Python/Tkinter DLL conflicts on Windows

[Russell Blau]

I have some Tkinter programs that I run on two different machines. On
Machine W, which runs Python 2.5.1 on Windows XP, these programs run fine.
On Machine H, which runs Python 2.5.1 on Windows XP, however, the same
programs crash regularly. The crashes are not Python exceptions, but rather
are reported by Windows as errors in pythonw.exe. (Of course, the error
messages themselves contain absolutely no useful information.) This happens
whether I run them from the command prompt or from IDLE (although IDLE
itself never crashes). Further, the crashes occur at unpredictable times;
sometimes the program will crash almost immediately upon startup, while at
other times it will run for a while and then crash.

Also, I'm not sure whether this has anything to do with my problem, but
Machine H also has Python 2.2 installed on it, while Machine W does not.

I recall seeing a message at some point that suggested that conflicts in the
MS VC runtime DLLs might cause this sort of problem, but I haven't been able
to find that information through a search, so I'm not sure which particular
DLLs to look for. Any help in tracking down the source of this problem
would be appreciated.

Russ

 

[kyosohma]

I have some Tkinter programs that I run on two different machines. On
Machine W, which runs Python 2.5.1 on Windows XP, these programs run fine.
On Machine H, which runs Python 2.5.1 on Windows XP, however, the same
programs crash regularly. The crashes are not Python exceptions, but rather
are reported by Windows as errors in pythonw.exe. (Of course, the error
messages themselves contain absolutely no useful information.) This happens
whether I run them from the command prompt or from IDLE (although IDLE
itself never crashes). Further, the crashes occur at unpredictable times;
sometimes the program will crash almost immediately upon startup, while at
other times it will run for a while and then crash.

Also, I'm not sure whether this has anything to do with my problem, but
Machine H also has Python 2.2 installed on it, while Machine W does not.

I recall seeing a message at some point that suggested that conflicts in the
MS VC runtime DLLs might cause this sort of problem, but I haven't been able
to find that information through a search, so I'm not sure which particular
DLLs to look for. Any help in tracking down the source of this problem
would be appreciated.

Russ

Hi,

In the programs I write and package, I usually distribute msvcp71.dll
and MSVCR71.dll. I include them in the directory that the Python exe
I've created is running from. However, it sounds like you are running
pure code, not something packaged with py2exe.

You might run sfc and see if your dlls are ok. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310747

A friend of mine swears by this: http://wiki.djlizard.net/Dial-a-fix

Of course, it might be as simple as just uninstalling and reinstalling
Python.

Mike

 

[Martin v. Löwis]

Any help in tracking down the source of this problem

would be appreciated.

You could try installing a debugger on machine H, hoping
that the debugger gets entered when pythonw crashes. The
stack trace may provide some insight on what precisely fails.

HTH,
Martin