Component Designer unexpectedly quits after inf import

[Quentin]

I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the respository to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close, AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits when I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[KM]

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF importer, actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under [HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key: [HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

 

[Quentin]

Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem. I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and uninstalling /
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close, AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[KM]

Quentin,

If it is the DB, you will have to re-install it.

Try to run Regmon/Filemon while you hit Close on the Import File. I doubt they will help you to solve the problem but at least you
gather more info.

Also, try to use "\Program Files\Windows Embedded\utilities\econvert.exe" tool directly to convert the INF file.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem. I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and uninstalling /
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close, AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[Quentin]

KM,

If I re-install the db will I loose all changes that I have made so far?

I ran Regmon/Filemon, but without knowing what to look for, it's a little
hard to find the problem. Nothing in their logs jumped out at me as being
suspicious.

I tried econvert.exe as suggested. econvert created an SLD file no problem,
but when I went to open that file in CD, CD died (as before). So maybe the
problem isn't actually the inf importer? I'm going to attempt to import the
raw SLD file created from econvert into my db and see if I can continue
working that way. Either way, I'd still like to solve this problem.

Any other ideas?

Quentin.

Quentin,

If it is the DB, you will have to re-install it.

Try to run Regmon/Filemon while you hit Close on the Import File. I doubt
they will help you to solve the problem but at least you
gather more info.

Also, try to use "\Program Files\Windows Embedded\utilities\econvert.exe"
tool directly to convert the INF file.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem. I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and uninstalling
/
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF
importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's
touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the
respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran
the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close, AND
CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits
when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[Quentin]

Ok, here's some more interesting information: I cannot even run the
Component Database Manager. When I launch dbmgr.exe it shows up in the task
list and then 5 seconds later disappears. No window, no nothing.

Quentin.

KM,

If I re-install the db will I loose all changes that I have made so far?

I ran Regmon/Filemon, but without knowing what to look for, it's a little
hard to find the problem. Nothing in their logs jumped out at me as being
suspicious.

I tried econvert.exe as suggested. econvert created an SLD file no
problem, but when I went to open that file in CD, CD died (as before). So
maybe the problem isn't actually the inf importer? I'm going to attempt
to import the raw SLD file created from econvert into my db and see if I
can continue working that way. Either way, I'd still like to solve this
problem.

Any other ideas?

Quentin.

Quentin,

If it is the DB, you will have to re-install it.

Try to run Regmon/Filemon while you hit Close on the Import File. I doubt
they will help you to solve the problem but at least you
gather more info.

Also, try to use "\Program Files\Windows Embedded\utilities\econvert.exe"
tool directly to convert the INF file.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem. I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and uninstalling
/
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import
File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF
importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's
touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the
respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran
the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close,
AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits
when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[KM]

Quentin,

I am confused as I have never seen such strange behavior of the XPE Tools.
Well.. I think you can only help yourself unless MS already knows about this bug and jumps in here with some comments.

I know that Regmon/FileMon logs maybe big and painful to review but it seems to be the only way for you to quickly sniff around the
issue. Other way would be in using a debugger (e..g, VS Debugger) but it is going to be another story.
In the logs try to look for registry entry access under Window Embedded keys (the root keys I mentioned earlier). The same for
files - see if there is any failures in accessing files under "\Program Files\Windows Embedded" and "\Program Files\Common
Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Embedded".

Another thing you could do if you happened to have another machine with XPE ToolKit installed. Detach the Mantis DB using SQL
Enterprise Manager (thing comes with full SQL Server installation, not MSDE though), then save the files and replace them with the
same files from that another dev machine. Attach the db again and try to run CD/CDM. If works - your problems are around the DB.

The same trick you can do replacing all the XPe binaries (under the folder mentioned above) from another working dev machine with
XPe installed. This way you can find out if CD or CDM binaries got broken (very rarely but it might happen).

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

Ok, here's some more interesting information: I cannot even run the
Component Database Manager. When I launch dbmgr.exe it shows up in the task
list and then 5 seconds later disappears. No window, no nothing.

