Crash of print daemon without error message

[Raphael-Rey]

Hello,

A library has problems with the print daemon. The daemon crashes without an error message during the printing task. I have the following information:
System: client Windows 10 (build 19045.4170).
The library staff thinks that the problem could be an update of Windows & .NET updates from March.

I'm not a direct user of this system. Do you know of similar problems in other libraries?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards,
Raphaël

[mgobat]

Hi @Raphael-Rey. Unfortunately, you are the first person to report this issue. We will investigate.

[mgobat]

@Raphael-Rey, does the crash occur on all workstations running the Print Daemon? Thanks.

[Rouven-Schabinger]

@mgobat
The print daemon is only installed on one PC, which the library use exclusively for lending.

[mgobat]

@Rouven-Schabinger, just to confirm: the Alma Print Daemon was running fine on this PC before the March Windows/.Net updates, correct?

[Raphael-Rey]

Yes, they didn't have any problem according to our information.

[mgobat]

@Raphael-Rey, @Rouven-Schabinger...was there an anti-virus update in the recent updates? If so, could they temporarily disable the anti-virus software on the PC to see if it may be the cause of the problem? Thanks.

[mgobat]

@Raphael-Rey, @Rouven-Schabinger, it might be a good idea to try uninstalling then re-installing the Alma Print Daemon. You could copy the alma-print-config.json file to a safe location first, then drop it back in place.

[Rouven-Schabinger]

@Raphael-Rey, @Rouven-Schabinger...was there an anti-virus update in the recent updates? If so, could they temporarily disable the anti-virus software on the PC to see if it may be the cause of the problem? Thanks.

this is the library'S answer:
Our antivirus solution receives daily updates, outside of the monthly Windows updates. Unfortunately, we cannot simply deactivate this on the loan PC as this is controlled centrally. We would almost have to provide a separate stand-alone client for this purpose. However, there is no indication in the antivirus programme logs that anything of this nature has been blocked. Nevertheless, the suspicion cannot be completely ruled out.

[mgobat]

@Rouven-Schabinger, can they provide a list of all updates installed since the last successful run of the Alma Print Daemon? Thanks.

[Rouven-Schabinger]

@mgobat , These would be the two updates KB5035845 and KB890830 for Windows 10. Otherwise, no other updates were installed during the period in question.
Kind regards,
Rouven

[mgobat]

@Rouven-Schabinger, unfortunately, I don't think those updates are the problem; I have them both installed on my laptop and the Alma Print Daemon is working ok. Let me think more about this.

[mgobat]

@Rouven-Schabinger, could they try running it again and collect the log file for you to post here? If they are running the app with a global configuration file, the logs will likely be in C:\Program Files\alma-print-daemon. If each user has their own config file, the logs will be in C:\Users<user_name_here>\AppData\Roaming\alma-print-daemon. Thanks.

[Rouven-Schabinger]

@mgobat
No more problems have occurred since the reinstallation at the end of last week.
Thanks for your effort!

[mgobat]

@Rouven-Schabinger, that's a great update! Thank you.

[Ambroz91]

Hey @mgobat.
Geting the same problem in Alma Deamon 2.2.0.
The Print Deamon sometimes just turns off and it is getting annoying to check it all the time.
It runs on a laptop that is connected to the web and a printer.
We need this to be foolproof for October
Thanks for the help.


alma-print-daemon.2024-07-19.log

[mgobat]

@Ambroz91, is the Alma Print Daemon being run as a Windows Service, or as a standard application with a user logged in?

[Ambroz91]

@mgobat It is as a standared aplication that is running on a win 11 laptop, The logged in user has admin rights.

[mgobat]

@Ambroz91, is there any consistency with the time when it happens? During the day, overnight, etc? Unfortunately, there's nothing in the log indicating where the problem might be occurring. Thanks.

[mgobat]

@Ambroz91, also, was the laptop upgraded to WIndows 11 after the Alma Print Daemon was installed, or was the Alma Print Daemon installed fresh on the Windows 11 laptop?

[Ambroz91]

@mgobat The laptop is turned on every day, so the error shows up when we start it in the morning, but there is no consistency. Sometimes it shows, sometimes not...
It was installed on a laptop that had Win 11 on it from the begining. The Deamon was installed fresh on the laptop.

[mgobat]

Thank you for the additional details, @Ambroz91.

[mgobat]

@Ambroz91, we aren't having any success in duplicating or tracking down the source of the problem. Have you tried with a different laptop? What anti-virus, security, and/or vpn software is installed on the laptop? Anything else special about your laptop software suite? Thank you.

[Ambroz91]

@Ambroz91, we aren't having any success in duplicating or tracking down the source of the problem. Have you tried with a different laptop? What anti-virus, security, and/or vpn software is installed on the laptop? Anything else special about your laptop software suite? Thank you.

We are using Eset anty-virus, FortiClient for the vpn software but it is only active when we need to connect to work. I've tryed to install it on an all in one computer but it had java issues there, even after instaling java so I didn't push further with it and installed on the laptop that is used now.
The fun and sad part is that the app didn't break until today morning (28.08.2024).

P.S Does the app have any specific requirements to run?

[mgobat]

Hi @Ambroz91. No, there are no specific requirements for the app. If the computer can run Windows, it should be able to handle the app.

When you say "the app didn't break until today morning (28.08.2024)", how long was it running fine? Were you able to get it started again?

We've been upgrading the framework used in the app, plus a few third party packages it uses. We could publish another 2.2.1 beta version for you to try, if you'd like.

[Ambroz91]

The didn't break period would be like 3 weeks or more.
The thing is that when the app crashes and after that it is oppened again there is no error for the rest of the day or couple of days.
We are using the stable version, and I could test the new one after October when the mass ordering of books will decline.