Hi:
After Java and Windows updates, Vassal suddenly won’t load/isn’t working. I read and repeatedly tried the suggested fixes in the forum, including uninstall/clean reinstall/restart of Java, first, and then Vassal. I also backed up and then deleted all the Vassal modules.
C:\Users<username>\AppData\Roaming\VASSAL is an empty folder.
Out of ideas. Any other things I might attempt?
Model: Dell
OS: Windows 8.1 Enterprise N Edition
64-bit System and Processor
CPU: Intel Core I7 CPU Q 820 @ 1.73 GHZ
RAM: 8 GB
Storage Memory: 195 GB available
Video: NVIDIA GeForce
VASSAL_ 3.2.17
Java: Version 8u241 (64-bit)
Vassal Module: “A World at War” AWAW V0 05b.vmod
Thanks, Mike
Thus spake ironwolf1961 via messages:
Hi:
After Java and Windows updates, Vassal suddenly won’t load/isn’t
working.
How are you starting VASSAL? What do you see when you try?
–
J.
Double-click Vassal desktop icon
Right-click Vassal desktop icon/Open
Double-click Vassal Program Files folder vassal.exe file
Right-click Vassal Program Files folder vassal.exe file/Open
In each case, the hour glass appears for a few seconds then disappears and nothing else happens.
Has anyone else installed the January Java update and Vassal no longer starts? Maybe we can figure it out together.
For years it’s been just a click-and-play experience for me. Based on the message board posts, I suppose I’ve been lucky. So this is my first foray under the hood.
Java and Vassal uninstall/install, uninstall/install, in this order and then that order, latest version, older versions, check registry, error logs, more times than I can remember the past few weeks.
I tried safe mode with the same result. As a last resort, I am on the verge of doing a Windows reset to clear everything and start cmpletely over. With all the pain that brings.
Thus spake ironwolf1961 via messages:
I tried safe mode with the same result. As a last resort, I am on the
verge of doing a Windows reset to clear everything and start cmpletely
over. With all the pain that brings.
Don’t do that. It’s unnecesary.
What’s the ouptut when you run ‘java -version’ from the command line?
–
J.
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Windows\system32>java -version
java version “1.8.0_241”
Java™ SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_241-b07)
Java HotSpot™ 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.241-b07, mixed mode)
Do you have any antivirus or anti-spyware software running, by chance? This is kind of a long shot, but IIRC there have been some instances where overly-aggressive monitoring software falsely identified VASSAL as a threat and prevented it from running.
In all attempts, including Java and VASSAL uninstall/clean reinstall/system reboots, antivirus was not only disabled it also was uninstalled entirely and system was rebooted to prevent any chance of software falsely identifying VASSAL as a threat. It made no difference.
UPDATE: Something I had not tried, I created a new User Account Profile and did nothing else/made no other changes. Did not uninstall/reinstall Java or Vassal. The engine opened and I am able to load modules and game sessions again. Thanks for talking me off the ledge. Fingers crossed. I will let you know if this solution doesn’t continue.
Thus spake ironwolf1961 via messages:
UPDATE: Something I had not tried, I created a new User Account Profile
and did nothing else/made no other changes. Did not uninstall/reinstall
Java or Vassal. The engine opened and I am able to load modules and
game sessions again. Thanks for talking me off the ledge. Fingers
crossed. I will let you know if this solution doesn’t continue.
The next step I was going to suggest was running VASSAL directly from
the command line. Given what you’ve said worked, what I suspect that
would have shown is a exception due to bad permissions on your old user
account.
Glad you got it working.
–
J.
Provide me the script to run from the command line and let’s see what happens.
From the directory where VASSAL is installed, run:
java -classpath lib/Vengine.jar VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager
What happens?
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17>java -classpath lib/Vengine.jar VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager
VASSAL: IO error
java.io.FileNotFoundException: C:\Users\Mike\AppData\Roaming\VASSAL\lock (Access
is denied)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.open0(Native Method)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.open(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)
at VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager.main(ModuleManager.java:159)
C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17>cd C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17
So there is something funky going on with the write permissions in C:\Users\Mike\AppData\Roaming\VASSAL
Maybe try zapping this folder entirely as the admin user. It would get recreated when you try and run VASSAL again as your normal user.
Thus spake ironwolf1961 via messages:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.3.9600]
(c) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17>java -classpath lib/Vengine.jar
VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager
VASSAL: IO error
java.io.FileNotFoundException: C:\Users\Mike\AppData\Roaming\VASSAL\lock
(Access
is denied)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.open0(Native Method)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.open(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)
at java.io.FileOutputStream.(Unknown Source)
at VASSAL.launch.ModuleManager.main(ModuleManager.java:159)
C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17>cd C:\Program Files\VASSAL-3.2.17
Yep, that’s what I was expecting to happen. VASSAL doesn’t have
permission to write to its lock file. Something is wrong with your
account permissions, which is why VASSAL was able to start when you
ran it from a different account.
–
J.
Yikes! Sounds like this will entail some research on fixing corrupt permissions. As no other problems are occurring other than trying to get Vassal to load in the profile, hopefully corruption is limited to that folder. Will let you know how that goes.
Zapping the folder worked. Thanks, guys!