Quentin.

KM,

If I re-install the db will I loose all changes that I have made so far?

I ran Regmon/Filemon, but without knowing what to look for, it's a little
hard to find the problem. Nothing in their logs jumped out at me as being
suspicious.

I tried econvert.exe as suggested. econvert created an SLD file no
problem, but when I went to open that file in CD, CD died (as before). So
maybe the problem isn't actually the inf importer? I'm going to attempt
to import the raw SLD file created from econvert into my db and see if I
can continue working that way. Either way, I'd still like to solve this
problem.

Any other ideas?

Quentin.

Quentin,

If it is the DB, you will have to re-install it.

Try to run Regmon/Filemon while you hit Close on the Import File. I doubt
they will help you to solve the problem but at least you
gather more info.

Also, try to use "\Program Files\Windows Embedded\utilities\econvert.exe"
tool directly to convert the INF file.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem. I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and uninstalling
/
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import
File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF
importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my device's
touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem, CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the
respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and ran
the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close,
AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD quits
when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[Quentin]

Thanks for all your help KM. I'm going to keep plugging away at this to see
if I can figure it out.

Any MS folks want to chime in?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I am confused as I have never seen such strange behavior of the XPE Tools.
Well.. I think you can only help yourself unless MS already knows about
this bug and jumps in here with some comments.

I know that Regmon/FileMon logs maybe big and painful to review but it
seems to be the only way for you to quickly sniff around the
issue. Other way would be in using a debugger (e..g, VS Debugger) but it
is going to be another story.
In the logs try to look for registry entry access under Window Embedded
keys (the root keys I mentioned earlier). The same for
files - see if there is any failures in accessing files under "\Program
Files\Windows Embedded" and "\Program Files\Common
Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Embedded".

Another thing you could do if you happened to have another machine with
XPE ToolKit installed. Detach the Mantis DB using SQL
Enterprise Manager (thing comes with full SQL Server installation, not
MSDE though), then save the files and replace them with the
same files from that another dev machine. Attach the db again and try to
run CD/CDM. If works - your problems are around the DB.

The same trick you can do replacing all the XPe binaries (under the folder
mentioned above) from another working dev machine with
XPe installed. This way you can find out if CD or CDM binaries got broken
(very rarely but it might happen).

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.

Ok, here's some more interesting information: I cannot even run the
Component Database Manager. When I launch dbmgr.exe it shows up in the
task
list and then 5 seconds later disappears. No window, no nothing.

Quentin.

KM,

If I re-install the db will I loose all changes that I have made so
far?

I ran Regmon/Filemon, but without knowing what to look for, it's a
little
hard to find the problem. Nothing in their logs jumped out at me as
being
suspicious.

I tried econvert.exe as suggested. econvert created an SLD file no
problem, but when I went to open that file in CD, CD died (as before).
So
maybe the problem isn't actually the inf importer? I'm going to
attempt
to import the raw SLD file created from econvert into my db and see if
I
can continue working that way. Either way, I'd still like to solve
this
problem.

Any other ideas?

Quentin.


Quentin,

If it is the DB, you will have to re-install it.

Try to run Regmon/Filemon while you hit Close on the Import File. I
doubt
they will help you to solve the problem but at least you
gather more info.

Also, try to use "\Program Files\Windows
Embedded\utilities\econvert.exe"
tool directly to convert the INF file.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


Thanks for the tip KM, but unfortunately, it didn't solve my problem.
I
have tried all combinations of what you mentioned below and
uninstalling
/
reinstalling, but CD is still dying when I hit close on the "Import
File"
dialog.

Any other ideas? Perhaps my db is corrupted?

Quentin.

Quentin,

I don't know about this bug but my guess would be that CD (INF
importer,
actually) cached something that it cannot eat.

Can you delete (save it somewhere just in case) "\Documents and
Settings\All Users\Documents\imprtinf.lab" file and then try to
import an INF file again?

The location of that LAB file is actually specified in registry
under
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
Embedded\Importers\INF],"DefaultLAB" value.

