Hi,
I have been having problems with Fences for a long time and I was also having a lot of problems with Windows Explorer hanging. Finally figured out that I could work around that by killing and restarting Explorer but there is apparently something wrong causing a conflict somewhere. There is also the other problem of Fences sometimes crashing on start up and giving a message that there was an error and that I needed to enable or re-enable Fences.
I can assure you that it is not the computer as it happens on different computers and it is not something kludged up in Windows as I have installed and reinstalled Windows several times over the past year+. I really like Fences but I'm almost to the point of just creating a bunce of folders by category and putting all desktop icons in folders. Not as slick or pretty and not many options but probably trouble free. Or I have thought of looking for a menu driven program and assigning program (shortcuts) to menu items, but that would be so much like the start menu that I use that it wouldn't be very convenient... but on the other hand if I did that I would have a completely uncluttered desktop.
Finally there is one feature that Fences could use is the ability to nest a fence within a fence. Say you have a fence for all utilities... it would be great if within that fence you could have your other utility fences (say, system utilities, file utilities, uninstall utilities, driver utilities, etc.) instead of having several fences... one for each subcategory. Finally, as a thought, maybe as an option you could have a fence be a menu. Click on a fence and up pops a menu with submenus by category. Then the user could choose the type of fence they wanted based on their individual preferences.
No fault of Fences, but these types of options should be built into the OS and users should have a lot more control over the UI and especially without having to dig through an archaic system where finding a given setting is seldom intuitive but requires digging through different settings groups and finding the almost hidden options that take care of some issues.
Anyway if you find out a solution to any of the above it would be great. I haven't bothered to update my subscription lately as very little (if anything) has changed and the problems haven't changed either... so I have no real incentive to update. I tried several of the other utilities (like Groupy) and found it conflicted with other programs and had to uninstall it. So I'm getting to the "less is more" conclusion with Windows.
Sorry about the long post. Just had a lot to say.
Thanks
Hello,Sorry to hear you are having issues. Need more information on your computers
1) Windows version : please use winver.exe for full version numbers
2) Fences version installed.
3) Have you try the cleanboot steps and see if there is a conflict issues between Fences and any other apps you have running. : https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#cleanboot
Basj,Stardock Community Assistant.
Thanks for the reply .
Windows 10 [Version 10.0.18362.239]
Fences 3 (Version 3.0.9.11) (I'm sure it is not the latest but I saw no point in renewiing Object Desktop or Fences at this point. I'd be glad to renew Fences if the problem is fixed, but it has been doing this for a couple of years so I doubted that it had been fixed).
I would say it was a "cleanboot" since it was a clean install of Windows... not an upgrade install or a "retain files and settings" install, but a full wipe the disk and install Windows fresh (as its been awhile and I wanted to get rid of all of the cumulative Windows garbage that doesn't get cleaned up).
Windows is such a POS that, as I mentioned above , does not have features that should be standard... one of those features is maintenance of its own integrity. It should monitor every aspect of its own files and be able to reset any registry entries and related files and setting that have changed from any event in the system. Makes you miss the old DOS days and early Windows days when you knew if you could simply wipe a program directory without worrying about any leftovers or anything else. I've thought about going to Linux or MacOS and then just running the Windows programs I have to in a VM or emulator like WINE or Crossover or Parallels.
Thanks.
Jay
I think cleanboot is more on running without other 3rd party apps running on the background. And see if that work. Once that is done and Fences is running without issue. You can enable those other apps one at the time, which should tell which one is having trouble with Fences.
Thank you,
BasjStardock Community Assistant.
Hi Basj,
I can do that - it may take some time to enable things one at a time - non MS Services, Startup Progs, etc. So it may be awhile before I get it accomplished.
Just out of curiosity, does Fences keep any logs itself, or would WER show any event info that could shortcut the process ?
Thanks,
Hello,I am not sure on how thing really work in programming side, but, I have forwarded your questions to the Stardock Support team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate you feedback and patience.
Thank You,BasjStardock Community Assistant.
Folks, I'm having the same problem on both the PC's I'm using.
This Windows 10 Explorer issue occurred after the latest Windows 10 updates.
OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Version 10.0.18362 Build 18362
Fences version 2.13
Would you please escalate the issue?
Much appreciated
Would suggest to upgrade to Fences V3.0.9.11 which should work better on Current version of Windows 10. You can get it at a discount price if you currently own Fences V2. : https://www.stardock.com/products/fences/download
Add me to the list as well. New install of Windows 10 (worked fine in Windows 7). Downloaded the latest version and installed clean. Every time I try to start/run fences I get the error that Explorer was not closed down properly. As a precaution Fences has been temporarily disabled." I get this error an restart as well so it Explorer is not running. Get this fixed people. I am forced to be an ex fences user now.
Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having trouble.
It's not broken for the masses.
Again, this is almost always seen in a corp environment where an app (usually WebSense / ForecePoint) is causing Fences not to function properly.
Is either the case for you?
Sean DrohanStardock Support Manager
Websense...
Regrettably, there is no know workaround when that software is present.
Another reason to be annoyed by Websense. I'll miss my Fences. Odd that what is supposedly a web monitoring tool will interfere with a desktop organizing tool. Is it in the Websense code itself or can an exemption be added to Websense configuration to leave Fences alone?
We have not been able to test with the product but we would welcome any insight from clients that do use it - if exceptions / whitelisting can be done. We would be very grateful.
My IS folks say if you can provide a whitelist sheet they will take a look.
The problem is that fences.exe runs in the Windows Explorer process.
Hi Sean.
I was able to get Fences to run after changing my desktop from a slideshow to a single background image. We are still pursuing the Websense angle, but I am less convinced of that being an issue now. I know that other users have had a specific issue when dragging an open window to the side of screen so that it snaps to take of half of the monitor.
Mark
@sdRohan, I am using neither of those programs unless they are licenses and incorporated into another product (which I doubt in my case).
I just did a clean install of Windows, so I'll see if that changes anything after I get everything set up again. The other thing I have noticed that may be totally unrelated is that programs keep disappearing from the start menu. Sometimes I'll type them in search and they will be found other times I resort to Everywhere to find the program file and it runs fine. Indexing is off (running Win 10 on SSD) so I'm not sure if that is causing any part of the problem or not (with the start menu), but , I don't know the reason for these problems. What I do know is that each successive release of Windows brings a whole new batch of bugs with it.
The rolling update thing is not working so well. It was a great idea to get new features earlier than the usual snail's pace, but I've lost a lot more time trying to chase down the reasons for problems (latest is even worse) - i keep getting a recurring stopcode bluescreen. Never had this problem until last Win update. Now I get sporadic bluescreen have run chkdsk with all the necessary options, SFC, DISM, Tweaking repairs which fixed a bunch of problems (on a pretty much new Winidows install), and find nothing except a stopcode which I never got before. Of course tried driver updates, registry tools, and everything else I could think of. God... I miss the days of Win 7 and it's reliability and stability. Have thought of going to Linux or MacOS and running Windows under WINE or Parallels, CrossOver or something else or even running Windows under Linux or another Hypervisor in a VM.... just back up the VM everyday and if Windows decides to crap out just reload the VM backup bypass the updates and roll on. Just wish there was a viable alternative for Windows and that Bill Gates had been a Window Washer or car mechanic.... anything but a shrewd businessman who tried to cobble together a modern OS from an 8 bit hobbyist's toy that was never meant to be stretched this far.
~J
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