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Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reboot)
Hi
Help! My Xara Designer Pro is getting stuck at "Tip of the day" and wont boot.
I just uninstalled Xara Designer Pro and re-installed it, but it's the same problem!
It's the same problem on both by PCs (Windows 7 x64 and Windows XP)
On Window 7 it gets as far as "Welcome to the Xara community"
On my WinXP PC it gets stuck saying "97% Adding colour to document..."
I tried rebooting my computer - but it makes not difference. And I need Xara URGENTLY.
- Any suggestions? (HELP!)
J
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Did you try doing a clean uninstall (this includes going back and deleting any folders and files in your Programs (x86) folder. Then doing a new re-install.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Update:
After a very long pause (2+ minutes?) Xara finally let me in.
Okay I shall re-install as you suggest GWP, when I get a chance. More later
Thanx
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gwpriester
Did you try doing a clean uninstall (this includes going back and deleting any folders and files in your Programs (x86) folder. Then doing a new re-install.
Yup that worked - I deleted everything I could find to do with Xara (other than .XAR files). I wonder what went wrong as like I say, it happened on both my PCs at once. Very disconcerting I have to say being as I needed to use Xara in a something of an emergency situation...
Anyhow many thanks
J
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
I've been noticing this happening this morning too. DPX on a Windows 7 64 bit system. I get to the tip of the day screen and at the bottom it shows adding colours to document at 97% and everything just hangs. I am able to get DPX to run by right clicking on DPX icon on the taskbar and chosing close window from the context list and Then the tip of the day screen loads and I can close it and get to work.
I turned off all info pop ups and set the back up options so that back up open documents on close and restore on open is unchecked and now the program opens normally.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shiphen
On my WinXP PC it gets stuck saying "97% Adding colour to document..."
I assume you are referring to Designer Pro X?
It's nothing to do with your computer, it's a *feature* of the new version checking the web for updated clipart and templates etc on launching.
I had a day without the web due to bad weather washing away optic fibre cables south of us.
DPX would take more than 2 minutes to open, getting stuck at the 97% loading. (Especially if, as I do, you have your Design Gallery permanently docked)
Once the web was back it returned to normal.
However, if I am downloading a large file and using most of my bandwidth and then try to open DPX, a similar delay occurs.
It's one of those ill thought out features Xara tend to add from time to time which while on paper sounds good, in reality is a PITB.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
I keep my galleries permanently docked together, but I keep them as a floating "palette" that stays on my laptop screen while my DPX window resides on a bigger external monitor. I have not had a problem until this morning however I have two separate user accounts I use DPX on, one for work and one for personal use which has administrator's rights. On the personal one DPX was set so documents were not restored on start but on the work one it wasn't , I've now changed that and everything seems fine.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
The past two days, I have gotten hung up on loading colors, both in Designer Pro X and Web Designer MX Premium.
Do you think it is something in the water? Or some sort of international conspiracy? (My money is on the conspiracy theory--I love conspiracy theories).
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Do you think it is something in the water?
if it is it's affected the water systems of 4 countries and 3 different continents! ;))
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
was out most of yesterday, so I didn't notice anything in that regard, but on the subject of auto-updating galleries:
my system freezes [mouse/keyboard] for several seconds on first startup of XDPX [8.1.3.23942 CD] per window 7 session.. or at least it did until I changed a couple of XDPX registry settings which appears to prevent the auto-updates.. can't recommend this as such since it may have other effects, but I don't use xara for web site building and rarely use the design gallery at all.. anyone else have this problem I can pass on the info
I think it may be related to eset FW/AV, win7 throws up several 'program has stopped working' messages if XDPX is blocked in eset although it still starts up ok - no problems if the WNC is actually disconnected
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Just received this from Xara:
Quote:
There were problems with Designer 8 last night, a long delay on startup (minutes) caused by the MAGIX auto-update system. Fixed around 22:30, not sure when it started as yet.
I had a very slow start-up with both Designer and Web Designer yesterday, loading colors 97%. But it appears fixed.
(sigh of relief)
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
I'm with steve
This is a 'problem' caused by the program trying to be 'too clever' for it's own good - no-one should be forced into automatic updates [and have to hack registry to prevent it]... we should have choice, but xara treats its customers as uninformed [aka idiots] a lot of the time ..eg: 'this image would be better imported as a jpeg' .. I don't think so how does xara know what sort of image it is - red text anyone ?...:rolleyes:
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
I think you are overreacting just a bit. Windows automatically updates. My McAfee Security Center updates itself. Adobe CS5.5 is always updating, though in all fairness, Adobe does notify you first.
But most of the time the updates are in the background and you don't even know they are taking place.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
non of those need registry hacking to turn off - I have never ever had windows set to update without asking first [issues with fonts anyone...?] - I will grit my teeth and not say what I think about Mcafee - adobe lets you choose too, as you have noted
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
If anybody knows, would Photo & Graphic Designer do this automatic 'calling home' as well? Also unable to disable it? Gosh, what if Evil Ones, like Barclays Bank, buy out Xara and take over our computers? Art-bots!
