Member Avatar for dlacloche

I wasn't sure where to post this thread, but I'm running Dreamweaver 8 on a Dell with Windows XP. Everything was just fine until yesterday. In the middle of doing nothing too unusual, it crashed. Now it won't launch. 5 seconds after it opens, it throws up a window that says something like: Dreamweaver has to close now, sorry for the inconvenience.

Is there anything I can do short of reinstalling the software? I'm from a Mac background, so I'd usually trash the pref file or zap the PRAM on a Mac. Is there something like that on PC?

Any help would be super.

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As noted, the single-line dialog is too generic to diagnose. A useful first step is to capture the actual crash record that Windows keeps: open Event Viewer (Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer or run eventvwr.msc on XP) and check the Application log for APPCRASH entries that mention Dreamweaver or dw.exe. The logged "faulting module" and exception code narrow the cause much faster than the dialog alone.

Build on the basics already suggested by with non-destructive diagnostics before reinstalling. Test whether the problem is tied to the user profile by launching Dreamweaver from a fresh Windows account. If the profile is suspect, back up and then rename the Dreamweaver user configuration folder so DW will recreate defaults (typical XP location: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8). A clean boot via msconfig helps rule out third-party service or shell-extension conflicts. If a particular site or file triggers the crash, temporarily move site definitions out of the Configuration folder so Dreamweaver does not auto-open them, and uninstall any recently added extensions via Extension Manager.

If those steps fail, focus on components Dreamweaver depends on (the system web/IE engine and video drivers) and consider Repair/Uninstall from Add/Remove Programs after backing up the Configuration and Sites folders. When researching further or asking for help, include the Event Viewer APPCRASH entry and the faulting module name — that information usually points to a corrupt prefs file, a bad extension, an OS/component mismatch, or a driver problem rather than Dreamweaver itself.

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Member Avatar for almostbob

copy and paste the error message
'something like' only tells 'almost how' to fix it

Member Avatar for dlacloche

Good point. Here's what it says:

Dreamweaver 8 has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Member Avatar for almostbob

error messages usually have a string of digits, or a dump, I was hoping dreamweaver did too
instead they have a long list of errors and yours is included in the trouble shooter

Link:

good luck
KB - ensure the latest greatest version is installed with all the updates, then delete some cache files

Member Avatar for MidiMagic

Check the stupid-event cases first:

- Are you out of disk space?
- Are you out of RAM (project got too big for the workspace)?
- Is the file damaged (try another project file)?
- Did you take a disk or flash stick out of the drive before the project was fully saved?
- Are you trying to open a project with one or more components on a read-only CD?
- Is a file write-protected?
- Is a component of the project on a removable disk that is not now in the drive?
- Does the computer need rebooting after a power glitch or a thunderstorm?

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