P2VR6.1.13 Doesn't start, reinstall needed every time

[dennisvanduijn]

Hi folks!

If I'm correct one other user once came with the exact same situation I experienced a lot the last few years. I cannot find the thread anymore, so here's mine.
Every once in a while, when I open a project file *.p2vr with Pano2VR, just nothing happens. No window appears, just white space in the Windows 10 taskbar preview pane:



No matter what, restarting the app, rebooting Windows, opening another project file, etc.: to no avail. The only thing which brings me back my beloved application, is by thoroughly uninstalling and reinstalling it. A regular uninstall isn't enough. Uninstalling with Revo Uninstaller and then deleting lots of related registry items is the only manner known to work for me. My gut feeling tells me that it has something to do with a multiscreen setup. I hardly experience the issue while working on my laptop screen alone.

Does anyone experience the same? And more importantly, is there a solution? Please, it drives me crazy, consuming lots of valuable time.

Cheers!

Dennis

[Hopki]

Hi Dennis,
You are right in what you are saying.
Only Windows
Only with dual displays
And as far as we know only when there is a disconnect of the second monitor.
And we have never been able to reproduce this in the office.

From listing to customers that have experienced this in the past it seems it only happens to computers that will sometimes have the second monitor disconnected.
This can be physical, so unplugged, or a software glitch in the OS.

This is when one of Pano2VRs open windows was on that second monitor before it got disconnected.
So it seems while the computer is on, Pano2VR's window is in the second monitor, then it gets disconnected.

What is needed is to reset the windows in the registry, we have a Windows Cleaner that completely removes all registry entries for Pano2VR.
So on install all the windows open using the default settings.

If this is used it will remove everything to do with Pano2VR, so make sure you have a backup of any custom skins and templates.

To use:
First, uninstall Pano2VR.
Then run the cleaner.
Restart the computer to remove anything in memory.
Then download a new build from our website and install.
Of course, you will need to enter your key again.

Regards,

[3DV]

I've had the same issue sometimes, sometimes with the complete Pano2VR window and sometimes with just the Settings window not showing up.

I''ve worked around it by using the Registry Editor (regedit) and Export the key: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\GardenGnomeSoftware when the software is working ok.
Then when the problem occurs, close Pano2VR and use the Registry Editor to Import the previously saved key. That way uninstalling and reinstalling wasn't needed for me.
Note that any changes to window/panel sizes, and settings/preferences etc, will also be overwritten when importing the stored key, since that key contains all Pano2VR settings.

Take extreme caution when using the Registry Editor, because it can seriously harm your system if you don't know what you're doing.
So I'm not recommending this as a workaround, just sharing how I've dealt with it.

[dennisvanduijn]

Thank you both for your answers. As soon as I get into the same situation, I'll try out the proposed workarounds.

That brings me to the topic of which I am not sure about to discuss here. But if this happens more often to users, and it appears it does, shouldn't be there a more in depth search for a real software fix? If this occurs to users still in trial mode, it might signifcantly scare them off to actually buy and use Pano2VR.

So, if there would be a clear set of steps to reproduce the issue, would it then lead to an issue fix?

[Hopki]

Hi Dennis,
Out of thousands of Windows users, I would say only a handful of people have said they have this issue.
So far, all have been Windows users and have a second monitor.

That said you did not say, do you have two monitors?
Is your computer a laptop, if so do you disconnect the monitor?
If a desktop, have you had an issue where the second monitor did not turn on and had to unplug and plug in again so Windows recognises it?
Is the second monitor a High DPI display?

So, if there would be a clear set of steps to reproduce the issue, would it then lead to an issue fix?

It would be good if there were steps to reproduce.
As said we have never been able to, it is very difficult to fix a problem you can not reproduce.
Regards,