Handrawn, can you post your registry fix? Sounds like you figured it out...
But I'm with Gary on the conspiracy.
"There once was a terrorist in Mali
Who wanted a free ride to Bali
So he flagged down a Predator,
To get as far as England, where
At Gaddesden Place he pursued his folly."
EDIT -- I guess the workaround is to just unplug the internet when Xara-ing?
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
If you really want to make yourself nuts add Collusion to Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/fir...don/collusion/
You install the plugin and go about about your website business. Then after a few hours or a few days, click the small icon in the lower right hand corner of your browser. It shows the sites you have visited and how information about your visit has been shared with other third party sites.
I just installed collusion (I had not installed it on my new computer), went to the NY Times, The Guardian, Woot, and Amazon and this is what shows when I pressed the button.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
ok ok
It's not conspiracy in this case it's 'nanny knows best'...
I have no objection to sites legitimately collecting data reasonably
I have no objection to sites updating what is on my computer where it is of benefit
for legit purposes I have no objection to default updating being set at auto - as long as I am asked if I want to leave it that way first run [hey even Microsoft and Flash do that :)] and as long as it remains under my control should I choose to exercise that - someone out there have a problem with any of this?
Jon there is a registry key in options / galleries: AllowAutoDownload resetting this to 0 cured the problem I was having of the computer freezing - I assume it stops the auto downloading from the name of it but that is an assumption on my part, only Xara would know for sure and it may have other effects, I have no time or interest in checking it out because like I said I use the design gallery hardly at all.... and build web sites [wordpress excepted] not at all.. so at your own pace and risk :)...
and finally no, it is never a good idea to optimise line art to jpg, no matter what size it is...
I do hope nanny is listening
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
For 'Nanny' to be listening, this would likely have to be posted in 'Dear Xara' and I agree with Gary, I also think this is an overreaction. Not everything is perfect in the Xara world but dang it, it's a site far better with Xara than an awful lot of other places, no doubt about that.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
@Karateed -- not an over-reaction. The user should always be able to control how, or when, a program 'calls home.' Now, I know that my feelings are old-fashioned, since so many programs now are constantly communicating with, hopefully, only the company that sold them to us... like Microsoft's new Cloud Office. But I still think it's an invasion of privacy if we are not told about it, and then can't turn it off, like Adobe checking your PC for updates all the time even after you have told it to stop.
@handrawn -- just did the Regedit Xara Xtreme Pro 8.1 'options / galleries: AllowAutoDownload resetting to 0' -- thanks very much for your help. Is this the only one that opens up the chat line to Xara/Magix?
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jon404
thanks very much for your help. Is this the only one that opens up the chat line to Xara/Magix?
well.. the program will check automatically for program updates... but it will ask first before installing those.... and it has never cause me any flounce
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Re "over-reacting" although I confess up front that I have only time to skim read this thread, but if Xara crippled my Xara Designer Pro X (version 8.1) *deliberately* then I am spitting with rage.
My Xara Designer was out of action for at least 10 minutes on a fast modern PC with a good internet connection and I couldn't afford to risk waiting any longer, because I was in mission-critical rush. i.e. I couldnt afford to take that chance that it was NEVER going to come back to life so I wasted a further 30-45 minutes whilst tried it on different PCs, reinstalled Xara, rebooted, failed again, googled for users with similar problems, complained on this forum, waited for a response, killed off all trace of the previous installation, re-installed Xara again, and this delay under the blazing gaze of our CEO nearly cost me my job.
Still call me "over-reacting" ?
OP
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
if, and it's still an assumption on my part, the program will not load until the update has completed ok that is just daft - sorry for those who think that is over-reacting but such a situation is a blatent 'hostage to fortune' senario that should have been foreseen - at the very least the progaram should load regardless and a message come up if the update fails...
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Ok, I see the points of view of those 'held hostage'. I do agree that the program should load and allow you to work regardless of whether it can 'call home'.
I use the software in a hobbyist/do webpages for my wife/my religion so I don't have a boss sitting over me with a deadline....all I get is dirty looks when it doesn't go right or takes too long. I can see there should be a better solution for this feature if Xara wishes to be in the professional arena.
I also agree it should be the user's choice on the program for when to call home, the program should not 'hang up' and leave one out to dry for extended periods.....so, sorry if I called those senarios 'over-reacting'.
Clearly, those are not. If your job relies on your software working well in all ways then this needs to be fixed. Has anyone put this in the 'Dear Xara' thread? or brought this thread to Xara's attention? It seems to me to be noteworthy enough for that.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Not being able to contact the update server should never prevent Xara Designer etc opening at all, just a delay until the action times out.
