Paratext 8 not Opening and Causing Windows 7 Ultimate to be Very Slow

Question

I just installed Paratext 8 on a user’s 32-bit Windows 7 SP1 Ultimate machine.

After the install, I did the update to 8.0.100.25 (this was before the latest .35 update).

Then I opened Paratext and it opened to the Language Selection screen and the Registration Information screen, but then some Windows error came up, but I cannot recall what it was because I thought a restart might fix it.

The restart took a few minutes (normal startup is about 30 seconds).

I tried opening Paratext 8 again, it came to the language selection screen and I saw a very quick Paratext green “loading” bar that said LXX. Then nothing.

I tried opening Paratext 8 again and watched it in the Task Manager. The Paratext.exe process went from 30 some MB to 106 MB almost instantaneously, then hung there, and then disappeared all together.

I uninstalled Paratext 8.0.100 from the Control Panel > Programs and Features and then restarted. The restart took about 10 minutes and sat on the Windows logo screen for the majority of that time. The user said it normally takes about 30 seconds to start up.

He tried another restart, and this time it was back to normal speed.

I’m afraid to try to reinstall Paratext 8 at this time because whatever happened after the install has caused his machine to grind to a halt.

His machine has the latest Windows 7 updates as of yesterday.

Paratext Support said it was hard to tell what the issue might be (understandably) and suggested it was the antivirus, but he’s running the same corporate anti-virus that everybody else on centre is running and we haven’t seen this issue on any other machines.

I wanted to reach out to the broader community to see if anybody had seen this kind of behavior or had other suggestions.

Here is a list of his installed programs (in case that helps). I’m sorry if it’s not in the most readable format. The list is also available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/144Ef3LLMAjZJQaOkNqRxSwDqAPKVn07b/view?usp=sharing

Publisher

Version

7-Zip 9.20

A+ French

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

Adobe Systems Incorporated

17.012.20098

Adobe AIR

Adobe Systems Incorporated

13.0.0.83

Adobe Flash Player 27 ActiveX

Adobe Systems Incorporated

27.0.0.130

Adobe Flash Player 27 NPAPI

Adobe Systems Incorporated

27.0.0.130

Advanced Audio FX Engine

Creative Technology Ltd

1.12.05

Andika 1.004

Apple Application Support

Apple Inc.

3.0.6

Apple Mobile Device Support

Apple Inc.

7.1.2.6

Apple Software Update

Apple Inc.

2.1.3.127

Audacity 2.0.3

Audacity Team

2.0.3

avast! Endpoint Protection Suite

AVAST Software

8.0.1609.0

BART 5.3

SIL International

5.3

Bonjour

Apple Inc.

3.0.0.10

Brother MFL-Pro Suite DCP-7010

Brother Industries, Ltd.

1.0.1.0

Brother MFL-Pro Suite DCP-L2520DW series

Brother Industries, Ltd.

1.0.2.0

CCleaner

Piriform

5.35

CharisSIL 4.114

CyberLink PowerDVD 9.6

CyberLink Corp.

9.6.1.4418

Dell Backup and Recovery Manager

Dell Inc.

1.3.1

Dell Data Protection | Access

Dell Inc.

2.2.00003.008

Dell Feature Enhancement Pack

Dell

2.2.000

Dell Touchpad

ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

7.1211.101.114

Dell Webcam Central

Creative Technology Ltd

1.40.05

DIGICEL USB Modem

DoulosSIL 4.112

EzraSIL 2.51

FLEx Bridge

SIL International

2.3.13

Free Download Manager 3.9.2

FreeDownloadManager.ORG

GalatiaSIL 2.1

Gentium 1.02

Google Chrome

Google Inc.

62.0.3202.94

Google Earth Pro

Google

7.3.0.3832

HDD Guardian 0.6.2

HP Support Solutions Framework

Hewlett-Packard Company

11.51.0049

IDT Audio

IDT

1.0.6388.0

Intel® Control Center

Intel Corporation

1.2.1.1007

Intel® Management Engine Components

Intel Corporation

8.0.3.1427

Intel® Processor Graphics

Intel Corporation

8.15.10.2712

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology

Intel Corporation

11.0.0.1032

Intel® Trusted Connect Service Client

Intel Corporation

1.23.605.1

IP3 Courses version 3

SIL.org

3

iTunes

Apple Inc.

11.3.1.2

KeePass Password Safe 2.25

Dominik Reichl

2.25

LADSPA_plugins-win-0.4.15

Audacity Team

LAME v3.99.3 (for Windows)

Live! Cam Avatar Creator

Creative Technology Ltd

4.6.3009.1

Logos Bible Software

Faithlife Corporation

6.128.49

Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7

Microsoft Corporation

4.7.02053

Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center

Microsoft Corporation

2.0.162.0

Microsoft File Validation Add-In

Microsoft Corporation

[Phone Removed]

Microsoft Professional Plus 2013

Microsoft Corporation

15.0.4569.1506

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft Corporation

17.0.4023.1211

Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft Corporation

5.1.50907.0

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]

Microsoft Corporation

3.1.0000

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 ATL Update kb973923 - x86 8.0.50727.4053

Microsoft Corporation

8.0.50727.4053

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable

Microsoft Corporation

8.0.61001

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.17

Microsoft Corporation

9.0.30729

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.6161

Microsoft Corporation

9.0.30729.6161

Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable - 10.0.40219

Microsoft Corporation

10.0.40219

Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) - 11.0.61030

Microsoft Corporation

11.0.61030.0

Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x86) - 12.0.30501

Microsoft Corporation

12.0.30501.0

Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86) - 14.0.24215

Microsoft Corporation

14.0.24215.1

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Runtime (x86)

Microsoft Corporation

10.0.50903

Mozilla Firefox 50.1.0 (x86 en-US)

Mozilla

50.1.0

Mozilla Maintenance Service

Mozilla

50.1.0.6186

MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB954430)

Microsoft Corporation

4.20.9870.0

MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB973688)

Microsoft Corporation

4.20.9876.0

Notepad++

Notepad++ Team

6.8.3

paint.net

dotPDN LLC

4.0.9

Panda USB Vaccine 1.0.1.4

Panda Security

Paratext 7.5

United Bible Societies

7.5.100.10

Picture Package Music Transfer

Sony Corporation

1.0.01.23160

Ptw7 Framework

United Bible Societies

7.1.100

QuickTime 7

Apple Inc.

