Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Whether you're a MailWasher veteran or complete newbie, all users are welcome to get together. Discussions include usage and possible problems.
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Wed Mar 02, 2016 6:14 am

Hi

I have Mailwasher Pro 6.5.4 linked to a Thunderbird email client. It was working well on win 8.1 before I upgraded to win 10.

Now, after each start (whether automatically on boot-up or manually) the program 'hangs'. The window always becomes unresponsive. I cannot even close it via 'X' button. I always have to resort to Task Manager and kill the MW process.

On the second attempt, it starts up normally (always). I am not sure what is happening? Is the first attempt forcing a Service to start? If so, I'd like to know which service this could be?

Baffled, looking for options to try.
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Wed Mar 02, 2016 12:55 pm

There's no services I can recall MW 6 using, try first just uninstalling >> reinstalling, see if that helps.
http://www.firetrust.com/sites/firetrus ... -Setup.exe
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:30 pm

rusticdog wrote:There's no services I can recall MW 6 using, try first just uninstalling >> reinstalling, see if that helps.
http://www.firetrust.com/sites/firetrus ... -Setup.exe
Sorry, I should have mentioned that right at the start - I have already tried uninstalling/reinstalling. Did not help.
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:38 pm

Okie doke.

For kicks, try setting Compatibility Mode for MailWasher to Windows XP. The instructions are for Vista, but it's the same process.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... lity-mode/
The MailWasher EXE will likely be in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Firetrust\MailWasher Pro\"

If that doesn't help, with MailWasher closed, go to C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\MailWasherPro and rename the MailWasherPro folder to something like OldMailWasherPro >> start MailWasher.
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Fri Mar 04, 2016 9:56 pm

rusticdog wrote:
For kicks, try setting Compatibility Mode for MailWasher to Windows XP. The instructions are for Vista, but it's the same process.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... lity-mode/
The MailWasher EXE will likely be in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Firetrust\MailWasher Pro\"
Thanks for the suggestion. I have now tried this. No joy. The problem persists. In fact, I tried a couple of variations. XP and the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter's default suggestion, Win7. This morning I still get the 'hang' after the first launch.
rusticdog wrote:If that doesn't help, with MailWasher closed, go to C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\MailWasherPro and rename the MailWasherPro folder to something like OldMailWasherPro >> start MailWasher.
I tried this also. The fresh roaming profile did not help either (apart from losing all by training and 'blacklist' data.) I have now re-instated the old folder.

I appreciate your feedback.

occam
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:23 pm

OK.

This is a slightly longer process to run, but try running a System File Scan to replace/repair any damaged system files.
Instructions on doing that is here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833

Allow for 15-30 minutes for this to complete.
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:55 pm

rusticdog wrote:OK.

This is a slightly longer process to run, but try running a System File Scan to replace/repair any damaged system files.
Instructions on doing that is here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833
"Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violation"

(I am glad I did this. I have not run a cfs.exe since Win 7. That is 2 generations (or 50 years) in OS timescale ;-)
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:58 am

Gosh. It's very odd, not had any other reports of this that I can think of.
Can you go back to the compatibility mode, but this time set to Run As Administrator.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows- ... lity-mode/
User avatar
TrustFire
βeta Tester
Location: 127.0.0.1
Posts: 13164
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:04 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:14 am

Did you try a full and clean MWP install?
MailWasher Pro (βeta) | Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC (22H2) | The Bat! Professional (βeta) | Windows 10 Firewall Control (βeta) | ESET Endpoint Antivirus (βeta) | nVIDIA GeForce (GTX 1060) | WebView2 Runtime (118.0.2088.61) | .NET Framework (4.8.1)
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:30 am

TrustFire wrote:Did you try a full and clean MWP install?
If you tell me what 'full clean' means for you, I may.

I don't mind loosing my existing filters, but I do mind having to re-enter all my account details (11 different email accounts in all)

occam
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Sat Mar 05, 2016 12:01 pm

For a proper full wipe, with backup of data :

If you again do the steps mentioned here to rename the data folder, to makes the backup of those files.
http://forum.firetrust.com/posting.php? ... 9#pr103590

Then I've attached two scripts as BAT files (well, I've attached ZIP files, the BAT files are inside)

With MailWasher closed.
First run backup.bat >> then check in your C:\ for a file called mailwasher.reg, it should be around 15kb+ in size. Do not proceed if this file does not exist.

Then run delete.bat >> this deletes all MailWasher stuff stored in the Registry >> uninstall then reinstall MailWasher >> don't put your files or data back yet, just run MailWasher as though you were a brand new user >> see if problem still exists.


Once you know either way,
To get your data files back, rename as you did before.
To get your accounts etc.. back, with MailWasher closed run the mailwasher.reg file and answer YES to import into the Windows Registry.
Attachments
delete.zip
(218 Bytes) Downloaded 424 times
backup.zip
(238 Bytes) Downloaded 428 times
Last edited by rusticdog on Sat Mar 05, 2016 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Lots of edits for clarity
occam
Student Sheep
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:57 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Mon Mar 07, 2016 9:39 pm

Thanks rusticdog.

I went through the procedure over the weekend. Alas, this morning I am having the same issues. I feel I have wasted enough of everyone's time here (including my own) with this issue.

I have two choices, as I see it: I continue to use MW Pro in its slightly hobbled state (start/restart); or I go for an alternative e.g. Spamihilator.

Does anyone here have experience of other spam filters? My only requirement is - to view and filter emails BEFORE they are downloaded to my machine.

thanks
User avatar
TrustFire
βeta Tester
Location: 127.0.0.1
Posts: 13164
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:04 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:38 am

occam wrote:Does anyone here have experience of other spam filters?
Have used most of them and they all suck. :thumbsdown

occam wrote:My only requirement is - to view and filter emails BEFORE they are downloaded to my machine.

thanks
Personally, I'd never persist with the V6 — it's a miracle to see it even getting installed on modern Operating Systems like the 8.1 and Windows 10. :o

Almost all of us have switched over to the more fully-featured V7 — you may try it (if you wish to.) :idea: :thumbsup
MailWasher Pro (βeta) | Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC (22H2) | The Bat! Professional (βeta) | Windows 10 Firewall Control (βeta) | ESET Endpoint Antivirus (βeta) | nVIDIA GeForce (GTX 1060) | WebView2 Runtime (118.0.2088.61) | .NET Framework (4.8.1)
User avatar
rusticdog
Firetrust Monkey
Posts: 15864
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:27 pm

Re: Mailwasher 'hangs' on startup - always needs restart

Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:45 am

Yeah I'm really short on ideas, none of our Win10 machines have shown this behaviour.


Make sure graphics drivers are up to date, which is something I didn't mention earlier. We had a really weird case a few weeks ago where a user managed to have two different graphics drivers installed on their machine as a result of the Win10 upgrade.

Return to “Troubleshooting and Help for MailWasher 5 and 6”