running with stacked icons is not an option. When the icons are stacked the desktop becomes useless.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

@hschroed. Have you tried restarting explorer.exe instead of rebooting?

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

I'm having the same issue as hschroed. Win 10 x64, 14393.693. I have my fences set to be rolled up, and to open when hovered over. Frequently, the fences vanish and are replaced by the "fenced" icons, which are positioned as though their respective fences had been "unrolled" before the fences themselves disappeared.

I've tried killing & restarting explorer; no joy (icons remain, fences not visible). I even killed explorer, renamed DesktopDock64.dll, restarted explorer, then restored the original filename, and restarted explorer again [hoping to "force" explorer to (i) start without fences, then (ii) restart with fences] - again, no joy. Rebooting does the trick though.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

I was able to restore complete functionality with Fences 3.03.  Remove Fences completely using MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall.meta.diagcab (available from MS technet download). Restart, then install selecting "run as admin".  All settings were available and function properly.  Build 15019 installed overnight, and Fences continues to run properly (tested on three machines).

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting mtwalsh, reply 8

I was able to restore complete functionality with Fences 3.03.  Remove Fences completely using MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall.meta.diagcab (available from MS technet download). Restart, then install selecting "run as admin".  All settings were available and function properly.  Build 15019 installed overnight, and Fences continues to run properly (tested on three machines).
End of mtwalsh's quote

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Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

I have a similar problem every time I change docks my laptop is pluged into. Fences just freezes the entire machine with the little spinning circle, sometimes as much as 10 minutes. I originally was using version 2, but paid full price for Version 3, since website wouldn't let me update. Still has same issue, never know when the screen will just freeze. I wish I wasn't so used to using fences so I could just remove it.