Ok, I've got a question... and since this is the only real "tech-head" community I hang around, I don't really know of anywhere else to ask it...

On WindowsXP, is there any way to figure out why an app is hanging even though it doesn't explicitly crash??

I've tried to download AIM, and usually what happens is it will run the first time after I install it. Then every time after that, it just... doesn't... I run it, and its taskbar button shows up, but no windows for it show up at all. The process list says its running, but it just sorta... stops... before it actually does anything. And it will sit like that forever, unless I kill its process. It's been like this over the course of several formats/reinstalls of windows and of AIM, and it happens on every single version I've tried (production and beta). I've made sure it's the very first thing I install on the system, and it still does it. Nothing in the AIM faqs says anything about this, they only list actual error messages and such. And this doesn't generate any error at all. It just sits there.

I've been using GAIM instead since Trillian is utter tripe as far as I'm concerned, but now I got a new screen name and need to export my buddy list from the old one and import it into the new one... and GAIM doesn't support that. So I really need to figure out a way to run AIM, I guess.

So, is there some way to figure out why it keeps hanging, some log file that keeps track of all errors that programs generate whether they crash or not? I'm hoping maybe if I can figure out what's causing it, I might be able to think of a way to fix it.

Thanks in advance!

---Jamin

Well, if you hit CTRL + ALT + DEL it will show current applications that are running. And typically if one is hanging, it will say "Not Responding" next to it, rather than the normal "Running" flag.

It never shows up on the Applications tab, only the Processes tab.

---Jamin

Does it generate any errors in the Event Viewer? (That's a long shot, and I probably wouldn't be able to tell you how to fix them anyway.)

Are you using a firewall such as ZoneAlarm? This may be causing the hang. I have seen this with a few other applications that need to open up ports.

Just a thought.

Dave_L: No errors in Event Viewer. I think that's the big error log I was looking for though, I knew there had to be something like that... Too bad it doesn't make any errors there.

JustDave: Nope, no firewalls or anything. The only thing close to that is Norton Systemworks '02, but I don't think it's causing it... I have almost everything on that program except for AntiVirus disabled anyway.

---Jamin

hmmm perhaps uninstalling AIM with something like http://www.aurelitec.com/software/arplus/ would ensure that all files are completely purged from your system. Then try installing a new copy of AIM and see if that works?

more thoughts...

Have you tried changing the port it runs on? I always change mine from the default (I would note it first) to port 21.

I'll try those next time I get on the PC. Thanks y'all.

---Jamin