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[Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

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tg1489
Posts: 17
Joined: July 4th, 2014, 4:08 am

[Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by tg1489 »

I can't exactly track down why or when this happens but at random times when I am on my computer I notice that my rainmeter icons eventually go transparent and dont work if I try clicking on them.

Going into task manager and ending the process along with restarting rainmeter temporarily fixes the issue but this has been going on a lot more frequently and it's getting frustrating.
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balala
Rainmeter Sage
Posts: 16110
Joined: October 11th, 2010, 6:27 pm
Location: Gheorgheni, Romania

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by balala »

tg1489 wrote:I can't exactly track down why or when this happens but at random times when I am on my computer I notice that my rainmeter icons eventually go transparent and dont work if I try clicking on them.

Going into task manager and ending the process along with restarting rainmeter temporarily fixes the issue but this has been going on a lot more frequently and it's getting frustrating.
By "rainmeter icons" you mean skins?

If so, my first question is how many skins have you loaded? Do they have Shape meters (eventually used as background)?
I'm asking all this, because a while ago I noticed a somehow similar behavior on my system. Then I had loaded many skins then (10 - 15, I'm not sure any more), each of them had Shape meters used as backgrounds (however how those Shape meters are used doesn't matter too much, I think). I'm keeping telling that those skins used Shape meters as backgrounds, because in the same time I also had a few (not too much - two or three) skins, with backgrounds set in their [Rainmeter] section (through Background options), and those skins had no problems, they kept working.
The simplest fixing was to unload one or two skins, then restart Rainmeter. This fixed the issue and didn't encountered the issue any more.
After a while, I think I found which skin was guilty. I unloaded it. No more such issues since then.
So first tg1489, please tell us how many skins do you have loaded. Eventually pack the skins you have loaded (even if the package will be big) and upload it here (or if the package is indeed big, upload it to a file sharing site (eg FileFactory) and post the link here.
tg1489
Posts: 17
Joined: July 4th, 2014, 4:08 am

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by tg1489 »

balala wrote:By "rainmeter icons" you mean skins?

If so, my first question is how many skins have you loaded? Do they have Shape meters (eventually used as background)?
I'm asking all this, because a while ago I noticed a somehow similar behavior on my system. Then I had loaded many skins then (10 - 15, I'm not sure any more), each of them had Shape meters used as backgrounds (however how those Shape meters are used doesn't matter too much, I think). I'm keeping telling that those skins used Shape meters as backgrounds, because in the same time I also had a few (not too much - two or three) skins, with backgrounds set in their [Rainmeter] section (through Background options), and those skins had no problems, they kept working.
The simplest fixing was to unload one or two skins, then restart Rainmeter. This fixed the issue and didn't encountered the issue any more.
After a while, I think I found which skin was guilty. I unloaded it. No more such issues since then.
So first tg1489, please tell us how many skins do you have loaded. Eventually pack the skins you have loaded (even if the package will be big) and upload it here (or if the package is indeed big, upload it to a file sharing site (eg FileFactory) and post the link here.

Hey, thanks for the reply. Yes sorry I meant skins.

I have 33 skins loaded at the moment.

I'm not exactly familiar with shape meters but this is a typical layout I use for 90% of my skins:

"
[Rainmeter]
Update=1000


[MeterLaunch1Image]
Meter=Image
ImageName=#@#Images\gamefolder2.png
W=80
H=80
X=0r
Y=2R
LeftMouseUpAction=["F:\FROM SEAGATE\Console Games"] [!RainmeterShowMeter button5][!RainmeterRedraw]

"

Here is the link for the skins I have active:

https://mega.nz/#!WNQmlYbS!yx7ndbuwTXBh2EFFNsAkHdiIrrAO_0nk-uJNjQCGLuY
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balala
Rainmeter Sage
Posts: 16110
Joined: October 11th, 2010, 6:27 pm
Location: Gheorgheni, Romania

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by balala »

tg1489 wrote:I have 33 skins loaded at the moment.
33 skins? Not bad. But I suppose it's a bit too much, probably this is the cause.
First try to unload a few of them. Leave loaded let's say 20 and keep working, to see if the issue occurs again. If it does, unload another few. Do this for testing purposes, even if you're using them. Later we'll see what to do.
tg1489
Posts: 17
Joined: July 4th, 2014, 4:08 am

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by tg1489 »

balala wrote:33 skins? Not bad. But I suppose it's a bit too much, probably this is the cause.
First try to unload a few of them. Leave loaded let's say 20 and keep working, to see if the issue occurs again. If it does, unload another few. Do this for testing purposes, even if you're using them. Later we'll see what to do.


Lol yes I am obsessed with making new ones but ok i'll keep it at 20 and see if the issue happens again, then keep decreasing if it does. I forgot to mention I also have Fences running along with Objectdock & RocketDock too so im not sure if there is some kind of conflict going on as well. I have 64GB of RAM so I wouldn't imagine it would be an issue with memory.
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fonpaolo
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Location: Italy

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by fonpaolo »

I have to disagree, at least here, having more than 30 skins constantly loaded and functioning isn't a problem, at all.
I have more or less (more than less...) the same number of skins as yours, 33, not counting some inc files, which can to be considered in all respects as independent skins, but combined in one bigger full skin.
I'm using them for at least three years, never had a problem, considering that some of them are still in "beta" stage and are giving me an unwanted greater use of resources, reaching sometimes more than 2% of CPU use.

I can think you've some problem with skins not well optimized, or at all, with skins in some ways conflicting with some of them, and so on.
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jsmorley
Developer
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Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by jsmorley »

Yes, the number of skins is really not an issue....

Image
tg1489
Posts: 17
Joined: July 4th, 2014, 4:08 am

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by tg1489 »

jsmorley wrote:Yes, the number of skins is really not an issue....

Image

Really nice look you got there. Do you have any idea what might be causing it then?
tg1489
Posts: 17
Joined: July 4th, 2014, 4:08 am

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by tg1489 »

fonpaolo wrote:I have to disagree, at least here, having more than 30 skins constantly loaded and functioning isn't a problem, at all.
I have more or less (more than less...) the same number of skins as yours, 33, not counting some inc files, which can to be considered in all respects as independent skins, but combined in one bigger full skin.
I'm using them for at least three years, never had a problem, considering that some of them are still in "beta" stage and are giving me an unwanted greater use of resources, reaching sometimes more than 2% of CPU use.

I can think you've some problem with skins not well optimized, or at all, with skins in some ways conflicting with some of them, and so on.

Skins not being well optimized? If thats the case then how can I fix this?
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fonpaolo
Moderator
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Location: Italy

Re: [Bug] Rainmeter randomly stops working but icons still appear on desktop with some transparency

Post by fonpaolo »

tg1489 wrote:Skins not being well optimized? If thats the case then how can I fix this?
Not knowing what skins you're using I can't say if the problem is related to optimization or to conflict each other. As I said.
Can you give a list of what skins you're using? (...better with a link to the download page)

Optimization is something that needs to be thought of... depends what kind of function(s) your skin is doing, how often it's updating and if it's fair enough, too fast or could be lowered without a noticeable delay.
Another factor could be the kind of math used, since the code is evolving, with new functions, plugins and improvements, if the skins are "old" there's a possibility that some complicated functions could be replaced with a new plugin, functions and so on.