Problem with newest beta of DesktopX

Okay. Everything was working fine and saw notice of new DX beta this am so installed it. On reboot I get a mssg about DX not closing properly. That it could be caused by a corupted desktop or old script. Then it says do you want to load a new blank (click yes) or continue loading old theme (click no). No matter which I chose it then loads up the theme Ive used the last few months and everything works till I reboot and then I go thru the same routine again.

Things tried so far:
1) Uninstalled DX and reinstalled and the app continues to perform this way
2) Loaded up Smartexception but it doesnt see a crash or create a .CRA file so I cant figure anything that way
3) tried unloading theme and loading another and I get same popup mssg
4) based on something I read in the NG's I even ran the MS script install in case that was culprit, no dice
11,636 views 24 replies
Reply #1 Top
C:\Documents and Settings\'user'\Local Settings\Application Data\Stardock\DesktopX

Unload DX and clean out the folders in the above DesktopX folder. Re-start DX and load your theme.
Reply #2 Top
I have the same problem with the latest DX beta.

@ yrag: thanx, but don't work!



Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #3 Top
Same problem. It also made Tronnix 1024 all buggy. First the start button wouldn't bring up the start menu. Rebooted and now it works but now AOL won't center between the top and bottom tool bars and is full screen but won't go past top tool bar. Can't get to bottom of it to resize it. Before update it was sized right but covered top tool bar. Had to scroll it up to move it to right position. FireFox and Netscape 8 centered and sized right so it might be a conflict with AOL, can't wait till my subscription is up.
Reply #4 Top
same problems as above, plus iconX doesn't work, and can't get dxbuilder to run well...
Reply #5 Top
I have the same problem also.

Also, when I click the tray icon and select "switch to desktopx builder", it just closes the entire program and doesn't change anything.

Reply #6 Top
Okay - similar problems, and more:

It appears that DesktopX, in both builder and client mode is unable to successfully shut itself down, since exiting and restarting produces the message about corrupt desktop, etc. Same result when selecting the new option to switch modes (no surprize since it is apparently just shutting down and starting up in the new mode, or trying to).

Additionally, I had some problems with some of the new widgets (Converter, Sticky Notes) when attempting to import them into my DX environment. These problems cleared up after following the suggestion from yraq, above.
It occurs to me that the install should clear these files if necessary to avoid these non-backwards compatibility issues.

Another error occurred when attempting to import Adni's BL Clock widget:

"This file doesn't appear to be a valid DesktopX package."

The import fails.

Brad, Alberto?
Reply #7 Top
yes i am having same problem the msg i am getting on all funcsions is ie , desktopx doese not appear to have exited correctly and closes ,???i have put report in to sdc ,hopefully sdc can rectify i hope ,
Reply #8 Top
Don't know if this sounds silly - I had that "didn't exit properly" issue solved by not letting XP close Desktop X and the widgets on restart.

I first unload the widgets manually by way of the "unload all" command button of dxwidget.exe, then I unload DesktopX manually via systray, and o n l y t h e n I do hit the Windows restart button.

No more bad exit-problems since. Also, that "dxwidget.exe has encountered problems and has to close"-message didn't turn up again.
Reply #9 Top
thanks dckr,but that not work for me i tried still get desktopx not apear to have exited correctly , i now stuck ??
Reply #10 Top
I am having the same problem as Island Dog. I just wish there was an option to have it load the builder by default on boot.
Reply #11 Top
ExodusCrow you can set builder to load by default. Just put its executable in any of the startup/load locations.
Reply #12 Top
The best results (100%) I have had w/ the error you are talking about is making a conscious effort to "unload" the DesktopX theme each time I power down. Upon rebooting or powering up you will not receive that error. Make sure to go to "Configure DesktopX" choose Preferences and check to Boot Desktop X every time Windows loads, or else you will have to manually load every time. But before you do that you might want to make sure that you are indeed in DesktopX and not in Desktop Builder. If you try to make any changes the software will automatically redirect you to Desktop Builder. You will not notice this if you are not paying attention. I do not know what kind of user you are, so forgive me if this is an insult. But if you do not notice this, you could use your computer with no differences and shut down your computer while you are in Desktop Builder. Therefore if Desktop Builder is setup to load when Windows loads (very possible) at the very least it could be causing a conflict of interest for your PC since two executables would be accessing the same file upon booting up.

I am a new user to DesktopX (about a week). The only verison I have used is this Beta version. So far I have started developing my own script and tinkering with others. I have found that this software (atleast the Beta version) is very unstable w/ my computer (Windows XP Professional). And unless I'm not seeing it. I find it very time consuming to switch between DesktopX & Desktop Builder to make any & all changes that I need to. I don't know about you but a driving advantage of this software is suppose to be to configure your OS to your wants without demanding of the user to make it a career. There are about 15 other gigs in the software that I see.
Reply #13 Top
Thanks for the reports.  This build is a bit more problematic than we had anticipated.  Expect a new build sometime this week.
Reply #15 Top
We fixed the broken Builder->Client and viceversa switch.

I'm, not sure about Adni's BL Clock. It just cannot extract the object data. It also doesn't work with older DX builds..

We are testing unreliable unloads/restarts.

Are you specifically experiencing screen reposition problems with themes and widgets? Switching/loading from different resolutions and such?
Reply #16 Top
Unfortunatly Chazz manually closing Dx may work for you but that doesnt work here. It was actually the very first thing I tried. Did a sucessful closing and then tried to run app and Viola same old mssg. Seeing how "Smartexception" doesnt even catch a shutdown error with it Im at a loss as to why its being so fussy. Im sure they will fix it but I kind of hope they say something about what the bug was, just for curiositys sake
Reply #17 Top
did try as stardock central sugested that uninstall and re boot ,to no avail ,as brad stated new download due thise week i wait and see ,to rectify problem
Reply #20 Top
Well..... I'm feeling a little better about not knowing a thing about programing. If you really want to screw things up, try loading McAfee's virusscan after you've given up on DX for a while, (AOL did that for me).

I might actually get get a little sleep, now that I read all this, & I got the last DX update to play with.

I deleted both the themes, and curent themes folders to start over. A lot of work, but most of the time the new desktop would reboot.
Reply #21 Top
Same problem here.
Reply #22 Top
Same problem here, using tronnix with no objects or widgets. This is a sad day. But Its good to know that i am not the only one going through this. For a while there I thought i might have to up my meds!

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Reply #23 Top
Latest build still doesn't work right. 3.00a[b].002
Reply #24 Top
Hope they get this fixed soon. Tired of uninstalling and reinstalling different builds to get everything working. Can't get ANY of the calendars to display correctly. Using 3.00a[b].003 now and seems to work the best. Anything newer won't run Icon X.