I'm using the latest version of Nexus Dock with Windows 10: Build 14379.

I love the program. Having noted that, I've noticed that the dock crashes when I insert the power cord, connect a printer or connect an external disk-drive. It seems that connecting an external source causes the dock to crash. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it is always associated with attaching an external device or power.

I'm using a HP Envy laptop (2005).

Intermittent issues are a pain to diagnose, because they cannot be reliably reproduced.

As far as I know, nobody else has this issue, or at least no one else has reported anything similar to this yet (anyone?) which, together with this being an intermittent issue, makes me think it might be something specific to your system.

Could you please post a screenshot of your dock here? The dock's contents might give me a clue as to what could possibly be behind this.

Still waiting for that screenshot.

Sorry about the delay. I was so caught up with the email checker issue that I failed to see this reply. I have attached a copy of my dock per your request.

Nah, nothing rings a bell, sorry.

You're actually using Nexus Ultimate, not the free version of the Nexus dock, so the Shelf (tabbed dock) might also have something to do with it.

*If* you could reliably reproduce the crashes, we could try enabling and disabling stuff to see if we could isolate the culprit by trial and error. Like this it's very difficult, unless more people with the same problem come forward and we can find a pattern.

I wanted to attach the message that accompanies Nexus Ultimate crash as it exist on my laptop.

This is what I've learned about this behavior.

It happens on my HP Envy laptop, sporting Windows 10 Evaluation copy: 14379. It occurs if I plug in my electrical cord, a printer, or an external disk drive - every time. It is a hard crash; I cannot reload Nexus unless I reboot my system. When I try and reload the program, I see it in my task manager's list, but the dock never appears on my desktop; I have to reboot the system in order for the program to work as it should.

Of course, this is an evaluation copy (OS) I'm writing about here. I've opted to wait for any other updates until the final version is released on August 02, 2016. Hopefully, whatever is causing the crashes, will be fixed in that build.

I thought I would share my experience with this crash as I've experienced it here.

Thanks for the screenshot. That dialog doesn't tell me anything useful, but something else you said does: that it occurs 'every time'. This goes against what you said previously.

If it occurs every time, then we can try to isolate the cause.

Of course, it is understood that you are running an Insider Preview build of Windows 10. Normally it is a really bad idea to try to diagnose issues in beta versions of Windows, for the simple fact that the bug is likely in Windows itself and not in the application.

However, this time I am curious as to why plugging and unplugging stuff on your system would cause Nexus to crash. Even if this is an issue corrected in later Windows builds, perhaps I can learn something out of this that would make Nexus more crash-resilient.

So, if you're willing to help me get to the bottom of this, here is what you should do:

First things first: make a backup of Nexus Ultimate settings as they are right now. Open Nexus Ultimate Preferences, go to the Advanced tab and click the Backup button.

This will enable us to play around with Nexus settings at will safe in the knowledge that restoring it back to the way it was is just a 'Restore' button away.

Also, if you can, please send me the backup file to the Winstep Support email address so I can have a look at it and try your settings on a Windows 10 machine here.

Once you've done the backup, we can start trying to find the culprit. Since you're running Nexus Ultimate, I assume you're also using the Shelf (tabbed dock). So lets try to see if this is Shelf related or not: open Preferences and go to Docks & Shelves tab. Unselect the 'Enabled' check box for the Shelf and press OK.

This will make the Shelf disappear and will take it out of the equation.

Now plug or unplug something that would cause Nexus to crash. Does it still happen? Please let me know.

As for having to reboot after a crash. My guess is that this happens because, even though Nexus Ultimate crashed, it is still hanging around in memory for some reason. Next time it crashes, before trying to launch it again open the Windows Task Manager, go to the Details tab and look for a nexus-ultimate.exe process. Kill it if you find it and you should now be able to re-launch Ultimate without having to reboot your machine first.

When I attempt to provide my backup file, I get the error message from your forum - "The extension wbk is not allowed."

Anyway, the shelf is disabled. I don't use the shelf but I love that dock.

When the program crashes, I immediately go to the task manager. I see the program running and close it out. Upon reinitializing the program (starting it up again), although it reappears in the task manager, the dock will not appear on the screen. Only a reboot can fix the problem as found on my system today.

Don't post it here, this is a public forum. Send it by email to support@winstep.net.



So it's been disabled from the beginning? Good, one less thing to worry about... but in that case, hmmm, what happens if you actually enable it again and *then* plug/unplug something into/from your system?



That is really weird. Are you sure you are killing the application from the *Details* tab in the Windows Task Manager? The difference is critical.

Also, what happens if you press CTRL+F11 (hot key for Nexus Ultimate Preferences) after restarting Nexus Ultimate with nothing happening?

Anyway, if you can't get Nexus Ultimate running again after a crash without a reboot this is going to be a pain, since trial and error means a lot of trials. Here's a trick to make it less painful tough: instead of rebooting, log-off and log-in again.

I've sent you my backup file. I'm going to work but will proceed when I return this evening.

Any news on this?

The problem that I was experiencing disappeared with another Windows 10 build. Ever since that time, I've encountered no problems, no anomalies. Everything is looking good.

Eheh.

Glad to know, but I'm just going to quote myself here:



No better example than this.