7.75.80.95

RAMP

UNKNOWN

1.0.2614

Roxio Creator Starter

Roxio

12.1.77.0

Samsung SCX-3200 Series

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Scan Assistant

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

1.01.014

SIL FieldWorks 8.2.8 SE

SIL International

8.2.8

Silas Version 2.301 build 1.04

Skype™ 7.40

Skype Technologies S.A.

7.40.103

Smart Defrag 3

IObit

3.1

smartmontools

6.2 2013-07-26 r3841 (sf-6.2-1)

Sony Picture Utility

Sony Corporation

2.0.05.13150

Sony USB Driver

Sony Corporation

2

ST Microelectronics 3 Axis Digital Accelerometer Solution

ST Microelectronics

4.10.0016

Sunny Explorer

SMA Solar Technology AG

1.7.9

Tavultesoft Keyman 6.0

Toolbox 1.5.9 Apr 2011

Translator’s Workplace 5.0

SIL International

5

VirtualCloneDrive

Elaborate Bytes

5.4.7.0

VLC media player

VideoLAN

2.2.4

WD Drive Utilities

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

1.0.6.3

WD Security

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

1.0.6.3

WD SmartWare

Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

2.2.0.8

Windows Driver Package - Dell Inc. PBADRV System (09/11/2009 1.0.1.6)

Dell Inc.

09/11/2009 1.0.1.6

Windows Live Essentials

Microsoft Corporation

15.4.3508.1109

Here’s a list of his startup items. This list is also available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17wTO0qtUlMAZ20z7ERnIzS5FEpn3WfTT/view?usp=sharing

Enabled

Key

Program

Publisher

File

Yes

HKCU:Run

CCleaner Monitoring

Piriform Ltd

C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe /MONITOR

No

HKCU:Run

CCleaner Monitoring

Piriform Ltd

C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe /MONITOR

Yes

HKCU:Run

keyman.exe

Tavultesoft Pty Ltd

C:\Program Files\Tavultesoft\Keyman\keyman.exe

No

HKLM:Run

Adobe ARM

Adobe Systems Incorporated

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe

No

HKLM:Run

Adobe Reader Speed Launcher

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 10.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe

Yes

HKLM:Run

Apoint

Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

C:\Program Files\DellTPad\Apoint.exe

No

HKLM:Run

APSDaemon

Apple Inc.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support\APSDaemon.exe

Yes

HKLM:Run

avast

Avast Software s.r.o.

C:\Program Files\AVAST Software\Avast Business\avastUI.exe /nogui

No

HKLM:Run

BDRegion

cyberlink

C:\Program Files\Cyberlink\Shared Files\brs.exe

No

HKLM:Run

BrMfcWnd

Brother Industries, Ltd.

C:\Program Files\Brother\Brmfcmon\BrMfcWnd.exe /AUTORUN

Yes

HKLM:Run

BrStsMon00

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Answer 1

Any progress on this?

A colleague has found since moving 2 projects to Paratext 8 that his Paratext 8 runs very slowly. Currently it takes over 30s to even show the startup splash screen. He has a fast computer. We updated to .NET 4.7.1 in case it was related (previously he had 4.5.1) but it doesn’t seem to have helped. Sometimes typing in a project it will pause for a time and then suddenly catch up and show all the text he has typed. Is this normal? Any ideas what could be wrong?

To me it looks like there is some bad interaction on his machine. My own PT8 works fast enough, but I’m running in Windows 10 with the dot net 4.7 blocked.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, not really. We got one step further (Windows 7 Ultimate is not slow anymore), but Paratext keeps crashing when it opens. I haven’t been able to get together with the user to try again.

Have you installed the Fall Creators Update? That seems to help with the .NET 4.7 issue and slowness on Windows 10.

Answer 3

One possibly related issue which could affect users after they have first installed Paratext. It is unlikely to be related to general slowdown issues.

When Paratext 8 is installed for the first time, just after you enter registration information, and if you allow it internet access, Paratext 8 will immediately attempt to download any projects that you have rights to. It only has a small progress bar, and this progress bar sometimes loses focus and is hidden behind other windows. The progress bar does not have its own taskbar window, so if it becomes hidden, it can appear that Paratext is not running/hanging and users will not know that they should not open another Paratext instance.

If you encounter this issue, you can use Alt+Tab to find the progress bar. For our migrations to Paratext 8, we preferred to cancel this initial send/receive due to our slow internet connections and to send/receive projects 1 by 1 a bit later.

Answer 4

Stephen+Katt:

For our migrations to Paratext 8, we preferred to cancel this initial send/receive due to our slow internet connections and to send/receive projects 1 by 1 a bit later.

In cases where the Internet is slow (or the projects are very large) you might consider doing the initial S/R using a USB stick. Once the initial S/R is done you can use the Internet. Obviously this works if everyone is together or can receive a USB.