Any definitive fixes for NX2?

<p>I have been using Nikon Capture NX2 for the past few years. I also use LR & PS CS5 extensively, but I find that it generally takes much less tweaking and fewer steps to get a good skin tone using NX2 than using the Adobe products, especially with mixed lighting.</p>

<p>NX2 always was somewhat buggy and prone to the rare crash on my system, but the frequency of the crashes has slowly increased to the point where it's now unusable: I can open and extensively edit a NEF file in NX2 without problem, but now, almost every time I go to save the work, NX2 crashes. Since the beginning of this problem was not abrupt, I can't correlate it with any particular update, installation of other software or hardware, etc. As reported by numerous other folks, NIK pointed at Nikon when I requested help, and Nikon didn't answer.</p>

<p>My photo computer is a Win Vista box (32 bit, 4 Gig RAM, two SSDs, a 1Tb and a 0.5 Tb internal drives + external USB drives for archiving, as needed). I've updated NX2 as each new release came out, and have kept completely current with Microsoft, virus, drivers and other system updates. This computer is used only for photographic work and only by me, so no "freebie" programs get loaded unless they are very well vetted, no dicey websites are visited, etc. I do a major virus / malware scan about once a week, and do a registry cleanup at about the same frequency. It's about as sano a computer can be and still be connected to the Internet.</p>

<p>Except for NX2, this computer runs absolutely flawlessly in every respect, including a large number of other applications for editing and archiving of large image files including, LR, ACR, CS3, CS5, Dreamweaver, Painter 12, Phase One Capture 6, Photo Mechanic, Portrait Pro, Photomatix, Dynamic HDR, etc., plus a large number of plugins and plugin suites for PS.</p>

<p>I've researched the NX2 crashing problem extensively, and tried done (almost) everything recommended by anyone that sounded half-way knowledgeable. Usually, what happens with each of these "fixes" is that NX2 works a bit better for a while, and then over the course of restarting the program several times, the fix no longer works. I've tried re-installing NX2, flushing / not using its caches, changing NET versions, making sure the image files are not on the same drive as the program files, having a huge amount of free space on all relevant hard disks, running it from an SSD, maxing out memory, running memory diagnostics, running it in various compatibility modes, running it as administrator with elevated privileges, starting the program in a directory that has only one image in it (the one I'm working on), saving and restarting it after each and every editing step, and a large number of other semi-crazy "fixes". Some anonymous internet denizens have suggested dedicating a computer which only has NX2 and the OS loaded, but I'm not inclined to do this as (a) I have no reason to trust this "fix" more than any of the others, and (b) this computer works perfectly in all other aspects.</p>

<p>If anyone has been in this situation and found a "fix" that continues to work over time (and isn't something I've already tried - see the above list), I would love to hear about it. I'm not interested in responses like, "Well, it works perfectly for me" because it did for me, as well, for at least a couple of years. Nor, am I interested in major system changes such as upgrading to 64 bits, switching to Apple, etc. I may make some of these changes, but not for the sake of just one program. NX2 is supposed to work (and has worked) on this very system and no other program or anything thing else on this system is giving me problems.</p>

<p>I know that Nikon rumors are 99% hot air, but if anyone is reasonably certain that NX3 is being developed, I'd love to grasp that straw instead of completely giving up on this product. As I recall, the big rumor this past year was that the NX2 code was being re-written and some of the other NIK products were going to be bundled with it for a release at the end of last summer. We all know how reliable that rumor was. ;-)</p>

<p>Thoughts? Help?</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>PS - As I was writing the above post, someone posted another message noting that NX 2.3 was just released. I'll obviously look into it.</p>

<p>Well, guess what ... After writing the above long post and at my wit's end with the behavior of NX2.2.8, I just completely uninstalled 2.2.8, and installed 2.3.0. I had no problem whatsoever saving files, at least on the 1st image that I tried. I just hope that this fix isn't like all of the others I've tried, and the improvement disappears with use. I'll keep you posted.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>Rats! The problem is back. I did a bit more editing (ie, 5 control points) and 2.3 crashed just like the previous versions.</p>

<p>Arghhh!</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

<p>I think that your fix for that may be Vista -> Win 7, Tom. I run NX2 on a more modest (than you've described) Win 7 machine (more than one, actually), and don't have the problem you've described. I DO have trouble with long sessions involving dozens or hundreds of images - and that's almost always straightened right out by cleaning out the program's pet cache folder.</p>

<p>Everything that Matt said. Fortunately I skipped the Vista step and went directly from XP to WIN 7. I have experienced the crash, but not very often in Capture, more in other programs and fortunately the problem is isolated from the rest of the system. I have suspected that the problem, when I experience it, originates in certain plugins but I can't prove that without some concentrated study.</p>

