Shell exception and Encountered an improper argument

[ThexEmperorx]

Whenever I open the Cakewalk app, it says "Shell exception when initializing directory menu (80070002) App functionality may be affected. Contact Support". If I don't use safe mode to open a project, another pop-up says "Encountered an improper argument", as well as many more shell exception pop ups. All the controls which are normally present don't show, and neither does the MIDI and track region, though the audio still plays properly. Here is what it looks like,

Also, usually at the top left corner, it will say the project name besides the "Cakewalk", but it doesn't even say the name of my project.

This is fixed in safe mode, however I heard there are some downsides to constantly using safe mode, so I want to be able to open my projects in normal mode. I am afraid if I reinstall Cakewalk, all my projects will be deleted. Does anyone know what I should do to be able to open my projects back in Cakewalk without using safe mode?

[Promidi]

12 hours ago, ThexEmperorx said:

Whenever I open the Cakewalk app, it says "Shell exception when initializing directory menu (80070002) App functionality may be affected. Contact Support". If I don't use safe mode to open a project, another pop-up says "Encountered an improper argument", as well as many more shell exception pop ups. All the controls which are normally present don't show, and neither does the MIDI and track region, though the audio still plays properly. Here is what it looks like,

Also, usually at the top left corner, it will say the project name besides the "Cakewalk", but it doesn't even say the name of my project.

This is fixed in safe mode, however I heard there are some downsides to constantly using safe mode, so I want to be able to open my projects in normal mode. I am afraid if I reinstall Cakewalk, all my projects will be deleted. Does anyone know what I should do to be able to open my projects back in Cakewalk without using safe mode?

That sounds like a corrupted Windows issue, not a cakewalk issue.   It could even be a hardware issue.

How long has this been happening?

Are there any events in the Windows Event Logs that might point to a clue.

Maybe try a system restore to the time before this started happing.

You might also want to check your system drive for any corruption - again, there may be entries in the Windows System Event logs that may indicate this.

One other thing to check is that Windows updates have all installed to completion and you have rebooted.

I am assuming you have performed a full backup of your project data.

Other may have more suggestions.

[Noel Borthwick]

By any chance do you have ExceptionHandlingSeverity set to anything but 1 in preferences | File | Initialization File?
Reinstalling Cakewalk will have no effect on your projects. This looks like some Windows shell component is potentially corrupted or out of sync.

 

[msmcleod]

Another thing it could be is an archive file on your desktop that Windows explorer is unable to unzip.

The Browser control within Cakewalk is basically an instance of Windows Explorer, and when it is first instantiated it points to the desktop.  If there are any files there that Windows Explorer can't deal with, you may get a shell exception.

One way of confirming this is to open Windows Explorer and go to your desktop - if Windows Explorer hangs or crashes, then that's your issue.

[ThexEmperorx]

Actually, it just fixed itself today. Maybe it was a temporary issue? I don't know what fixed it, but its good, for now. I just hope it doesn't happen again, or even worse corrupt my project files. Thanks for your help anyway. 

[sjoens]

On 10/14/2024 at 3:21 PM, ThexEmperorx said:

I am afraid if I reinstall Cakewalk, all my projects will be deleted.

Reinstalling any program should not affect the files/projects made by them.  It's always good to have backups of them for other reasons tho.