Lookout executable has encountered a problem and it needs to close down

[dareks]

Hello,

I am running Lookout 4.5.1 (build 18) and very often it shows the error "Lookout executable has encountered a problem and needs to close down". I tried to reload Lookout but that did not solve it. The problem only appears when I start editing my process (it is not in run mode, only in edit for now until our processes are ready). And to further complicate the issue it only happens sometimes. I , maybe 2-3 times in a row when I restart Lookout. Then Lookout executes correctly and the software runs fine. What could be the reason for it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Darek

[Mike@DTSI]

Computer specs...  Windows? CPU?

All latest updates applied?  Logos as well?

Mike

[dareks]

Thank you for this info, Mike.

I thought so this would be a Windows related problem. I might have to check for latest updates for Lookout, last time I updated software was at least one year ago. I don't have any issues with OS on this PC as I can recall. This is the only Windows-related message I keep receiving from the system. What worries me is that this PC was running excellent with Lookout for some time since I first started using it. After approximately 1 year the hard drive has crashed and I reinstalled Lookout. Since that time I noticed these messages appearing occassionally. Not sure if it is related, it just came to my mind today.

I thought maybe there is a common problem on some PCs that would bring this message, but as you have said it's time to search for latest updates.

Darek

[Ryan.S]

When you see the popup dialog box of crash, click on "click here", what's the ModName?
Does it crash immediately after you enter the edit mode?

[dareks]

Hello Ryan,

I have tried few times to open/close Lookout to see this error again but it loaded fine so far. As soon as I will get the error generated I will post this info.

Darek

[dareks]

Hello Ryan,

I can now give you some more specs on this error since it has just happened again.

Error signature

AppName: lookout.exe

Mod.Ver. 5.1.2600.5512

AppVer: 4.5.1.18

Offset: 000366c0

ModName: oleaut32.dll

I hope this would help to try to identify ther root of this problem.

Thank you so much in advance for looking into this, Ryan.

Darek

[Ryan.S]

The crash happened in oleaut32.dll. It is a Windows component used by Lookout.
What's your current OS?
The hard drive crash you mentioned, or the compatibility between Lookout 4.5.1 and the OS can be the issue. The version of oleaut32.dll is pretty new.
But since the crash doesn't happen in Lookout module, it's not easy to troubleshoot it.
If you create a new process with no object, try to open and close it, see if it still crashes. We can get to know if the crash is related to a specific Lookout object.

[dareks]

Thank you for this update, Ryan.

The OS on this PC is WindowsXP Pro, with the lastest SP3. It has just updated Windows few weeks ago.

I thought that the problem might be with this oleaut32.dll, but if you don't recommend replacing it I will not do it.

One additional comment regarding this error: I have noticed some time ago that when I use AB driver (OPC) the process edits faulted very often. It was happening often when I tried to create a new object with AB OPC driver. I thought at that time that the issue might be with OPC driver, but I was never sure of that. Now I use Automation Direct OPC driver and it also stops running, but less often. My OPC servers run fine as far as I can see it. This might be just a coincidence, you might be more familiar with Lookout and errors. If it comes from Windows I will try to create a new process and follow your recommendations.

Darek

[Ryan.S · Accepted solution]

Darek, Frankly saying that I don't know much about this crash, since it happens in the windows component. It is probably the compatibility between Lookout 4.5.1 and the Windows XP SP3. After all Lookout 4.5.1 was not developed for XP, or XP SP3. Assume that the oleaut32.dll itself is okay, to replace it is not good idea. I don't suggest to use older version of oleaut32.dll with new versions of other related files. What you can test is to download Lookout 6.1 and run it on this computer. If you don't see the crash with Lookout 6.1, the problem is probably the compatibility of 4.5.1. I will also install 4.5.1 on xp machine, and try to reproduce this crash.

[dareks]

Thank you for the update, Ryan.

I will try Lookout 6.1 with the same process if I will be able to update it from 4.5.1. If not then I will create a new process like you have mentioned and see if Windows XP will like it. I will post findings on the forum later after giving Lookout 6.1 some time to run.

Thank you so much for helping out with this issue,

Darek