Classic Shell: Forum

When I run Classic Shell Update and click "Check now", it says "Your version of Classic Shell is up to date", even though I have version 4.3.0 installed and the latest version is 4.3.1.

I am running Classic Shell on Windows 10 Home x64 Creators Update.

Is this actually a bug?

This is on purpose. The update has not been rolled out yet, in case there are some serious issues with the new version. I will probably turn it on this weekend.

Thanks for the clarification!

I downloaded ver. 4.3.1 yesterday, and it seems to work perfectly. Today, however, I thought to double check it by clicking on "Classic Shell Update." The response I'm getting is "Failed to check for new version." Everything else seems to work, but what's up with that reply? Is it a bug in the program, or is it just something peculiar to my system?

OK, now I've just downloaded 4.3.1 on my wife's computer. Windows 10 like mine, but otherwise a completely different CPU, hard drive, etc. Same thing. The new version downloads and apparently installs properly, and then appears to run perfectly. But when clicking "Classic Shell Update," I get the same response: "Failed to check for new version." I don't think it's anything on my end.

That means Classic Shell Update is unable to access the internet. Your security program or Firewall could be blocking it.

It says this when it can connect to the internet:

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I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thanks, Gaurav; I'll check my firewall settings. However, unless Classic Shell itself changed the settings on my computer AND my wife's computer, the settings allowed Classic Shell to access the Internet just moments before the update. That's how I knew to download the new version of Classic Shell: because the Classic Shell update page told me there was a new version, and I downloaded it from there.

Anyway, I've been using Classic Shell for several years now, and I've always successfully downloaded new versions and installed them over the old versions. Should I, with this latest version, have uninstalled the older Classic Shell first?

Edit: This is an hour or so later. I added Classic Shell Update as an exclusion to both my Windows firewall and my Norton Antivirus. No dice. Same problem failing to check for a new version. Then, I found a forum response from a year or two ago with people experiencing the same problem I'm now seeing. It seems that at the time it was a bug in the program, the program not building a certain folder for updates on one's computer that it could read. Ivo responded with a newer update that worked at the time.

Well yes, if the file C:\ProgramData\ClassicShell\update.ver does not even have read-write permissions, then it will say failed to check for updates. Check the NTFS permission on that file or its parent folder(s). Usually, they should not get messed up on their own but major Windows 10 in-place updates and the way Windows migrates the entire data to the new installation does sometimes cause screwed-up permissions on some directories.

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I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

I checked the file and the folder, and all permissions are allowed. Still fails to check for a new version. Anything else I should check?

John

Try deleting the update.ver file, then check for new version again.

Success! Thanks, Ivo and Gaurav.

Now, since I have your kind attention, another, possibly unrelated question: I've been using Classic Shell ever since the introduction of Windows 10 several years ago. But ever since the Creators Update I've experienced an odd behavior. About every third or fourth time I boot-up, the start menu is frozen. I have to go into the Task Manager, click on Windows Explorer, and restart it. It only takes a moment and everything works fine thereafter, until a few days later when I reach the third or fourth boot-up and then I find the start-menu frozen up again and I have to restart Windows Explorer.

Do you know if this behavior is related to Classic Shell and Creators Update or just to Creators Update?

John

Just like update.ver, try deleting C:\Users\<YOUR USER NAME>\AppData\Local\ClassicShell\DataCache.db. Exit the menu first by right clicking on the Start button. Then delete the file. Load the menu again by running C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicStartMenu.exe.

The DataCache.db dile should get recreated with fresh info.

See if the problem still occurs. If you can start a tool to capture a slowdown dump right before it freezes, please do so as per those instructions: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6

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Links to some general topics:

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I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Well, actually, I solved the "Failed to check for new version" issue by going into the update file and allowing it read-write permissions. They were not checked, but they weren't unchecked by me because I didn't even know the update file existed until you suggested looking at it. Anyway, after allowing the read-write permissions, the Classic Shell update works fine.

So, I followed your instructions for recreating the DataCache.db file. Then I restarted the computer a few times, and by the third or fourth restart (using "Restart" the first times and then completely shutting down the computer the next few times) I got the Start menu freeze up. It seems almost random. Restarting Windows Explorer, as I've said, restores Start menu functionality and takes only a few seconds, but it's an annoyance. Otherwise, the whole Start menu is frozen (I can neither left nor right click it). And, as I've also said, it began happening immediately with the installation of Windows Creators Update.

Finally, how do I use the capture tool during bootup, esp. when I don't even know if the freeze is going to happen? (It's not a reliably repeatable freeze up; it doesn't happen every time I boot up, just every third or fourth or more times.)


Edit: I recreated the DataCache.db file a second time per your instructions. I've now restarted the computer six or seven times, and it restarts fine. Maybe the eighth time the Start menu will freeze; who knows? For now, good enough.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

John

You could create a shortcut to capture the slowdown dump in your Startup folder:

C:\Users\<YOUR USER NAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Also, if you are restarting, try logging off to save your time. It might also cause it. A restart may not be required to trigger the slowdown.

Although even when placed in the Startup folder, it may not be enough to catch the slowdown in a dump because Classic Start Menu loads very early at startup when Explorer.exe loads (so the freeze might happen BEFORE the procdump runs to capture it into a dump). In that case, uncheck the option "Start automatically for this user" in Start Menu Settings (General Behavior tab). This prevents the Start menu from loading automatically at startup.

Then start the dump capturing program and immediately load the Start menu manually by running:
C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicStartMenu.exe

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thanks again.

Right now, I'm up to my ninth or tenth boot-up, and Classic Shell has loaded perfectly each time. So, I keep my fingers crossed.

Curious: Is it possible to have the Classic Shell program installed but not have it load up automatically as it usually does. Then put a shortcut to ClassicStartMenu.exe in the Windows 10 start-up folder so it will load AFTER most other programs have loaded? (This is just a hypothetical, you understand.)

John

That's what I mentioned above.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Yes, I'm afraid I was not catching the full import of your suggestion. If the freeze-up happens again, I'll try that alternative method. Thanks much for all of your advice.

Addendum: It's a day later, the start menu froze up again, so I tried starting Classic Shell from the start-up folder after everything else had loaded. It worked fine for about four restarts, and then I'm embarrassed to say, the regular Windows 10 start menu froze up before it had even loaded Classic Shell. I say "embarrassed" because apparently it wasn't Classic Shell at all that was causing the start menu to randomly freeze but something in Windows itself.

I thank you again for all your help, and I'm sorry for the trouble you've taken to advise on a subject that turns out unrelated to Classic Shell. Still, it's nice to know you're working with a great product in Classic Shell. I don't know how people use Windows 10 without it.

John