Fences and Windows Explorer appears to crash randomly on Windows 10

from Stardock Forums

Good day,

I am experiencing an issue with Fences where it appears to crash Windows Explorer.

The occurrence seems to be random. If I hover over icons on my desktop or in a fence, a black box will appear around the icons. If I refresh the desktop, my background disappears and is replaced with a black background. I can sometimes keep refreshing the desktop to get everything back to normal, but in most cases I need to toggle my background off and on to get everything back.

I tried turning off the “Additional Tweaks” options, to see if that would make a difference, but sadly it did not.

I really enjoy this program and would rather not remove it. I have only noticed this behavior after I moved from Windows 8 to Windows 10.

It seems to me that Fences is causing Windows Explorer to crash, but please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to move the troubleshooting along.  I listed some screenshots below that will hopefully help illustrate the issue.

Version info :

Stardock Fences  version : 3.0.9.11

Windows 10 version : 10.0.17134.648

 

 

Sample screenshots :

 

Normal Icons

 

Partial Crash

 

Full Crash

22,405 views 21 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello

Would you Please try this PURGE: https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#reinstalling

Reboot and ReInstall the latest version from your account https://store.stardock.com/myaccount/products/

Reboot and test and report back here , please.

 

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi AzDude.   Thank you for your prompt reply.

 

I followed the steps you listed and for now Fences appears to be behaving itself. I after the reinstall I did choose to setup fences from a previous snapshot. If the issue reoccurs, I will re-run your steps and will build my fences from scratch.

 

I will report back in later this week after a few days of use and will let you know if the issue reoccurs.

 

Thanks

SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting j00001, reply 2

Hi AzDude.   Thank you for your prompt reply.

 

I followed the steps you listed and for now Fences appears to be behaving itself. I after the reinstall I did choose to setup fences from a previous snapshot. If the issue reoccurs, I will re-run your steps and will build my fences from scratch.

 

I will report back in later this week after a few days of use and will let you know if the issue reoccurs.

 

Thanks
End of j00001's quote

OK good to hear OK for now .

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Good afternoon AzDude,

 

I just want to follow up on this. The occurrence of this issue has decreased quite a bit.  Every now and then my icons will turn black or the entire desktop ( as I pictured previously ), but after a few minutes it seems to self correct ( I assume Fences or Windows Explorer crashes and then restarts ).

 

A permanent fix would certainly be great, but I can at least work with what I have.

 

Thanks

 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting j00001, reply 4

Good afternoon AzDude,

 

I just want to follow up on this. The occurrence of this issue has decreased quite a bit.  Every now and then my icons will turn black or the entire desktop ( as I pictured previously ), but after a few minutes it seems to self correct ( I assume Fences or Windows Explorer crashes and then restarts ).

 

A permanent fix would certainly be great, but I can at least work with what I have.

 

Thanks

 
End of j00001's quote
OK , good so far ..

Make sure your Windows 10 is up to date , I have a later update

than you Win 10 1809 ..379

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi,

the issue comes when I press WIN+RightArrow on any window. This is systematic and always crashes Win Explorer. Very annoying. Tried the purge and reinstall but did not work. >:(  

Fences: 3.0.9.11

Win10: 

- version 1607

- OS build 14393.3274

 

Thanks

 

Sebastian

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Few question.

1) Any reason you are not updating to the latest official Windows 10 version. V1909?

2) Do you have program such as Websence/Forcepoint running in the background?

and

Please try this guide : This will help to identify if there is conflicting program which causing Fences not to work correctly. https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#cleanboot

 

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello Basj,

unfortunately my organization is in charge of the official Win version I have to use. Plus I'm not allowed to create an extra admin user as required from the guide you shared.

 Websence/Forcepoint  not installed on my machine.

Sebastian

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Please try the following:

-For Win8/10 Users: Open the Start Screen, and type 'cmd'. Right-click on the search result and select 'Run as administrator' from below.

-Type: sfc /scannow

-Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes)

Some help on how this looks should you need it:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929833/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system

If the SFC finds errors, but cannot fix them, please also run the following command in the same command prompt window:

dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Some help on how this looks should you need it:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

The above command should assist with replacing any damaged or problematic system files. Please note, however, since it may require restoring certain files, this process can take some time and you will need to be patient until it has completed.

Please let me know whether this resolves your problem or if you have any additional questions.

Thank you,

Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forwarded your questions/problems to the Stardock Support team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate you feedback and patience.

Thank You,
Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

Good day,

I saw there was a recent reply to this thread and I want to follow up.

Since I last posted, I have been through a several Windows updates.

 

I don't think that was the issue though. Oddly, I have not noticed the crashing issue I reported since I changed my background picture. I was just using a solid green color ( and other solid colors ) at the time I initially reported my issue. I have not noticed the issue since I changed to an actual image ( also in case it matters, I have a dual monitor setup ). It seems kind of silly that may have been the cause of the problem all along. I just want to report that in case it helps others out there.

 

Version info :

Stardock Fences  version : 3.0.9.11

Windows 10 version : 10.0.17763.557    ( Still not on 1909 , but that is due to an I.T. decision regarding some other non-related software conflicts ) 

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forwarded your observation to the Stardock Support team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate you feedback and patience.

Thank You,
Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

Any news on this topic?

Still crashing Explorer when moving a window to desktop Right or Left (WIN+RightArrow or WIN+LeftArrow) ?

Windows 10 10.0.14393

Fences 3.0.9.11

 

Grazie

 

Sebastian

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting basj, reply 7

Please try this guide : This will help to identify if there is conflicting program which causing Fences not to work correctly. https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#cleanboot
End of basj's quote

Still need to do this. So we can identify which of other programs is conflicting with Fences.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top

Thanks for your answer. Due to my company restrictions, I'm not allowed to create a new Window Administrator account. Any workaround for this?


Thanks,

 

Sebastian

Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forward your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top

Thanks for that. 

Unfortunately, it's already one year with the same issue, I've renewed for one extra year license hoping the problem was solved but it's not the case. I'll wait a week for an answer, otherwise I'm afraid I'll need to ask for a return. It's a shame because I really like Fences and I find it very useful.

 

Thanks,

 

Sebastian 

Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Please review this thread https://forums.stardock.com/502301 Maybe something in there also applied to your system. Specially reply#15 and #16.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top

Awesome, glad you found solution for your issues, Thanks for reporting it back for other to refer to.

 

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant