Fences 3.16 Release Feedback Thread

sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+635

Quoting b0b0baggins8712,

reply 25

Using the registry changes (SupressAutoUpdate=1) for a Stardock Website provided installation does seem to have stopped the "upgrade prompt", even though I have a steam version. At least I haven't had to dismiss anything after a couple of reboots

Pleased to read. Fences 3 is so old that it does not have the task schedule update process. That process, task scheduler, was the result of Valve insisting that all updates had to come from Steam if that is where they purchased. In other words, we cant update via the app, it has to come from Steam. Since no one ever goes to Steam to launch any of our software, we had to imagine another way...

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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Re: Reply #7, 8, 9 (sorry, was absent for a while)

If I were to do any of these 'updates' from Fences 3 version 3.1.3.3 to 3.16 or higher (?), all predicated by uninstalling my 3.1.3.3 - would I not lose my groups, so I would have to reconstruct the main screen with its fences (which to me reflect the .ICO's of my projects)?

Would I then have to first screen-shot my configuration(s) and then reconstruct after the 'new install'? I'm not sure I'm ready to take that on ... any comments (is there a 'more better' way?)

Ken

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Quoting kennygeeman,

reply 27

If I were to do any of these 'updates' from Fences 3 version 3.1.3.3 to 3.16 or higher (?), all predicated by uninstalling my 3.1.3.3 - would I not lose my groups, so I would have to reconstruct the main screen with its fences (which to me reflect the .ICO's of my projects)?

Your groups will not be lost if you do the following.

1. Have a saved snapshot of your current layout.

2. when you uninstall do not click the check mark "remove settings"

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Quoting niklas8,

reply 21

Quoting basj,

reply 20

Quoting niklas8,

reply 19

Actually, I seem to have it back. Now this morning it has increased to 25% load of FileManager again. Fan is working continously.
Do you have ideas?

/Niklas

If you disable Fences does the CPU load drop immediately? Refer screenshot below. This was taken from Fences 4 but I do believe, Fences 3 have similar option.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Thanks again for your swift reply.

Yes - it does!

I have uploaded four consecutive screenshots with the filename being the time it was taken + fences on/off in a zip-file to an area below.
I am starting with fences Off. Quite immediately cpu load raises significantly after being turned on. It stays like this. Then turned off, after some varying and fluctuations it will settle at low load again.

Very high correllation.

https://taklto.com/fences3_issue/fences_cpu_load.zip

Thanks!

/Niklas

Hi all

Just wanted to jump in here to echo this.

I am having exactly the same issue - did hours of troubleshooting over the last few days to find out why my PC was running hot and with fans on at idol - explorer.exe using a tonne more resources than usual. Eventually disabled fences 3.1.6.1 to an instant reduction in CPU.

Followed steps - purge, reboot, reinstall latest version, reboot. This solved the problem until I next rebooted and I was right back where I started.

Any assistance would be great. Or even access to an old version of Fences 3.? I did not have this issue with the version I had previously.

Cheers

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Quoting neil1one,

reply 29

Hi all

Just wanted to jump in here to echo this.

I am having exactly the same issue - did hours of troubleshooting over the last few days to find out why my PC was running hot and with fans on at idol - explorer.exe using a tonne more resources than usual. Eventually disabled fences 3.1.6.1 to an instant reduction in CPU.

Followed steps - purge, reboot, reinstall latest version, reboot. This solved the problem until I next rebooted and I was right back where I started.

Any assistance would be great. Or even access to an old version of Fences 3.? I did not have this issue with the version I had previously.

Cheers

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try clean boot and see if there is conflicting application with Fences and/or corrupted Main Windows User account. Use this guide: https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#cleanboot

Thank you.
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Hi Basj,

Thank you. Seemingly no issues on the fresh user account after about 20min of use.

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Quoting basj,

reply 15

Quoting niklas8,

reply 13

Hi, I installed the update to 3.1.6.1 and I believe I was on the previous release even if I don't know exactly - I have always taken updates when prompted/adviced.

Now I get a very high CPU consumption that I have not seen before. Fan on laptop is running which is not how it was prior to the update.
There has not been any other changes to the computer.

Is this a known feature?

How can I revert to the previous version?

Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version 22H2
Installed on ‎2022-‎07-‎31
OS build 19045.4291
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19056.1000.0

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4310U CPU @ 2.00GHz 2.60 GHz
Installed RAM 16,0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Win10 Enterprise 22H2 build 19045.4291, Ryzen 1600X, 16GB RAM.

I'm having the same issue, high Windows Explorer CPU usage *(~25%)*. Updated Fences, restarted, got the high CPU usage, no other software changes at the time. Disabling Fences immediately solves the issue, reenabling Fences immediately causes the issue. Doing a purge -> reboot -> reinstall -> reboot doesn't solve the issue.

Could we get a link to the previous installer for now?

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Quoting tommytimmytimmytom,

reply 32

Win10 Enterprise 22H2 build 19045.4291, Ryzen 1600X, 16GB RAM.

I'm having the same issue, high Windows Explorer CPU usage *(~25%)*. Updated Fences, restarted, got the high CPU usage, no other software changes at the time. Disabling Fences immediately solves the issue, reenabling Fences immediately causes the issue. Doing a purge -> reboot -> reinstall -> reboot doesn't solve the issue.

Could we get a link to the previous installer for now?

Have you tried cleanboot as I mentioned reply#30?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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Hi, I noticed now I have a Nag screen to "Download and Install" or "Remind later".

The update history is not very clear as to what the purpose of this update is, its already installed and working.

1. Why would I need an installer update if its already installed?

2. Why is there not an option to prevent the nag screen?

3. What is the purpose of installer update if its already installed? Surely fine download the latest version if you need to reinstall and there is a problem with the old installer version.

I am sorry I do not get why I need to update this what is the benefit?

Thanks.

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Quoting basj,

reply 33

Quoting tommytimmytimmytom,

reply 32

Win10 Enterprise 22H2 build 19045.4291, Ryzen 1600X, 16GB RAM.

I'm having the same issue, high Windows Explorer CPU usage (~25%)*. Updated Fences, restarted, got the high CPU usage, no other software changes at the time. Disabling Fences immediately solves the issue, reenabling Fences immediately causes the issue. Doing a purge -> reboot -> reinstall -> reboot doesn't solve the issue.

Could we get a link to the previous installer for now?

Have you tried cleanboot as I mentioned reply#30?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Whoops, my bad, missed that bit. I've tried it now, but the issue persists while on a fresh account, while clean booting my account, and while clean booting the fresh account. While clean booting either account with Fences enabled, Windows Explorer CPU usage is fairly consistently 2-3% lower than the non-clean boot. With Fences disabled on my account/fresh account/my account+clean boot/fresh account+clean boot, Windows Explorer stays below 1%.

I have noticed that the high CPU usage doesn't begin until the first time I use WIN+D to show the desktop. Restarting Windows Explorer will temporarily fix the issue, but it kicks right back in next time the desktop gets shown.

Here's a video of Fences causing mouse lag in Autodesk Fusion 360, but instantly clearing up when Fences is disabled, and screenshots of what I have in my Services and Startup tabs (All disabled properly for the clean boot! I messed up and lost my screenshots when I restarted to re-enable stuff... While I was writing this reply the first time )

https://imgur.com/a/UwbcLxt

Any chance we could get a copy of the previous installer for now? Or does anyone know where to find a copy online, or still have it sitting in their download folder?

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Quoting tommytimmytimmytom,

reply 35

Whoops, my bad, missed that bit. I've tried it now, but the issue persists while on a fresh account, while clean booting my account, and while clean booting the fresh account. While clean booting either account with Fences enabled, Windows Explorer CPU usage is fairly consistently 2-3% lower than the non-clean boot. With Fences disabled on my account/fresh account/my account+clean boot/fresh account+clean boot, Windows Explorer stays below 1%.

I have noticed that the high CPU usage doesn't begin until the first time I use WIN+D to show the desktop. Restarting Windows Explorer will temporarily fix the issue, but it kicks right back in next time the desktop gets shown.

Here's a video of Fences causing mouse lag in Autodesk Fusion 360, but instantly clearing up when Fences is disabled, and screenshots of what I have in my Services and Startup tabs (All disabled properly for the clean boot! I messed up and lost my screenshots when I restarted to re-enable stuff... While I was writing this reply the first time )

https://imgur.com/a/UwbcLxt

Any chance we could get a copy of the previous installer for now? Or does anyone know where to find a copy online, or still have it sitting in their download folder?

Sorry, I can't pass any installer to anyone. What you can get will be directly from your account download page. Or, try looking into your download folder and see if there are some older version in there.

I can't verify your issue since I don't have Autodesk Fusion 360. Any other software that you have that available for everyone that also showing the lagging behavior?

Also, you mentioned the CPU spike start when you use "Win+D", yes? May I know what is your setting on Hotkeys. Post a screenshot on that page.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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Just as a FYI for those interested.

I copied my layout backups from "appdata / roaming / stardock / backups" desktop.
Used Revo Uninstaller to uninstall Fences 3.16
Rebooted
Installed Fences 3.1.3.3 - put my product code and email etc (I found this online via 3rd party - fast search via google).
Went back to the backup location from the first step and replaced the backups with the ones I had copied.
Loaded most recent layout backup in the Fences application

This solved all the issues I was having with the high CPU and Power of explorer.exe and is working stable so far.

