Explorer sometimes freezes on 'Recent Documents'

I've inspected the code and found some places that can cause the freeze potentially. Please can you test this version. To install close TLB, log off/log on, and replace tlb.dll.

I'm not sure this helps. Let me know how this version works. Thanks.

I don't suppose this behaviour is connected with the occasional freezing when there are no remote items in Recent Items, but I just found that if Recent Items contains items on a LAN-connected computer that's switched off, the Recent Items pop-up freezes, but only on alternate appearances.

I could repeat the following procedure as often as I wanted with XP. Recent Items (in TLB Quick Launch bar) contained three items referring to jpg files on another computer that's often on the LAN but was switched off, plus about 20 other local items. At the beginning, User Object/GDI Objects in Task Manager showed as 442/1043.

Step 1. Mouse onto Recent Items and then to Desktop. Pop-up appears and goes away again as normal. User/GDI is 446/1043 while pop-up on-screen and is 443/1043 when pop-up goes away.

Step 2. Repeat Step 1. Pop-up appears again but freezes. User/GDI becomes 445/1043.

Step 3. Bump mouse to left of screen to open a pop-up toolbar. It won’t open and cursor becomes a horizontal double-ended arrow. Move mouse back to empty desktop. Cursor remains as horizontal double-ended arrow.

Step 4. After about 17 sec cursor changes to normal arrow and User/GDI changes to 446/1043. About 0.5s later the Recent Items pop-up closes and User/GDI goes to 442/1043.

Step 5. Go back to Step 1 and repeat.

If I missed out Step 2 and just waited, I found that after 18s User/GDI spontaneously reverted back to 442/1043, after which the next pop-up didn't freeze.

To prove that this type of freeze was because of inaccessible LAN items I switched on the remote computer. After that the pop-up no longer froze on alternate appearances.

I suppose the 18 second period is Windows timing out while checking inaccessible links. But it would be nicer if all other TLB toolbars didn't freeze in the meantime.

I've inspected the code and found some places that can cause the freeze potentially. Please can you test this version. To install close TLB, log off/log on, and replace tlb.dll.

Only noticed your post after I finished my previous post. I'll try the test version later today.

Meanwhile in connection with your previous request to monitor User Objects and GDI Objects, when it crashed yesterday (in XP) I found that before restarting Explorer, User/GDI was 1384/3562 but immediately after restarting Explorer (with no other changes) the numbers reduced to 444/1037.

... Please can you test this version. To install close TLB, log off/log on, and replace tlb.dll.

I'm not sure this helps. Let me know how this version works. Thanks.

I've installed the new version on the Vista and XP machines and will let you know how it goes. However already there's an improvement because the behaviour I described just an hour ago in ''Recent Items' freezes on 2nd attempt if LAN disconnected' no longer occurs

I've installed the new version on the Vista and XP machines and will let you know how it goes.

Using the test dll I've now had a freeze on both XP and Vista, so it looks as if the main bug is still there. Here's the XP entry from my 'TLB Crash Log':

"22-08-2009 23:36 XP crashed when mousing onto Recent Items. Had to restart Explorer. Checked User and GDI Objects after crash and then again after restarting Explorer. No other changes to programs running. Before restart: 1238/3047 respectively. After: 468/1114."

However I may have another clue for you. I found that the following procedure reliably makes Recent Items freeze in Vista and XP:

Start with the Content Filters menu set with 'Apply Filter to all New Files/Folders' selected, and with 'Files mask to hide files' containing desired filter terms (I use ‘*.url* *.wav* *.zip* *.wbk* *.bak* *.ahk*’). Check that it works as expected.

Then re-open Content Filters menu and deselect 'Apply Filter to all New Files/Folders'. After that it freezes the next-but-one time you mouse onto the Recent Items pop-up. Restart Explorer to recover. Afterwards 'Files mask to hide files' is empty - all the selection terms have been lost.

Added by editing:
Another anomaly with Recent Items is that neither ‘Arrange Folders Like Files’ nor ‘Folders Processing’ seem to have any effect. In XP folders always appear at the top of the pop-up in alphabetical order from the top, while in Vista they are always scattered throughout the list.

Yuri,

Current log of crashes of ‘Recent Items’ plug-in attached. I've had 11 freezing events since 23-08-2009. Still using your test version of TLB dated 22-08-2009. I’ve tried filtering out folders but it still happens.

David.

David,

Please can you test this version.

I've rewriten the fetching folder content code. Also there are some other changes that must prevent the freezings.

About "Apply Filter to all New Files/Folders" option. When this option is ON then TLB store the files masks and apply filter when any files added to the folder. If this option is OFF then TLB just filter the current content and hide/show the files using the mask. If there are any new files appear, TLB don't filters them. Also all hidden files can be show via "Show hidden" menu. And TLB don't saves the filters.

PS. The version 4.4.0.5 have a small bonus, press CTRL+F in menu

Please can you test this version.

Apologies for the long-delayed response. I've been busy on other things and for some reason I never received an alert about your new post.

Actually I 'hid' Recent Items from the toolbars in both XP and Vista on 07-09-2009 and have had no Explorer crashes for a month. So this does rather confirm that Recent Items in TLB was the cause.

As soon as I saw your post today I did as follows on the XP machine. (Haven't tried it on the Vista machine yet).

1. I renamed C:\Program Files\TrueLaunchBar\tlb.dll to C:\Program Files\TrueLaunchBar\tlb160809Test.dll and copied in your new version, and rebooted.

2. After reboot explorer crashed three times in quick succession when I moused over TLB tool bars, and several times since. (Not connected with Recent Items since this was still hidden).

3. After that the crashes still happen but less frequently, and still not specific to Recent Items. A difference from the old dll is that some of the metrics have altered in the tool bars. Specifically the spacing between labels in a full height vertical toolbar has increased so it no longer fits in the screen height, and also the blue spine on the left of a tool bar has reappeared. I prefer not to see this so I had it set so narrow as to be invisible.

4. The Ctrl+F bonus is good! It's useful to be able to search in the list.

5. I'm finding that the filtering in Recent Items is not working. With *.doc.* *.pdf.* in the 'to show' mask and nothing in the 'to hide', I still see lots of other types of files. Also changing from 0 to say 3 in the 'days to show' windows has no effect on the items shown.

6. That was with 'Apply filters to all new etc.' ticked. When I unticked it, suddenly nothing appeared in the window. The Filters display then shows no entries in either file mask and files modified both show '0'. I then entered *.doc.* in 'to show' and all the doc files appeared.

7. With *.doc.* *.pdf.* entered and working, after I ticked and unticked 'Apply filters to all new etc.' several times, the filter carried on working but *.doc.* *.pdf.* no longer showed in the boxes. They now show blank.

Note on the crashes: There have been five in the past hour of testing. Each time Event Manager shows: 'Faulting application explorer.exe, version 6.0.2900.5512, faulting module tlb.dll, version 4.4.0.5, fault address 0x00083954.'

I'm sorry that this is not a success story so far. Unfortunately I'm up against a time limit because I go away for a fortnight three days from now. Will play more with it this evening.