Looking for info on weird error messages

[Barbecue]

Recently while using FileMaker 5 and 6 on Windows XP(SP2) I have started seeing some very odd errors, and I have not been able to find out anything about them.

It starts with this error dialog:

Error::3014::EFPCLREG.C::InitializeCustomDataArea

Unable to ParsePPD

Then, if you click OK, this error appears:

Error::1024::EFPCLDLG.C::OEM_BeginSession

Unable to InitializeCustomDataArea

Hit OK again, and the first error reappears, starting an endless loop

of these two errors.

After this happens, I can kill the FileMaker process, but if I try to

start FileMaker again without rebooting, the same errors appear immediately.

The same thing has appeared with FileMaker 5, FileMaker 6, and FileMaker 6 Developer, on two different computers. The common element in each case is that FileMaker was left running overnight with files hosted on an FM 5 Server.

I've tried reinstalling the application and the OS, but that has not helped. Latest patches have been applied.

The only reference I can find to anything like this is from someone having similar errors running Excel. That seemed to be somehow printer-related.

[Lee Smith]

Hi Barbecue,

I'm I understanding you correctly, you are just sitting there, and all of a sudden these errors pop up? I think we need more information in order to help.

How are the files be accessed?

Are you printing?

These two errors sound like Operating System Errors, not FileMaker.

Have you tried to recreate this on a different platform or machine, do you get these errors?

[QuinTech]

See this thread.

Try re-installing the printer driver. Apparently, FM uses the selected printer driver somehow in redrawing the screen. I've seen this happen before, but usually the error message is nowhere near as verbose as what you posted -- it's usually just "Filemaker Pro e.exe [sic] has generated errors and will be closed..."

J

[Barbecue]

Lee, basically yes. I open a file and run a report, browse data, or whatever, and after a long time, generally overnight, these errors start popping up.

It has happened with several different files hosted on an FM5 server. It has also happened once or twice with a local file as well.

No printing is being done when the error appears.

As I mentioned before, I have reproduced the problem on two different computers, and on different versions of FM. I don't have a Mac, so I can't try that, thought I suspect you're right about it being OS-related.

QuinTech, thanks for the suggestion. I think you're right that there's a printer connection, but unfortunately, I have reinstalled drivers when I reinstalled the OS, and the two machines I've seen this problem on have different printers installed.

The printers are all networked, so now I'm wondering if the problem corresponds to some sort of network connectivity issue with the printers.

[QuinTech]

Can you link to the reference to Excel you mentioned? Maybe this will jog my memory for something. I googled your errors but couldn't find anything.

[Barbecue]

Here are the only two references I've been able to find...

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/micr...5a0749475e0c797

This one describes a different but very similar error.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/micr...4658b64b247e824

[Lee Smith]

Hi Jerry,

I don't know if you have seen this file by Chopper (a.k.a. Robert T. Schaub) in the sample file area by the Subject: Error Codes Database, it been pretty good in helping me find error codes for both FileMaker and Operation systems, unfortunately the two codes mention were [color:"red"] Not listed.

HTH

Lee

[DykstrL]

"The printers are all networked, so now I'm wondering if the problem corresponds to some sort of network connectivity issue with the printers."

QuinTech is on the right path - I also think that your printer drivers are corrupt - maybe even throughout your organization. Your print server is probably distributing corrupt printer drivers. Even if you install drivers on a PC, when you connect to a networked printer, the driver is downloaded and installed from the print server. I've seen this before.

FileMaker uses the printer driver to render the screen. If the driver is corrupt - BAM - crash, or at least errors. This is the reason that printer problems tend to show up in FM before other programs.

Try this: install a USB inkjet printer on one of the offending machines and set it as the default printer. Then do whatever caused the errors before normally. You may have to leave this setup several days. If the errors go away, then that would confirm the problem.

[QuinTech]

DysktrL, I had forgotten to thank you for teaching me this. A few weeks ago, a big client called our support line because they were having frequent and unexplainable crashes. I remembered having read your post on this, and solved the problem for them in minutes by changing to a different printer driver. Had I not read your post, we would likely still be trying to figure out what was wrong.

So, thanks a ton!

Jerry

[DykstrL]

I'm glad I could help. Just something I learned about FM waaaaay back in v2.1 days.

A couple of years ago I got a support call from a client from a major (over 150,000 workstations worldwide) international firm. All indications were coming back to the corrupt printer drivers. I even had their CIO get on the phone with me, saying there is nothing wrong with their print servers and that I had no idea what I was talking about.

To make a long story short, I finally convinced their IT folks to reload one of their print servers and the problem went away, along with some other mysterious printing problems they were having with some other applications. The CIO did call be back and apologize and thank me for fixing their other printing problems.

...poetic justice, I guess.

BTW: Jerry, I love your hat.

[Barbecue]

Thanks guys, your suggestions were what put me on the right track to solve this bizarre error. At least I hope it's resolved.

Yes, it was printer driver related, but with a strange twist.

The clue was that someone else reporting a similar error was working with a Toshiba eStudio printer driver. I had a different model eStudio driver installed on the workstations in question. But, here's the weird part: The Toshiba was NOT set as the default printer in either FileMaker or Windows, and the problem still happened. So I tried uninstalling the Toshiba drivers completely, and the problem stopped. So far, it hasn't come back.

So apparently all you have to do is have the printer installed, and that's sufficient to cause this error eventually. I have no idea how this can be, maybe the Toshiba driver install clobbers something in the system or something.

For what it's worth, I don't think the drivers got corrupted, I think they are actually buggy.

I got this error with two different versions of the driver downloaded at separate times, and I've had other problems with Toshiba's drivers in the past, so in retrospect this is not a surprise.

[DykstrL]

Very Interesting. This is a new one for me. I have seen buggy drivers mangle or corrupt the print spooler, but this kind of problem only arose when printing from a FileMaker app.

I am going to add this thread to my FileMaker/printer bug notes.

Barbecue, since you know the specifics around the situation, I suggest you send a bug report to FMI - maybe they will issue a technote.

[Barbecue]

Looks like FileMaker doesn't want to hear about issues with older versions. They only allow bug reports for version 7 on their web form.