+2

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Quoting basj,

reply 36

Sorry, I can't pass any installer to anyone. What you can get will be directly from your account download page. Or, try looking into your download folder and see if there are some older version in there.

I can't verify your issue since I don't have Autodesk Fusion 360. Any other software that you have that available for everyone that also showing the lagging behavior?

Also, you mentioned the CPU spike start when you use "Win+D", yes? May I know what is your setting on Hotkeys. Post a screenshot on that page.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

The account download page links the current bugged version.

As for software that can demonstrate the issue and is available to everyone, there's the aforementioned Windows Explorer itself. Autodesk Fusion 360 was just an easy way to demonstrate. Here's a video demonstrating how Windows Explorer performs with Fences disabled (no loading animation on mouse), how Windows Explorer lags with Fences enabled after triggering the high-CPU load issue (loading animation on the mouse cursor), and how Windows Explorer works normally again after disabling Fences. Task Manager is shown to show the CPU usage, and CrystalDiskMark/CrystalDiskInfo are shown at the end with info about the NVMe SSD the empty folders are located on. This was recorded on my normal account under normal conditions, but can be reproduced on the fresh account or under a clean boot.

https://imgur.com/a/TCJL909

As for the hotkey page, you posted a screenshot of Fences 4, Fences 3.16 doesn't have that tab.

EDIT: Got hold of a copy of the 3.1.3.3 installer, SHA-1: 278cea6f57f956febecc7cb11120c0b438dd6f62. I won't link to the file hosting site it's on, but does Stardock list the SHA-1 for their installers anywhere to verify?

EDIT 2: YOLO, Windows Defender and VirusTotal didn't have anything bad to say, installed it and it works fine, appears to be legit. Digitally signed by Stardock and everything.

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sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+635

Quoting Qwelldrin,

reply 34

2. Why is there not an option to prevent the nag screen?

There is:

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1331757077/How+do+I+disable+update+check+in+Fences%3F

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+635

Quoting tommytimmytimmytom,

reply 38

Quoting basj,

reply 36

Sorry, I can't pass any installer to anyone. What you can get will be directly from your account download page. Or, try looking into your download folder and see if there are some older version in there.

I can't verify your issue since I don't have Autodesk Fusion 360. Any other software that you have that available for everyone that also showing the lagging behavior?

Also, you mentioned the CPU spike start when you use "Win+D", yes? May I know what is your setting on Hotkeys. Post a screenshot on that page.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

The account download page links the current bugged version.

As for software that can demonstrate the issue and is available to everyone, there's the aforementioned Windows Explorer itself. Autodesk Fusion 360 was just an easy way to demonstrate. Here's a video demonstrating how Windows Explorer performs with Fences disabled (no loading animation on mouse), how Windows Explorer lags with Fences enabled after triggering the high-CPU load issue (loading animation on the mouse cursor), and how Windows Explorer works normally again after disabling Fences. Task Manager is shown to show the CPU usage, and CrystalDiskMark/CrystalDiskInfo are shown at the end with info about the NVMe SSD the empty folders are located on. This was recorded on my normal account under normal conditions, but can be reproduced on the fresh account or under a clean boot.

https://imgur.com/a/TCJL909

As for the hotkey page, you posted a screenshot of Fences 4, Fences 3.16 doesn't have that tab.

EDIT: Got hold of a copy of the 3.13 installer, SHA-1: 278cea6f57f956febecc7cb11120c0b438dd6f62. I won't link to the file hosting site it's on, but does Stardock list the SHA-1 for their installers anywhere to verify?

EDIT 2: YOLO, Windows Defender and VirusTotal didn't have anything bad to say, installed it and it works fine, appears to be legit. Digitally signed by Stardock and everything.

If you install the trial of Fences 5, are you able to reproduce any performance issues?

https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/download-trial

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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Quoting sdrohan,

reply 40

If you install the trial of Fences 5, are you able to reproduce any performance issues?

https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/download-trial

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

TBH I got Fences 3 in 2017 and I haven't had a version yet that doesn't have SOME bugs, so I'm a little nervous about gambling my currently working install to help y'all with diagnostics by installing a version I can't afford to buy right now... But I can test it in Windows Sandbox at least!

Fences 3.13: Fired up the Sandbox, grabbed the 3.13 installer that was found, installed it as a trial. Using the Show Desktop button on the taskbar in the Sandbox does not trigger the high CPU issue.