Also, just in case, you can try deleting this reg.key:
[HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ImportFW] (please note
the
Current
User root key here).

Let us know if it helps.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


I'm having issues with my Component Designer.

Here's what I did:
This morning I went to create a new component to handle my
device's
touch
screen driver and after the initial import there was one problem,
CD
couldn't find "input.inf". So I copied "input.inf" from the
respository
to
the root directory of the new inf that I was trying to import and
ran
the
import again. This time there were no errors, so I clicked close,
AND CD
QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY!! Now everytime I try to import an inf, CD
quits
when
I
hit close on the import dialog.

Any ideas?

Quentin.

 

[Jon Fincher [MS]]

Thanks for all your help KM. I'm going to keep plugging away at this
to see if I can figure it out.

Any MS folks want to chime in?

Hmm, wierd. EConvert makes a SLD fine, but CD won't open it, and CDM
won't open at all. This sounds like DB corruption to me, but it's tough
to diagnose offline like this.

Do you have another machine you can install the DB to? If so, do that,
then on the original machine, point CDM to that new DB. Since CDM won't
open, you'll have to make the change in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ServerName and/or
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\ServerName should
be changed to match the name of the new server. If that resolves the
issue, then you'll have to reinstall the DB, which means re-importing
all the SLD's you've put added.

If you don't have a second machine, you can backup the existing DB, then
wipe it and reinstall. If need be, you can restore the old DB. Backing
up the DB means taking it offline by either detaching the DB in
Enterprise Manager (if you have the SQL tools), or stopping SQL/MSDE,
then backing up \Windows Embedded Data\MantisSQLDB.MDF anf
MantisSQLDB.LDF. Backup \Windows Embedded Data\Repositories as well,
reattach the DB's or restart SQL/MSDE, then uninstall the DB and
reinstall it. To restore, you'll have detach the DB's or shut down
SQL/MSDE, then copy the backups over what's there, the reattach/restart
SQL/MSDE.

 

[Quentin]

OK, so I decided to scrap everything and reinstall tools/MSDE/db.

The tools installed fine, but when I went to install MSDE, I got the
following error:
"Setup failed to configure the server. Refer to the server error logs and
setup error logs from more information."

Now, this is where I would check the logs, if the error message told me
where they were.

Any ideas where I would look for these elusive logs? While I wait for an
answer I'm going to poke around SQL Server NGs to see if there is an answer
in there.

Quentin.

 

[Mike Warren]

Hi Quentin,

OK, so I decided to scrap everything and reinstall tools/MSDE/db.

The tools installed fine, but when I went to install MSDE, I got the
following error:
"Setup failed to configure the server. Refer to the server error logs
and setup error logs from more information."

I just downloaded and installed the eval and was getting the same sort of
errors.

I was specifying a path on my E: drive as my C: drive didn't have enough
room.

I removed everything, made some room on C: and installed using the default
paths and almost everything worked fine. The only problem I had was the
database installer could not find the 2 large data files from the download.
I manually copied them into C:\Program Files\Windows Embedded\Installer
\disk2\DATABASE\WINDOWS EMBEDDED DATA\REPOSITORIES
and the installation completed successfully.

I hope that may relate to your problem.

-Mike

 

[Quentin]

Thanks Mike, but that didn't help (I already tried everything you
mentioned.)

Quentin.

 

[KM]

Quentin,

Looks like your MSDE install issue: http://www.aphelion.net/docs/SetupFailedInstallMSDE.pdf

 

[Quentin]

Thanks for the tip KM, it got me a little further. After following a few
different KB's I was able to get tools/MSDE/db installed, but unfortunately
after that I am still having the same initial problems.

For those of you joining us late, I'll recap what I am seeing:
- Component Designer unexpectedly quits after inf import
- Component Designer unexpectedly quits when trying to open an "sld" file
- Component Database Manager will not open

OK, so I think it was KM that mentioned earlier that I should try attaching
a debugger to CD/CDMGR, I just tried that, and this is what I saw in the
output window (dll load messages omitted):

Debugging Component Database Manager:
The thread 0xBA8 has exited with code 0 (0x0).
First-chance exception in dbmgr.exe (NTDLL.DLL): 0xC00000FD: Stack Overflow.
First-chance exception in dbmgr.exe (NTDLL.DLL): 0xC0000005: Access
Violation.

