xplorer2 2.1.0.2 x64 Hanging after recent Windows Update

[Ampa]

Similar to this recent thread... http://forum.zabkat.com/viewtopic.php?t=9606

xplorer2 is hanging, NOT crashing - but becoming unresponsive, very frequently. The problem seems to have arisen after a recent Windows Update where many Windows patches were applied.

Actions that have triggered hanging...

Opening an exe
Double clicking a data file to open in associated app
Right clicking to bring up context menu
Using an option on a context menu (such as Extract Zip)
Copying via Drag and Drop
Copying via F5
Creating a new folder

If I click the X to kill xplorer2 Windows give the following info...

Description:
 A problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.

Problem signature:
 Problem Event Name: AppHangB1
 Application Name: xplorer2_64.exe
 Application Version: 2.1.0.2
 Application Timestamp: 4f8bd67e
 Hang Signature: 8126
 Hang Type: 1
 OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
 Locale ID: 2057
 Additional Hang Signature 1: 8126a9698d1831ddfe5113330822ba00
 Additional Hang Signature 2: 2d80
 Additional Hang Signature 3: 2d809466888e8abcf62af9656764e055
 Additional Hang Signature 4: 8126
 Additional Hang Signature 5: 8126a9698d1831ddfe5113330822ba00
 Additional Hang Signature 6: 2d80
 Additional Hang Signature 7: 2d809466888e8abcf62af9656764e055

xplorer2 displays no error message, and there is no crash log.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling.

OS: Win7 SP1 x64
xplorer2: 2.1.0.2 x64

Could someone talk me through diagnosing and fixing the problem?

Thanks,

Ampa


FURTHER INFO:

Have rebooted.
Scanned system with TrendMicro, Avast and MalwareBytes - it is clean.
Windows event log shows "Binary data: In bytes... Cross-thread"
Windows Explorer seems to be perfectly stable.
When xplorer2 hangs it isn't using any CPU cycles (according to Process Explorer).

YET MORE INFO

I've no idea whether this is helpful, but until someone gives me some guidance, I'll keep flailing around...

The last 2 hangs / not responding I used Process Explorer to view the stack for xplorer2


Hung when double click an MP3 file - opened the player (xmplay) but never loaded the mp3 file, and xplorer hung.

USER32.dll!SfmDxSetSwapChainStats+0x1a
USER32.dll!GetMessageW+0x2a
SHELL32.dll!DAD_ShowDragImage+0x1d0
SHLWAPI.dll!SHRegGetUSValueW+0x2ba
kernel32.dll!BaseThreadInitThunk+0xd
ntdll.dll!RtlUserThreadStart+0x21


Previous freeze when deleting a folder...

USER32.dll!SfmDxSetSwapChainStats+0x1a
USER32.dll!GetMessageW+0x2a
xplorer2_64.exe+0x1d27d

[nikos]

try to minimize the possible causes of this trouble so that it can be pinpointed: turn off the quickviewer panel, switch to plain list mode etc and see if there is any improvement

[Ampa]

@Nikos: Thanks for the suggestions - I shall report back later today.

Is there a quick way to reset xplorer2 to its default settings?

[Kilmatead]

Is there a quick way to reset xplorer2 to its default settings?

Uninstall then reinstall is the simplest route, as uninstalling offers an option to completely remove everything.

Alternatively, remove the following key from the registry when x2 is not running, then open x2 again.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ZabaraKatranemia Plc

[Ampa]

@Kilmatead: Thanks - did a complete reset of Xplorer2...

UPDATE:

Complete reset of Xplorer2's options...
1st hang: Renaming a file, BUT did recover after about 30 seconds!
2nd hang: Moving a folder > "Preparing to move" > "Calculating...", froze and never recovered.

Turned off Anti Virus (AVAST 7)...
Xplorer2 seems much snappier! But...
1st hang: Opening an application (Xara Designer Pro)

Turned off everything but the Tree, a Single Pane, using List view...
Seems stable so far...

[Ampa]

Grrr... Spoke too soon:

Single pane, List View, No other panels:
1st Hang: Application launch (Listary Pro)

[Kilmatead]

Apparently the recent updates have disturbed something in your Windows Shell - as they don't seem to follow any given theme (only executables, only archives, etc) it would not appear to be any one shell extension, though it is possible.  These troubles would not be specific to x2 (they would occur in Windows Explorer as well)... perhaps they are due to the recent updates (or perhaps not, people love to blame Windows Update for everything including their children's bad report cards) - however, Win7 has much improved this, and so tends to have fewer troubles.  For example, I received the same updates as you and have had no problems - nor are there any notable reports coming out of a quick Googling about mass hysteria via May 2012 updates.

Essentially it boils down to two prospects, if you have done an image backup from before the updates (as everyone should), then restore it and try again.  If you trust Windows Restore Point mechanism, you can try that as well (to a point before the updates), though it's best to turn off automatic updates first as they'll just download again once you restart.  Or, as a simpler method, all updates can (in an of themselves) be individually uninstalled, so you could try that.

Or, if you go with the idea that it's caused by one (or more) screwed up shell extensions, you can disable as many or as few as you want using the aforementioned ShellExView utility mentioned in the other thread (above), and investigate that method to find the offending extension.

Basically, this is not an x2 fault - so I'm afraid it's most likely to be local to your machine.  (On the other hand, if Windows Explorer works perfectly well and these problems only happen in x2 that's a different story - but it's also the most unlikely as everything you describe is an obvious disruption of the shell of some sort - x2 merely interprets shell/COM objects, it does not load any specific to itself.)

[stevecrane]

Did you ever manage to fix this? I have been experiencing similar problems for a few months now. X2 is extremely unresponsive and just about any action like switching to another folder on same disk or typing to select file in current folder can cause X2 to hang for many seconds. Even trying to scroll inside a folder hangs for a second or two before the scroll finishes.

If you type "fil" in a folder pane it would normally highlight the first file/folder starting with "fil" but after the hang it has often selected the first file starting with "i" or "l".

During one hang when switching folders I captured the screenshot below. The screen stayed like this for several seconds before refreshing and allowing me to continue.



I am using Windows 7 Ultimate and have seen no problems with Windows Explorer so I doubt the problem lies with any shell extension.

I am going to try uninstalling then re-installing X2 and will report back on what I find.

[nikos]

wild guess: try to turn off your drivebar from VIEW menu

[stevecrane]

Since my last reply I have deleted the registry entries, after backing them up. Now with fresh settings the problem seems to have vanished, though I should give it some time to be sure. If it reoccurs I'll try turning off the drive bar.