Fences 3.16: I logged in to my Stardock account to get the current Fences 3.16 installer, but installed it as a trial. Using the Show Desktop button on the taskbar in the Sandbox does trigger the Windows Explorer high CPU issue. Disabling Fences 3.16 fixes the issue, re-enabling it and pressing Show Desktop again re-triggers it, as expected.

Fences 5: I restarted the Sandbox to get a fresh one, grabbed the Fences 5 installer, installed it as a trial, and pressed the Show Desktop button on the taskbar in the Sandbox. Fences 5 did not trigger the high CPU issue.

The changelog for 3.16 just lists "Miscellaneous installer changes". Were there any changes to the program itself, or was it just the new pop-up advertising Fences 5 that got added? The pop-up shows up for the 3.16 trial, but not the 3.13 trial. I'm hoping this is a Hanlon's razor moment, but ngl, the first update in nearly 3 years not having any patch notes, breaking the old version, and not having an official way to restore functionality is kinda sus

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Kinda glad that I am not the only one having issues. I havn't been on this thread since my latest report on April 19th. But I can confirm that cleanboot does not solve this.
Now, I have basically given up and have disabled Fences. Sadly as I like it so much. When I need it, I enable it and then disable again. This is not sustainable but I have had no time to deal with it.

Interesting finding by tommytimmytimmytom that the CPU issue seem to trigger at "Show Desktop". I this this regularly so that would make sense. You mentioned Fences 3.1.3.3, is that the latest pre 3.16 version?

I think I will give the Fences5 trial a try, but to be honest, I wish I'd never had taken the update and would like to revert.

/Niklas

+1

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Hi,

I'm also having high cpu usage issue on my two computers. It always worked like a charm until the update to 3.1.6.1 a few days ago.

As mentioned in other posts I can confirm High CPU load triggers after using Win-d shortcut, that I use a lot.

I also hope for a fix, or being able to revert to previous release as Fences is such a great tool.

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Quoting niklas8,

reply 42

Interesting finding by tommytimmytimmytom that the CPU issue seem to trigger at "Show Desktop". I this this regularly so that would make sense. You mentioned Fences 3.1.3.3, is that the latest pre 3.16 version?

Yeah. The website and filename list it as Fences 3.13, but when it's installed it displays version 3.1.3.3. Purging 3.16 and installing 3.13 fixes the issue and removes the Fences 5 pop-up advertisement.

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OK, perfetto. Thanks for clarification tommytimmytimmytom.

I have downloaded the 3.13 as well.

I have now also installed the Fences 5 trial and have had a couple of hours with Fences5 this morning and now on evening.

On Fences 5.04, so far, I am not having the issue seen on 3.16 and I would guess it will not kick in as it happens almost immediately when you know how to trigger it. I have not seen any other issues and it seems stable although I havn't had the time to check the new stuff that Fences 5 brings. Fences 5 also seems so to be more easy on the resources compared to Fences 3. Just a feeling without doing a scientific eval or comparison.

So, a good offer to get us late-adopters over to Fences 5?

Anyway, good catch and nice work all of you that contributed with findings.

/Niklas

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This AutoHotKey script helped me preserve my sanity, while waiting for a fix to be released or a simple way to revert to previous version. It replaces win-d to hide all windows and add win-shift-d to restore them, without triggering high cpu usage. Not exactly the original behaviour, but close enough to keep my habits.

;Workaround for Fences 3.1.6.1 High CPU usage
#d::
WinMinimizeAll
return

#+d::
WinMinimizeAllUndo
return

Use it at your own risk !

EDIT: Looks to work only with admin rights on Autohotkey, else High Cpu behavior persists. Not a perfect solution...

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Hi niklas8, I'm having the same problem. Rolled back to 3.13 and its working again

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Hi,

Having the same issues.

Did an SFC, DISM, Checkdisk and everything else suggested but the issue remains...it slows down very much some applications.

Disabled it for now.

This is probably a sales strategy to upgrade to the latest version.

How do we downgrade to the old version without loosing the actual settings in Fences?

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Quoting renuspt,

reply 48

Hi,
Having the same issues.
Did an SFC, DISM, Checkdisk and everything else suggested but the issue remains...it slows down very much some applications.
Disabled it for now.
This is probably a sales strategy to upgrade to the latest version.
How do we downgrade to the old version without loosing the actual settings in Fences?

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Have you tried purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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Sorry to hear you are having issues. Have you tried purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

How to proceed to reinstallation with Steam? I have a limited number of activation, will it take one, to try to repair a bug ? According to this thread it doesn't always work.

Will an update be soon available ?

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Fences 3.16 Release Feedback Thread

Obtaining the product

Reporting an issue