Debugging Component Designer:
The thread 0xC68 has exited with code 0 (0x0).
First-chance exception in CDesign.exe (NTDLL.DLL): 0xC00000FD: Stack
Overflow.
First-chance exception in CDesign.exe (NTDLL.DLL): 0xC0000005: Access
Violation.


Could this have something to do with the fact that I recently installed XPP
Service Pack 2?

Any other ideas?

Quentin.

 

[KM]

Quentin,

Very detail and informative bug report. I think MS would appreciate such input.

Although, the first-chance exception info may be useless without call stack info and/or a consistent repro case for whoever is going
to work on this bug fixing.

One thing for sure - this is not VB script (which the XPe Tools logic is based on) errors.

It may or may not have anything to do with Service Pack 2. I am running SP2 that I installed recently and have not seen the bug yet
(although, after your post I backed up Mantis DB right away ).
Hard to say if it is SP2 related. It is possible especially considering new Data Execution Prevention SP2 technology. I already hit
a couple of caveats within MS own dev.tools (e.g., CE PB 5.0) under SP2.

As an experiment, try to "restore" the DB if you happened to have SQL Enterprise Manager installed. When you detach the Mantis DB,
save it somewhere and then replace it with a working copy from another machine. Then attach to it again and see if it helped.

 

[Shanky Sangie]

"Setup failed to configure the server. Refer to the server error logs and

setup error logs from more information."

I had a similar problem and solved it by deleting the contents of
folder "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server" and reinstalling the
server.

 

[Quentin]

Thanks Shanky, I think that's exactly what worked for me too. I think my
problem before was that I was just uninstalling; silly me, I thought that
would be enough Then I decided to uninstall and delete any other traces
I could find and that seemed to do the trick.

Quentin.

 

[Quentin]

Hi Jon,

So I decided to just scrap everything I had done so far and
uninstall/reinstall XPe tools/MSDE/db. Unfortunately after the reinstall I
am still seeing the same issues. My guess is that there is something that
is not being completely uninstalled and is being carried over into the
reinstall.

So do you know what regkeys/files/envvars I should make sure are gone before
I attempt another reinstall?

Also is there someone at MS that I can talk to about a possible fix? This
is becoming a major issue as I have been unable to do any development for 3
days now and it is very frustrating.

Quentin.

 

[Jon Fincher [MS]]

Hi Jon,

So I decided to just scrap everything I had done so far and
uninstall/reinstall XPe tools/MSDE/db. Unfortunately after the
reinstall I am still seeing the same issues. My guess is that there
is something that is not being completely uninstalled and is being
carried over into the reinstall.

So do you know what regkeys/files/envvars I should make sure are gone
before I attempt another reinstall?

OK, after a complete uninstall (tools and DB), you shold make sure you
don't have the following folders:

* \Program Files\Windows Embedded
* \Windows Embedded Data
* \Windows Embedded Images

On the registry side, look for HKLM and HKCU:

* SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Embedded

There shouldn't be any environment variables set.

Also is there someone at MS that I can talk to about a possible fix?
This is becoming a major issue as I have been unable to do any
development for 3 days now and it is very frustrating.

Getting is fixed first requires we find out what the cause is. I have
no doubts this is a major issue for you. The troubleshooting steps I
and the other newsgroup members are giving you are our best efforts to
help find the cause and a resolution. I don't think this is related to
our tools at all (if it were, it would have been reported three years
ago), but it may be related to the SP2 install in some way (although
others, including myself, have been using XPE on SP2 systems for a while
now).

One thing to look at would be viruses or other spyware on your system -
they can cause unexpected problems. That may be a non-starter for you
based on your environment, but I'm trying to be complete.

How about uninstalling SP2 to see if the tools start working again?