The software will work without an internet connection, so if you find this happening to you again, shiphen - disable your connection to the web, open the program and once loaded re enable your connection.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
thanks for that steve [I guess you should know :)] - as long as my freeze is cured I'm happy enough - a screen refresh delay is one thing, no mouse or keyboard another altogether
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Karateed
I also agree it should be the user's choice on the program for when to call home, the program should not 'hang up' and leave one out to dry for extended periods.....so, sorry if I called those senarios 'over-reacting'.
Hi Ed
it's a point of principle with me - no problem :) - I hope shiphen gets it sorted out [if he sticks with xara that is....]
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
No problem here either HD....I just wasn't quite seeing all the perspectives before...read carefully, thought about it and agree with a lot of the posts in this thread.....
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
@ Jon - there is a program called MagixOfa.exe in the online folder of XDPX program folder, I believe that it is named for 'Magix foto album' and is a 'helper' file and there are also some dll files including a flickr and a facebook which sort of points to what it's probably for - if I block this in the firewall as well as Designer Pro then the crashes I mentioned earlier stop happening, so I can now take the preferred option of blocking in the firewall without hassle, rather than registry hack
[edit - firewalls - as they are different on the two computers and it crashed with both, eset and panda]
@Ed :)
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Using xara X pro on my Win7 PC it gets stuck saying "97% Adding colour to document..." every time I restard my PC.
I just want to let you know my solution : I simply unplug network (RJ-45) cable, then Xara starts after a few seconds.
Then replug RJ45.
No need to set complicated firewall option or registry editing.
Have a good day.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Hi tod
yes, that's the equivalent of: 'no problems if the WNC is actually disconnected' for those with cable rather than wireless network connections, as mentioned post #10 above
you will probably find you can disable/enable the connection in the taskbar depending on how your computer is set up, which is probably better than physically removing the cable every time...
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
This will work - delete ALL back-up files C:\Users\Your User Name\AppData\Local\Xara\XtremePro\8.1\Backups - then it must start normally. Tell me if it helps :cool: It seems a usual problem when alot of backups and recent files open and freeze the programm!
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
That's seriously bad advice and I suggest nobody follows it.
I'd also suggest that post #32 is edited or removed, as well as this one.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pauland
That's seriously bad advice and I suggest nobody follows it.
I'd also suggest that post #32 is edited or removed, as well as this one.
Bad advice? Really? I had issue with ungrouping objects (programm just froze all the time) and nothing could help me. Took me A LOT of time to figure out how to cope with it. Lot's of back-ups in the Xara folder is annoying. So, please, if you don't like my advice - don't follow it. I will be just sad if someone will have same issue and will find no resolution just because of the fact that you want it removed.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
You don't need to necessarily delete the backups - backups being stored on the file system will not cause a problem, but you could prevent them all from being opened when the program starts, which is what I think you mean. If the program has an error when opening, it could be caused by a document opening that has an error on load, so preventing the backup from re-opening could solve the problem.
Certainly deleting random files in the AppData folder is bad advise and should not be followed. The default location for backup files created by Xara programs (WD, PGD, DP) is within the AppData folder, but again I'd not recommend deleting these on a whim. Only delete files that you know what they are for and why you are deleting them, regardless of where they are stored.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Well, the backup folders can get huge in terms of file size. When I cleaned out some old backup files from several back versions of Web Designer and Designer Pro I cleared up somewhere around 50GB. If you are working on a large file, such as the tutorials and Workbooks I used to create for the Xara Xone, and Xara is creating a complete backup every 10 minutes, the file size adds up very quickly.
One could always move the backup files to a temporary folder to see if LogoMount's solution works.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Yes, I agree Gary, but LogoMount suggested deleting files under AppData - there are a lot of files in the AppData folder, but I see he has now updated his original post to clarify where he is talking about. :) Thanks LogoMount.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LogoMount
Bad advice? Really?
I believe that the original path was less discriminating than the one that is there now.
When I looked at the post the path was: C:\Users\Your User Name\AppData\ inviting people to wipe data for
all installed software.
That's what my comment was about. You should have at least stated that the path had been altered.
I stand by my original comment for the post as it was. People following your original advice would have lost data in all of their installed software.
Even wiping the Xara files needs some thought about what you are doing. Not something for the unwary.
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
and has been said already, in so many words, deleting the files is just not good practice - shift them to another location, or 'zip em, but don't delete them.. just in case
now I actually have backups turned off - which is not an option I would recommend anyone else to do necessarily, but it is an option that is available in the program and as long as I keep pressing ctrl+s I'm happy working that way
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Re: Help! Xara Designer Pro - cant open! (Not even after a full re-install and PC reb
Ctrl+S only goes so far - don't forget to make copies of the file.
My general practice is to date my project files in the filename - myproj130620, for example, and regular copies to another media.