Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009: DB keeps corrupting

[bradavon]

Every few minutes I'm using Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009 it crashes with:

It can be fine for awhile but it then suddenly crashes. I only installed it about an hour ago (upgrading from v2008). I've tried running a Repair from Programs and Features. Each time it crashes/gets corrupt if I follow these instructions:

1. Type %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Photo Gallery in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

2. Right-click Pictures.pd4, and then select Rename.

3. Change the name of file to OLD_Pictures.pd4.

4. Start Windows Live Photo Gallery.

And it's fine for awhile before it crashes again. If I don't great a new DB when I go back into Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009 it immediately gives the error above.

Thanks

p.s - Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944221/en-us

[bradavon]

Interestingly when it is corrupted and I open a JPG from Windows Explorer it doesn't crash with that window left minimized. It seems to only crash when the main program is open.

It also takes ages to load, saying "Loading". Windows Live Photo Gallery 2008 opened almost instantly.

Edited January 9, 2009 by bradavon

[bradavon]

Anyone? Thanks.

[Unknown_97784568745]

It also takes ages to load, saying "Loading". Windows Live Photo Gallery 2008 opened almost instantly.

Having the same problem here. Takes ages to open an image.

[bradavon]

I've just spent ages uninstalling, removing all Windows Live folders and registry entries, reinstalling Windows Live Essentials 2009 Wave 3 to find it's still crashing in exactly the same way.

If I cannot fix it over the next few days I'll have to go back to Windows Live Essentials 2008 Wave 2. That works fine. I like the new Favourites feature in WLM and the People Tagging in WLPG is decent but not enough to have it crash on me. It's also got really bloated. It's well over 150Mb, why on earth does it need to be this big? And install so many extra components?

The fact it takes ages to open is annoying enough to go back. I'll wait until the next version is released or when Windows 7 comes. Windows Live Essentials 2008 Wave 2 is already decent.

I wonder if I can run Windows Live Messenger 2009 and Windows Live Photo Gallery 2008.

[burnblue]

Are you using Vista or Windows 7? WLPG used to be fine for me, but I got Windows 7 and installed the latest Wave 3, and it keeps crashing whenever I'm browsing my (massive) library of photos on a wireless NAS.

I don't know what to do, it just keeps crashing.

[bradavon]

Vista HP SP1 32-Bit and mine crashes browsing locally.

My collection consists of 16,576 files and 531 folders. Coming to 51.5Gb. I know it doesn't like at least one of my MPEGs (it asked if I wanted to ignore it as it had trouble reading it). I'd prefer it didn't look at videos at all but I don't think you can tell it what to check.

How big is your collection? I was wondering if that's what it is. I'm probably going to go back to 2008/Wave 2 today. Even if it doesn't crash it still takes too long to open.

I'm hoping I can uninstall, install Photo Gallery 2008/Wave 2 and then the 2009/Wave 3 MSI files for Windows Live Messenger. I have them saved from the Cache folder.

Have you tried 2008/Wave 2 on Windows 7? I'm at a loss how to fix it too.

[burnblue]

I think it is the size of our libraries. The crash dump for mine mentions thumbcache.dll, and I'm thinking it crashes more when I open a folder with a lot of files.

Let me know if you're successful with Wave 2.

[bradavon]

I think it is the size of our libraries. The crash dump for mine mentions thumbcache.dll, and I'm thinking it crashes more when I open a folder with a lot of files.

I reckon you're right. It seems to crash most when I'm working on large selections (namely adding people tags).

Let me know if you're successful with Wave 2.

I'm sure that will be fine. I ran it from when it was released (November 2007) until the other day and it didn't crash once. Thankfully there isn't a huge difference between Wave 2 and Wave 3 (from what I can see). It doesn't have "people tagging" but I'm pretty sure you can still tag people, so it's no real loss. It definitely opens much quicker and has none of this "Loading" rubbish.

All the Live components have grown loads since Wave 2, all that background stuff (like Application Error Control and SQL) aren't in Wave 2. I bet all that isn't helping matters.

More work seems to have been done on Windows Live Messenger than Photo Gallery. I don't run any of the other Wave 3 components, except Office Outlook Connector (which isn't really a Live component). Hopefully you can mix Wave 2 and 3 applications. Unless I can find a fix by tomorrow night I'll go back to Wave 2. I'll post again then.

[bradavon]

It's still crashing in the same way, so I've gone back to Windows Live Photo Gallery 2008 (Wave 2). WOW it opens so much quicker. Here's what I did:

1. Uninstalled Wave 3

2. Ran the Wave 2 Installer and just installed Live Photo Gallery

3. Ran the following MSI files to install Windows Live Messenger 2009 (Wave 3):

Messenger.msi - Main program

Contacts.msi - Windows Live Communications Platform - You cannot login without it

This link: http://messengergeek.spaces.live.com/Blog/...try?sa=22717258

Says you also need to install:

dw20shared.msi - Application Error Reporting

crt.msi - Visual Studio Runtime

SegoeFont.msi - Segoe UI Font - Not required on Vista

But I've not bothered and it works fine.

Taking this approach means Windows Live Messenger doesn't appear in Programs and Feature/Add-Remove. To uninstall the components:

1. Right click on each MSI

2. Click on "Uninstall"

If you run "WLXSuite.msi" (WL Essentials Installer MSI) it appears in Programs and Features but when run doesn't do anything, not in my experience anyway.

The MSI files are in:

Wave 3: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Live\.cache

Wave 2: C:\Program Files\Common Files\WindowsLiveInstaller\MsiSources

Edited January 12, 2009 by bradavon

[bradavon]

This will do for now until Microsoft fix the bugs in Wave 3 Live Photo Gallery or I get Windows 7 and try again. I'm in no particular rush, Live Photo Gallery 2008 works much better.

It even has tagging, although it is more basic than 2009.

[shadmo2012]

Same problem here running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit and the latest WL Essentials. My WLPG would crash soon After I added the photos folder on my Windows Home Server.

Disabling "face detection" in >File>Options seems to have fixed the problem for me.

Hope this works for others as well.

[bradavon]

Hello

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried this and found it helped but for me it still crashed :(. I'm not sure what that does as it still recognised faces when disabled. Windows Live Photo Gallery 2008 works perfectly. I'll stick with that for now.

[tpacmg]

My Live Photo 2009 is also crashing on Windows 7 and referencing thumbcache. I tried disabling the face recognition, but that doesn't work. I'm not sure if it matters, but my photos on are windows home server, and there are over 30gb of photos.

[shadmo2012]

My Live Photo 2009 is also crashing on Windows 7 and referencing thumbcache. I tried disabling the face recognition, but that doesn't work. I'm not sure if it matters, but my photos on are windows home server, and there are over 30gb of photos.

Just checking back here on this post. With the latest forced update my WLPG reverted to crashing again and no disabling of face detection or other features helps, so I'm between a rock and a hard place since I really don't want to go through the hassle of uninstalling/installing a hybrid configuration of live applications.

Yes, I too have all of my photos on WHS, so that definitely is the key.

Wish someone at Live would help us out here.

[Steeley]

Might pay to load up the gallery, click on help and go to the WLPG newsgroups to post. You'll likely get an answer there.

[shadmo2012]

Might pay to load up the gallery, click on help and go to the WLPG newsgroups to post. You'll likely get an answer there.

Will do, thankya.

[bradavon]

WLPG 2009 has been fine for me on W7. I'm now using 2008 on Vista. I don't run a WSH.