MinimWatch Runtime Exception

[DavidHB]

(30-05-2016 21:18)simoncn Wrote:  I believe we have already had this discussion. The use of the same icon is intentional because in both cases the icon represents a unique running instance of MinimServer.

Yes, I do recall that argument. No harm in hoping against hope that you might change your mind ...

I hope that the log was useful.

David

[simoncn]

Thanks for posting the MinimServer log.

This problem is quite a puzzle because the MinimServer log shows that a GetProperty response was sent by MinimServer and the MinimWatch log shows that this response was not received by MinimWatch. I have studied the MinimWatch and MinimServer logs carefully and I can't see any reason for this.

I will change the error handling logic so that MinimWatch doesn't report a fatal error if this happens but instead writes an error message to the MinimWatch log. I am not happy with leaving things in this state but I don't see any alternative at present.

[DavidHB]

Thanks, Simon. I understand the difficulty.

I've done a couple of things that I ought to have checked earlier. Firstly, I was running MinimServer 0.8.4 with MinimWatch 0.8.3 on my main desktop. Unfortunately, updating MinimWatch made no difference to the problem.

I then updated both MinimServer and MinimWatch to version 0.8.4 on my secondary (test) desktop, and tried to reproduce the error on that machine. There was no error.
The secondary machine references its own local music library, of course. My next step is to copy the whole music library from the primary to the secondary machine to see if I can reproduce the error then. I'll let you know how I get on. In the meantime, would copies of the logs on the secondary machine help you?

David

Later: I used Synctoy to synchronise the music libraries on both desktops, and updated Java on the secondary desktop to Version 8 update 91, to match the primary machine. So the installations on the two machines are, from a user perspective, identical. However, the secondary machine is still not showing the errors that occur on the primary desktop.

[simoncn]

It sounds like there is something unusual about the primary machine (with the error) that is triggering this problem.

What music library is the primary machine using? Is it a local library or a remote library?

Are there any differences in the MinimServer property settings between the primary machine and the secondary machine?

Is there any difference in the networking configuration between the primary machine and the secondary machine?

Are the primary and secondary machines running the same version of Windows?

I don't need the logs from the secondary machine because I already have logs from my own Windows machine that does not have the problem.

[DavidHB]

Problem now identified though not completely fixed. Even this would not have been possible without your help, and the process of elimination arising therefrom.

The points you mention certainly needed checking. AFAIK, the Windows 10 setups (including networking) on the two machines are identical; that is certainly the intention. What is obviously different is the security software - Kaspersky on the main machine and AVG on the secondary. So, given your advice from the logs about what was happening (a communications failure between MinimServer and MinimWatch), Kaspersky was the obvious place to start.

Temporarily disabling Kaspersky re-enabled the Windows firewall, which immediately required me to allow Java/MinimWatch. With that done, the rescan ran normally. With Kaspersky re-enabled, the rescan failed again, as before. Unfortunately, Kaspersky, which is a complex application and has a lot of settings, was creating this blockage silently, and it was not immediately clear where the problem lay.

Eventually, going through Kaspersky Settings > Application Control > Manage applications, I found the Minimwatch installer listed in the 'Low Restricted' (Yellow) section of the table. Moving it (by right-clicking and selecting) to the 'Trusted' (Green) section temporarily removed the blockage and fixed the problem. Unfortunately, it has now returned. Clearly, I need to work through the Kaspersky settings and (if I can find them) logs. I shall report further.

David

[DavidHB]

I have now definitely established that the Application Control module of Kaspersky is the culprit, but I am unclear how to fix it (other than by switching it off, which I am loathe to do). It is starting to look as though Simon's proposed workaround is the best option at present.

Kaspersky does have a Trusted Applications mode, which, if you want to use it, requires a lengthy scan of the whole operating system and all installed applications. I am running the scan to see if Kaspersky can be persuaded that the Minim applications should be trusted. But I guess that it's a fairly long shot.

David

[simoncn]

(31-05-2016 12:11)DavidHB Wrote:  I have now definitely established that the Application Control module of Kaspersky is the culprit, but I am unclear how to fix it (other than by switching it off, which I am loathe to do). It is starting to look as though Simon's proposed workaround is the best option at present.

Kaspersky does have a Trusted Applications mode, which, if you want to use it, requires a lengthy scan of the whole operating system and all installed applications. I am running the scan to see if Kaspersky can be persuaded that the Minim applications should be trusted. But I guess that it's a fairly long shot.

David

The proposed workaround is not a solution. In some circumstances, it could cause MinimWatch to malfunction without any obvious indication to the user that there is a problem. Now that I understand the cause of the problem, I will consider what is the best solution.

[DavidHB]

(31-05-2016 12:50)simoncn Wrote:  The proposed workaround is not a solution. In some circumstances, it could cause MinimWatch to malfunction without any obvious indication to the user that there is a problem. Now that I understand the cause of the problem, I will consider what is the best solution.

Thanks, Simon. There is of course the obvious workaround of not running a MinimServer scan when MinimWatch is active ...

The Kaspersky Trusted Applications mode, by the way, was a bust. At the end of the scan, Kaspersky told me that there were too many executables it didn't recognise, and recommended that I did not enable the mode.

David

[DavidHB]

@simoncn

Further to our PM exchange, I attach logs as promised

David


  minimserver-crash-20160602-233955.log (Size: 4.3 KB / Downloads: 1)

  minimserver.log (Size: 1.2 KB / Downloads: 1)

[DavidHB]

Just to report that Simon has produced a update which, while not fixing the problem (which I think is really a Kaspersky issue), lessens its impact by removing the need for a restart of MinimWatch when the error message is closed. Many thanks to Simon for his, as ever, outstanding support.

David