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Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Get help with installing and using Rainmeter.
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jsmorley
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Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by jsmorley »

If Rainmeter crashes, the steps to take are:

1) Goto %APPDATA%\Rainmeter and rename Rainmeter.ini to Rainmeter.ini.bak
(C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Rainmeter)

2) Restart Rainmeter. The default illustro skins should load and all will be well.

This will correct the problem probably 90% of the time. The problem is with a skin or a 3rd-party plugin a skin is using, and you will need to add back in the skins you were running until you find the one that crashes it.

If not...

3) Entirely delete the following folders:
-- C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Rainmeter
-- C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Rainmeter
-- C:\Program Files\Rainmeter
4) Download the latest release or beta (recommended) of Rainmeter from https://www.rainmeter.net.

5) Install Rainmeter. The default illustro skins should load and all will be well.

If not...

Now we know the problem is certainly not with a skin or a 3rd-party plugin. We have to dig a bit deeper.

6) Repeat step 3 above.
7) Run scans using both your antivirus software and MalwareBytes AntiMalware. Let them clean up any problems.
8) Repeat step 4 above.
9) Install Rainmeter. The default illustro skins should load and all will be well.

If not...

10) Repeat steps 3 and 4 above.
11) Download and install the latest version of the drivers for your graphics card.
12) Install Rainmeter. The default illustro skins should load and all will be well.

If not...

13) Repeat steps 3 and 4 above.
14) Open a cmd.exe command prompt window, running it "As administrator"

In that window, execute the following in turn:

sfc /scannow
This will take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to run. If it finds and fixes any problems with system files, you MUST run it again, and keep doing so until it runs and reports that no problems were found. If it finds and corrects any issues, reboot your PC after. This is hideously time consuming, but the health of your PC is more important that anything to do with Rainmeter itself.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
This will take a few minutes to run. If it finds and corrects any issues, reboot your PC after.

15) Install Rainmeter. The default illustro skins should load and all will be well.

That's about it. These are the steps I would take, which are just about everything logical you can do short of a complete repair or re-install of Windows itself. Unless you really do have actual hardware that is not compatible with the Rainmeter application and the default illustro skins, which to be honest I have just NEVER seen, one of these steps will solve the problem.

Note: Feel free to make a backup copy of your ..Documents\Rainmeter\Skins folder if you have skins you want to keep, and a backup copy of %APPDATA%\Rainmeter\Plugins if you have 3rd-party plugins you want to keep, but do be aware that it is about 90% likely that it is one of those that is the problem to start with, and you will want to put them back one at a time and ensure all is still well as you go.
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eclectic-tech
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Location: Cedar Point, Ohio, USA

Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by eclectic-tech »

Thanks for consolidating all these steps... very thorough as usual! :rosegift:
I usually don't go beyond the 90% level of help ;-)
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jsmorley
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Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by jsmorley »

eclectic-tech wrote:Thanks for consolidating all these steps... very thorough as usual! :rosegift:
I usually don't go beyond the 90% level of help ;-)
There are other things that are related to your system that you can try, like booting Windows in Safe Mode to ensure that some driver or utility software you normally run isn't clashing with Rainmeter, updating your network card (NIC) drivers, running CHKDSK /F on your hard drive, getting and running the Windows "fixing" software from Tweaking.com, goodness knows what else, but the stuff in the first post will get you there most of the time.
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tjhrulz
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Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by tjhrulz »

jsmorley wrote:There are other things that are related to your system that you can try, like booting Windows in Safe Mode to ensure that some driver or utility software you normally run isn't clashing with Rainmeter, updating your network card (NIC) drivers, running CHKDSK /F on your hard drive, getting and running the Windows "fixing" software from Tweaking.com, goodness knows what else, but the stuff in the first post will get you there most of the time.
You forgot the most important one, just saying f--- it and reinstalling Windows.

Also http://theoatmeal.com/blog/fix_computer
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jsmorley
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Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by jsmorley »

tjhrulz wrote:You forgot the most important one, just saying f--- it and reinstalling Windows.

Also http://theoatmeal.com/blog/fix_computer
Yes, there is always the nuclear option, but that is never going to be something you do because Rainmeter won't work right, it's going to be because there is some fundamental issue with your system, and Rainmeter is just one of many "symptoms". Or, just because you feel it's time to "get fresh and clean" in Windows. Doesn't hurt to do that once in a while in any case.

https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?p=135739#p135739
Milessweet418
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Joined: March 19th, 2018, 2:24 am

Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by Milessweet418 »

Done up to checking for malware with no results, fingers crossed...
Milessweet418
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Joined: March 19th, 2018, 2:24 am

Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by Milessweet418 »

Hold on, what if it works perfectly first boot and then crashes every time after a shutdown and reboot? do skins somehow get corrupted in reboot? Or do I just keep going as usual?

P.S: checking for viruses didn't work.
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jsmorley
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Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by jsmorley »

Install Rainmeter. Get it running.

Change this option to "unchecked":
1.png

Restart Rainmeter.

Now reboot or whatever, and see what happens.
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Milessweet418
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Joined: March 19th, 2018, 2:24 am

Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by Milessweet418 »

it works now! Thanks so much! :D
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Active Colors
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Re: Rainmeter is crashing! What do I do?

Post by Active Colors »

Yes. Wanted to make such thread as well before, similar to the Audio Level plugin guide I did befor but did not find time for that. Great instructions.