I have been having system problems lately, and I can pretty well trace them to Opus 9 (latest version).
I'm running Win XP Pro, SP3, with all updates et al.
The problem is that my system suddenly locks up hard. Nothing can be done, the mouse is frozen - no mouse cursor visible, and I cannot even shut down normally, so I just have to pull the plug.
It just happened again. I had no programs running, other than of course security stuff et al. I clicked on the Opus launch icon in my taskbar. It opened, and then it and everything just froze solid.
This problem has been occurring for a while, but not on every session. So I think the best thing to do is uninstall Opus 9, and then do a reinstall.
If I use REVO uninstaller, and also have it check the Registry to remove the Opus entries there, will that sufficiently remove all elements that could be involved? I seem the recall that in the past, I was advised to manually remove a particular file(s) in the uninstall process. But I don't remember the exact path(s).
Any suggestions before I do the uninstall and reinstall?
However, it shouldn't be possible for Opus, by itself, to lock-up your system that badly. That sounds like a driver or hardware issue to me. It could be triggered by something Opus (or something that runs inside of it, shell extensions, video decoders, etc.) but that would just be the trigger and not the actual cause.
I'm running version 9.5.0.0.3565. In checking in the program, it states that there are no versions beyond this.
In addition to what I've stated above, I often get an error message window that Opus has had a problem, and must shut down. But most of the time, it is still running OK when that error message window closes. But sometimes it too shuts down.
I do have 4 internal hard drive, and 3 external USB drives. I believe that if one of these was having a "problem", that could possibly cause the crashes/error windows. But I have no visible signs of that.
But, when running Windows Explorer, I've had no problems. But then again, the problem is not a continuous one.
What is the uninstaller file name, and where is it located? I did not see an uninstaller in the folder containing the program icons.
I think I should try a thorough full uninstall, and reinstall.
I always backup to my config file, in a custom folder I have created. So that it available to reapply my config. Is it possible that this file could be the culprit?
The thread link really gave me nothing I could use.
It's "GPSoftware Directory Opus" in Add/Remove Programs, in case you were looking under D and not G in the list.
If you get the crash again please take a screenshot of the error message.
There will also usually be a "minidump" file created whenever dopus.exe crashes. Those files can sometimes help GPSoftware diagnose the problem. They will be created under %TEMP%\DOpus.Minidumps so if you've got any now it might be worth getting in touch with GPSoft. (GPSoft support page doesn't let you attach files but they should reply with details of where to send the info if they want it.)
Crashes are almost always caused by the things described in the FAQs, though. Have you tried what they suggest, in particular disabling all viewer plugins, non-Microsoft shell extensions and the "shell image extraction" option?
I do know where the "Standard" uninstall capabilities are in Windows Remove programs. I thought you might have been referring to a "special" uninstall file.
Possibly you might not be familiar with the "Revo Uninstaller". This is an excellent free software which uses the same basic uninstaller as the Windows uninstaller (which is usually the programs own uninstaller). But it also adds in the ability to go several steps further, including Registry cleaning et al. It generally is a far better choice.
Most of the freezeups that I had did not display any error messages, things just locked up. Those times when there was an error message, that message just stated the Opus would have to shut down due to an "error". But usually, that message box could be dismissed, and Opus did not shut down.
I will follow up more closely with the FAQ's you referred to. Since the problem is erratic, it makes things more difficult to ascertain whether any changes made are affecting the problem. So that process will be slow to produce any possible answers.
Using registry "cleaners" really isn't a good idea in general. If they make the wrong assumption and delete something that is actually still needed then they can cause huge problems. If they don't cause problems then the benefit of removing a few redundant registry settings is usually tiny. They're really a "more harm than good" type of thing, IMO.
I agree that Registry cleaners can cause problems, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who is not well advanced in computers.
But, I have had situations where Registry entries were apparently corrupted, and the "specific" Registry cleaning which I did manually, directed at that program only, solved the problem.
I don't like programs like RegCure. That company offers to fix just about any problem that anyone has by "fixing up" the Registry. And that claim is actually a bunch of hot air.