#56 Bluefish runs ONCE in Windows Server 2016 and crashes ever after

[cheesecracker]

I have installed Bluefish with Bluefish-2.2.12rc2-setup.exe in a Windows Server 2016 (Version 1607) computer.

But Bluefish can only run ONCE in this server. Successive attempts to run Bluefish is not working. It simply crashes. Here is what I got from event viewer:

Faulting application name: bluefish.exe, version: 2.2.12.0, time stamp: 0x5f97030f
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x0077ff10
Faulting process id: 0x1ae0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d7d0af27d6c6f1
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Bluefish\bluefish.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report Id: 9fcaa617-3f0e-46f8-b6a4-7174b20d2da0
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:

Event ID: 1000

Bluefish runs fine in my other computers, all are Windows 10. So, it might be a matter of compatibility with Windows Server 2016.

[Olivier Sessink]

I have little knowledge on what makes windows2016 server different from a windows client. And since I don't have access to a machine with windows 2016 I cannot debug this. I guess for now this means that windows2016 server is unsupported.

[cheesecracker]

It's not only Windows Server 2016 (not Windows 2016 server) but also Windows Server 2019. I have done a quick test on newly installed mentioned O/S and here is the result:

Version	Windows Server 2016	Windows Server 2019
2.2.6	O	O
2.2.9-1	O	O
2.2.10	O	O
2.2.11	X	X
2.2.12	X	X
2.2.12rc2	X	X

O = running fine
X = not working on 2nd run and onward

It's a pity that you just declare WS2016 is unsupported.

Have you thought of using Virtual Machine (VM) for your test? In this way, you don't need to have a real machine (computer) but you do need to provide some disk space. For the O/S, WS2016 and WS2019, you could install them with Microsoft's official ISO image files. And you can use it during the evaluation period of at least 90 days without any license (it's Microsoft's way to promote its product).

If you are willing to have a try but do not know how to get the official ISO, send me a private message and we'll look into it.

[Dr. Martin Senftleben]

What's the status of this?

[cheesecracker]

Well, I think Olivier had said what he had to say, ie "Windows Server 2016 is unsupported" and that's all....

[Dr. Martin Senftleben]

You are right, as is Olivier. If there is no way to test it, there is no way to fix it. I don't know and don't have Windows Server 2016, so I would also depend on input from those people who would be willing to do the testing. Is it possible in Server 2016 to start BF from the commandline? If so, could you try that and post the output here (if necessary, as text-file attachment)?

[cheesecracker]

Please take a look at the attached image where I have run BF 3 times.

The first time I got the app displayed on screen. On the 2nd and 3rd try, nothing. And there's no error message.

I have talked about VM. Why did people ignore it? Because you're not sure how to use it? I can help you set it up. Just PM me.

[Vila Restal]

The issue is being caused by DEP (Data Execution Prevention) and an exception for the bluefish.exe program needs to be added. The following works on Server 2022:

1. Go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Security -> Open Windows Security
2. Click on App & browser control -> Exploit protection settings -> Program settings
3. Click on the + for Add program to customize and choose Choose exact file path.
4. Browse to and select bluefish.exe in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Bluefish folder, then click Open.
5. In the Program settings dialog that appears, scroll down to Data Execution Prevention (DEP), enable Override system settings and turn the switch to Off.
6. Click on Apply (You should see a warning that you need to restart Bluefish to apply the new settings).

[cheesecracker]

@Vila Restal
Thanks for the workaround.
However, there is a very good reason why DEP exists in the first place against Bluefish -- that is to prevent it from causing damage to the O/S.
I would still like a bug fix be written in Bluefish to prevent it from triggering DEP. This is the correct way.