I don't understand where I downloaded and saw the version number 4.2.14, but it still shows 4.0.37 in spine.log. I assure you that I used many uninstallation methods to clean it up
Spine cannot be opened recently
Spine Launcher 4.0.37 means your launcher is old. Download the latest launcher from your Spine license page. If you did, then it's probably just that the installer cannot write the new files, so you still have the old files.
If the files exist it could be that something is locking the files. Rebooting can fix that, unless the software locking the files locks them again.
If files in C:\Program Files\Spine cannot be written then it could be a permissions problem. You may need to reset your permissions so the user can write there, or run the installer as administrator.
Hi, I need to talk about the situation I encountered today on my end
One other colleague encountered the same problem, and today I happened to save a good and bad spin situation from before and after
I did an operation in between, uninstalled the recent Windows update, and when I restarted my computer, the system automatically displayed some progress bars
When this colleague cannot open the spine, his spine.log is displayed as follows:
Spine Launcher 4.1.12
Esoteric Software LLC (C) 2013-2022 | http://esotericsoftware.com
Windows 10 Enterprise amd64 10.0
ERROR: Unable to read start settings: C:\Users\hhh\Spine\settings\start-1.json
[error] Unable to lock file for reading: C:\Users\hhh\Spine\settings\start-1.json
at s.FFg.(:146)
at s.FFg.(:112)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.common.PrefsStart.(:124)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.(:127)
at s.ptR.S(:71)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.S(:114)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.<init>(:51)
at s.wuu.(:197)
<events>
ERROR: Unable to write start settings file: C:\Users\hhh\Spine\settings\start-1.json
[error] Unable to lock file for writing: C:\Users\hhh\Spine\settings\start-1.json
at s.FFg.(:89)
at s.FFg.(:39)
at s.FFg.(:35)
at s.FFg.(:100)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.common.PrefsStart.(:76)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.common.PrefsStart.(:151)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.(:127)
at s.ptR.S(:71)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.S(:114)
at com.esotericsoftware.spine.launcher.Launcher.<init>(:51)
at s.wuu.(:197)
<events>
After uninstalling recent system updates and restarting my computer, spine.log appears as follows:
Spine Launcher 4.2.14
Esoteric Software LLC (C) 2013-2024 | http://esotericsoftware.com
Windows 10 Enterprise amd64 10.0
I have solved the problem for colleague A and I feel very confident, but I still don't understand which step worked. I used to uninstall and update to solve the problem of Spine not opening once, but it started to become unable to open again soon. Additionally, one of our colleagues B has not solved the problem yet. I am currently testing based on your suggestion, and I think they have one thing in common, which is to work with two monitors. I don't know if this has any reference value. My other colleague C encountered this problem, and the solution I found for him is to plug Spine into the HDMI of the integrated graphics card and open it, then switch the plug to the graphics card and switch it to the graphics port. Card on HDMI, then don't shut down the computer and use it. I think this solution is very funny. I have tried many necessary methods for him before, I hope these narratives can bring reflection and serve as a reference for solving such problems in the future. I will continue to try to fix the problem according to your prompts
My colleague A, after I uninstalled and updated the Windows system and Spine to the latest version of Spine4.2.14, I found it very stable. My colleague B's most critical issue was still the installation failure. I feel like I didn't catch the root of the problem, maybe it's a Spine version issue, but I can't rule out that it's related to Windows automatic updates
Unfortunately, colleague A can't open Spine again, which is exactly the same as the situation I met before. After the system update, uninstallation and repair, I can't open Spine again. It's a pity. I can't handle this matter at all
Windows systems updates should not affect Spine.
Are all your users on Windows? We've never had reports about issues with multiple monitors on Windows.
On macOS some users have reported problems from having multiple monitors connected. Usually it can be solved by disconnecting the second monitor, starting Spine, then reconnecting the second monitor. macOS software related to multiple monitors, like "DisplayLink", is known to cause problems with the Spine and should not be used.
I'm not sure what would cause not being able to lock the file C:\Users\hhh\Spine\settings\start-1.json. Spine locks this file, reads it, then unlocks it. Make sure you don't have any Spine.exe processes running, kill them if you do, as an old process may be locking the file. Otherwise anti-virus or similar may be locking the file, or the user doesn't have permissions to the file or the parent folders its in.
