Roger Cigol

VCL - RAD Studio 12.2 C++ Classic Compiler I have a windows C++ (Classic compiler) VCL application that uses TDirectory::GetDirectories() and TDirectory::GetFiles() to get lists of files from the Windows OS file structure. These files are then opened for read or write using stl ofstream and ifstream along with >> and << operators. The same code has been in use on different instances of the application on different machines (including Win XP and Windows 7). I have a new instance where the operating system is Windows 10 LTSC version 10.0.19044 build 19044. I have not run it on this version of windows before. Problem; Directory and file lists, reading and writing work ok for a longish time (24 hours sometimes, 30 hours sometimes, 10 hours sometimes) and then the calls to TDirectory::GetDirectories() and TDirectory::GetFiles() both return empty lists. Writing to a log file (with a fixed file name) also stops working at this time. It's as if my application has been locked out of the file system somehow. At this point it is possible to use File Explorer to see that there still are files and directories present. It is possible to open the files by other applications. (some are plain text files and can be opened with notepad). The files are stored in a directory inside C:\Users\Public\Documents\ so should be available to all applications all of the time. I cannot offer a reproducible example - all my code works fine on my development machine (which is Windows 10 Pro build 19045.5371 22H2). This is true if I run it under the IDE debugger or as a free standing exe. I wonder if any of my fellow Delphi-Praxis colleagues might have any similar experiences or can offer some ideas of what I should try next ?

Why would this kind of problem mean that only my application is affected? When the problem happens it is still possible to read and write files to the directories using windows explorer (eg right click and create a new text file).

Auto run: If I look for coloured entries - which are the ones with "not verified"..... In Services I see one: Sense Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Service: Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service helps protect against advanced threats by monitoring and reporting security events that happen on the computer. (Not Verified) Microsoft Corporation C:\Program Files\Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection\MsSense.exe Mon Feb 10 16:31:35 2025 In Drivers I see three: BthA2dp Microsoft Bluetooth A2dp driver: Bluetooth A2DP Driver (Not Verified) Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\System32\drivers\BthA2dp.sys Sat Dec 7 09:07:47 2019 BthHFEnum Microsoft Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile driver: Bluetooth Hands-Free Audio and Call Control HID Enumerator (Not Verified) Microsoft Corporation C:\Windows\System32\drivers\bthhfenum.sys Sat Dec 7 09:07:47 2019 Adobe Type Manager File not found: atmfd.dll The first two are in subcategory: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services The last one is in subcategory: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Font drivers

Running SFC did not sound dumb to me (either at the time you posted it, or now). This was done at end of January, after we had done a full "check for updates" iteration round a few times (until it said "all up to date").

So is this suspect driver related to file handling ? or could it be any driver on the machine ?

Thank you, Kas. I have downloaded WinObjEx (exe) and run it. I click on the search (magnifier glass) icon and then enter MyMutex1 and click on Find. It says no objects found. I get the same result if repeat but with search only for "Mutant" in the drop down.

@Kas Ob. My actual app is a 32 bit exe - will the 64bit WinObjEx64 still be ok to help us (you!) get to the bottom of this ?

I have sysinternals process monitor running on the machine. I get a long list of processes - but can't see my application mentioned anywhere (note - may application it is not actually doing anything at present - but it is still running) Any tips on how to drive this ?

I have remote access to the machine, My application is still running and I can confirm that it is still not able to create / write to any files. I have used the sysinternal handle.exe utility. When run with -a -p nnnn >MyOuptutTextFile.txt // (where nnnn = my application process ID) When I look at the resulting output file it is 400MB long and almost all of it is taken up with the same entries, here's an extract 3B4: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 3B8: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 // loads and loads and loads of entries here // - and then the file ends F71D78: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D7C: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D80: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D84: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D88: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D8C: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D90: <Unknown type> \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\MyMutex1 F71D94: <Unknown type> \Sess This doesn't look healthy to me - but what does this line mean?

@Lajos Juhász How can I check this ?

Are you sure that "service" means a windows service in this context? I am not so sure that MS error messages are so precise! I think this just means a "general service provided by the operating system" - but I could be wrong. @Kas Ob. I am a bit out of my depth with this one - so your expertise is really welcome and appreciated. So above question is just me being ultra cautious!

When I open resource monitor I see 2 threads and 15 handle names (13 are files, one is the application exe and one is the application mutex created and checked by our application (we use this to prevent two instances being run at the same time) So this doesn't show any problem. Hard Disk still has 43GB used of a total capacity of 930GB

When I open up task manager I see 0% for CPU, disk and network, very low power useage and only 14.7MB of memory useage - and it's been running for a week and a half, so doesn't look like a memory leak.

An update: by adding code to get the Windows error code following a failed attempt to open a text file I have now got an error number : 1450 A quick google search reveals Error 1450 = Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service So what resources is it short of, I wonder? I am currently trying to get a remote connection to the PC in question before they close down (and restart) the application....

@JohnLM An interesting feature request. If you want it to be considered you need to post it at https://qp.embarcadero.com/ Helpful advice: Your suggestion (interesting though it is) is definitely well "off topic" so it might have been wise to post it as a new thread.

Well as a catch line it does make you want to attend the presentation.....

Is this "Classic" or "Clang" 32 bit ? Are you using "incremental linking" ? (if so, does it solve your issue if you change the project setting to "incremental linking = false" ? Ooops - sorry - this is Delphi code not C++ - please ignore me !

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5710587862509447008 This is the link for "what's coming in 12.3"

Doing more error checking is of course a good idea. Perhaps I shouldn't have had to be pushed to do this. The software does log some errors to the log file. But of course if the log file falls over then I don't get a record of the errors. There are practical difficulties working with the customer on site (if you do too many version changes they start to feel (with some justification) that you are using them as the debugging team... However I agree with your helpful hint : I need to see if I can find out what is being reported when this problem occurs. I have created a version that will push error messages into the GUI thread and this thread will display them. I have asked the customer to take screen shots of any error boxes that pop up. Thanks for your help @Remy Lebeau I will post here again if I solve the problem or if I get more error information that I need help understanding !

Thank you @Der schöne Günther for this suggestion. It's not quite so easy... a) I am not sure if I have the IT skills to get an exact copy of Win 10 LTSC from the customer's machine on to a VM (I did not supply the customer's PC). b) The software talks to significant complex hardware (it's a special purpose machine control system) which is hard to replicate / simulate on a VM system.

Well it's a good opportunity to have time to learn Delphi at somone elses expense. Great to have a project to work on where anything you do that isn't a complete failure is considered a good result. I can't think of a better project to learn on !

@Der schöne GüntherMany thanks for this suggestion. Sadly (for me) I have already checked windows events - no sign of any problem error or warning messages.

@Der schöne Günther Please accept my apologies! @Remy Lebeau Many thanks for your wisdom here - I've learnt something new!

I am not sure that posting code that doesn't compile is very helpful unless it is absolutely clear that it is meant in humour. Incidentally I am not sure how I feel about myself but I definitely love C++ (whilst conceding that it does have it's drawbacks).

Whilst agreeing totally with @Lars FosdalI am puzzled by your reaction. It is clear that every posting you received was aimed at helping / educating you. I can't see any sign of anyone being patronising. I like to think that all the many experienced developers that look at Delphi-Praxis are understanding of less experienced folk who are trying to learn. Please continue to ask questions. Be patient if you don't always get a simple answer and check that you have expressed your question in as clear as way as you can.