Regarding the solution you provided, I think I can provide some details to rule it out. I have tried reinstalling a brand new computer with a graphics card of 3060, CPU of Intel10700, and system version of Win10 Enterprise Edition. Initially, Spine could be opened and used for a while, but it didn't work. Later, I switched to an AMD graphics card before I could open Spine and use it. Additionally, I created an Administrator user on the problematic A colleague's computer to install it, but it was of no use. I believe that I have all the necessary file permissions. Regarding the situation where multiple processes were opened in the background and could not be opened, I wanted to restart the computer and open Spine for verification, but there was no response. It is concluded that it is not due to multiple processes that Spine cannot be opened
All of our colleagues who use Spine in our company have encountered problems, but there are no more than five colleagues who use Spine. Currently, only the colleague who has just been employed for less than a week has not encountered this problem when using Spine
Spine's requirements are very low. It can run on a potato. AMD or Nvidia or integrated graphics are all fine. It can even run in a software graphics mode.
If Spine is working and later stops working, something definitely changed and that is the real problem. Do your computers run anti-virus or anti-malware software?
There must be a reason Spine cannot lock those files. Try deleting a problematic file manually -- I assume you won't be able to. Use a Windows tool like Lock Hunter to see what process is locking the files.
Run the installer as administrator by right clicking the EXE file and choosing Run as administrator. You may need to hold shift when right clicking.
Nate
It's interesting that today I went to debug my colleague A, and I only did one operation, which was to uninstall a series of recent Windows security updates, quality updates, and other updates before Spine could open normally. I have completely closed the updates, and I'm afraid I won't be able to uninstall or solve them in the future. So I advised him not to shut down his computer from now on. We have relied on uninstalling system updates twice in a row to solve the problem, and I think this must have reference value. Regarding file or program permissions, we haven't made any adjustments
Colleague A only has the built-in Win10 antivirus program in their system, and I have closed it. Additionally, we have been using Spine for over a year, and this issue has been occurring consecutively recently. I hope to be aware of it
That's pretty wild, as Windows updates shouldn't mess with Spine. IMHO running the latest updates is just asking for trouble. Sledgehammer can turn them off, while still allowing them to be run manually.
Windows Defender (the built-in anti-virus) can eat a lot of resources needlessly in general, but isn't known to cause problems with Spine.
If you run into the files not being locked again, it will be interesting to see what process Lock Hunter shows as locking the files.
Nate
Good news, we spent half a day solving it
We are not sure which steps worked, but now we have basically solved the problem
- Install all Windows updates
- Uninstall VSCode++Microsoft Common Environment
- Use 360 security tools to clean the computer and fix vulnerabilities
- Find all files associated with Spine on the computer and delete them all
Finally, we installed version 4.0.37 for colleague A
Great!
Do you mean you installed the Spine launcher version 4.0.37? That's quite old. It's better to install the latest launcher, which is 4.2.14. You can always run any editor version with the latest launcher.
I'm sorry to inform you of the bad news again. This morning, colleague A encountered another problem after working for almost an hour
Bad news, colleague A found out that he had logged into another Windows account after briefly opening and using it. He then restarted his computer and returned to his own account, but couldn't open it again. I think we need to continue following up on the issue
I will follow your suggestions and provide you with the latest version for problem testing. We believe that the latest version will provide a more comprehensive experience. I would like to express my gratitude again for following up on the issue. Thank you very much for your hard work
Sorry you keep having trouble. We'd love to figure out what is going on.
Windows updates, virus scans, uninstalling apps, deleting files, etc may accidentally help but they are more like voodoo or shots in the dark. I suggest focusing on the specific problem and error messages. Especially if Spine can't lock files, using Lock Hunter will tell you what process is preventing Spine from locking the files.
Again most of your logs were the 4.0.37 launcher. Use the latest launcher.
BTW, you said you closed Windows Defender, but it is notorious for being difficult to stop. While Spine should work fine with Defender, there are tools like this if you want to try without Defender:
qtkite/defender-control
Nate
I guess this is not related to antivirus software. We have had this issue too frequently recently, and there have been no previous issues. Two of our classmates are currently using the latest version of 4.2.14, which proves that we are not fixated on the old version. The following is the log of the new version:
Spine Launcher 4.2.14
Esoteric Software LLC (C) 2013-2024| http://esotericsoftware.com
Windows 10 Enterprise amd64 10.0
I want to make a small summary of the twists and turns of this test, because I miraculously repaired colleague A's Spine for the hundredth time. This time, it is the same as colleague B's repair method. That is, unplug both monitors, and then plug one of them into the integrated video card. The Spine can miraculously turn on, and then we can plug all the monitors into Nvidia's video card to work, and tell us not to turn off Spine again until we find the real reason
When you are installing updates regularly, it's constantly changing things. Same with running antivirus at all, it can download new "virus definitions" and cause problems for software that it didn't bother before.
Some of my questions have gone unanswered. Are all your users on Windows?
Some of my suggestions have gone untried. Please try running with --trace.