<p>Matt, Curt - Thanks for your input. Reading the numerous comments about this problem on the web, I would estimate that 75% of the folks who described how they upgraded to Win 7 continued to have the same type of crashes. I need to do this anyway on some other machines, so I may try installing NX on one, but I'm not optimistic.</p>

<p>Tom</p>

<p>I note you say you've tried reinstalling NX2, this rang a bell with regard to Nikon Scan software that I used to use. Problems using Nikon Scan were sometimes encountered by people uninstalling and reinstalling and one of the suggested "cures" was to use the Reg Sweeper, which Nikon supply, after uninstalling and before reinstalling. The theory seems to be that you don't just need to uninstall you need to purge your computer of the application before reinstalling. <br>

I just checked and this also can apply to NX2, ViewNX, Camera Control etc., see more on <a href="http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16615/~/how-do-i-completely-remove-my-nikon-software-application%3F">http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16615/~/how-do-i-completely-remove-my-nikon-software-application%3F</a><br>

Who knows it might help.<br>

There was also someone who wrote a suggested routine to follow when installing NX (version 1 I believe, but it may apply to NX2 too). It required following a strict order of installing the software updating the NET versions and maybe one or two other things (not requiring bones, star charts or crystals I hasten to add). Unfortunately I can't recall who it was or where. You may have come across it already but, if not, at least now you know it exists and it could be worth looking for. <br>

Some time later.......<br>

I found a reference to the above, so saving you the trouble, <a href="http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=796920">http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=796920</a><br>

Hope something there helps you...or at least confirms your part formed NX2 conclusions.</p>

<p>Mac - Thank you very much for your help. Actually, I had not run into the dpchallenge thread that you pointed out. It turns out that I have done the almost exactly the same steps listed in that article, and in the same order, however, I didn't think to reinstall Visual C++. I'll give that a try the next time. </p>

<p>Since that article was from mid-2008, it refers to 2005 versions of NET and VC++, so I guess there is a question about whether to install the 2005 versions he states, or go to the most recent version. In previous attempts to get NX2 fully operational on my system, I've always re-installed the latest version of NET Framework on the basis of Microsoft's statement that <em>"Applications that are based on earlier versions of the Framework will continue to run on the version targeted by default."</em> ( http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17851 ), but I just realized that I never did a registry sweep between uninstalling NX2, NET and VC++ and reinstalling everything. I'll do that this time.</p>

<p>Also, I saw a reference to Reg Sweeper, but didn't use Nikon's version or a registry cleaner, as I run Symmantec's version every week. Nevertheless, it sounds like it couldn't do any harm, so I'll use both as described in the previous paragraph, between uninstalling and re-installing everything.</p>

<p>I'm out for the evening, but I'll work on it some more late tonight and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>I ran NX2 on XP, Vista and now Win 7 64 bit. I run it on an HP with an Intel dual core processor and 8 gigs of memory and an HP laptop with 4 gigs of memory. In the years I have run NX2 (including the new 2.3 I don't think I've ever had a crash on either machine--and I've used NX2 on both machines extensively. I don't have any Nikon scan software. It's not just NX2, However. I use the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop and MS Word. They never crash either.<br>

I've always been very careful of where I browse on line and use software to keep malware and spyware out as it has been my experience that a good share of folks who have problems with their machines locking up when running regular software have stuff running in the background that causes those crashes.</p>

<p>Thank you, Wayne. I have exactly the same philosophy about browsing, malware, etc. By any chance, did you read my first post in this thread?</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>System solution pointers:<br>

A colleague is working in a company making engineering software systems. They newer released a Vista version of their products. Instead they jumped from XP to win7. This may tell something.<br>

I have now win7 64bit after a Vista in my laptop. No problems. I actually did not like Vista but win7 is really ok.<br>

Upgraded the NEF codec to 64bit when it came out. In View NX I could see speed improvement over the 32 bit previous version.<br>

I guess I am uprgading to the newest of view and capture because of possible overall speed increase.<br>

There may be oem versions of the win7 availabe at reasonable price.</p>

<p>Mac H, I want to thank you again for your comments and links to those articles. <br /><br />The comments about the need to have a clean registry, and the possible sensitivity of the NX2 install to the condition of the NET framework and the VC++ redistributables encouraged me to look further into those aspects of my system. <br /><br />It turns out that numerous old versions of NET and VC++ were still on my system. When I had updated these files in the past, I relied on Microsoft's automated installers, assuming they would either leave the old versions alone, if needed, or remove them, if that was preferable. Obviously, they never removed anything as I had versions of these files dating as far back as '08 and '09.<br /><br />Since yesterday, I removed *all* versions of NET, all versions of VC++, the recently installed v2.3 of NX2, as well as the older versions of a few other programs and plugins which, during this process, I realized hadn't been removed when newer versions of these programs were installed. I rebooted, then ran two 3rd party registry cleaners, plus Nikon's registry sweep program, plus a full system virus/malware scan (which found nothing). I then installed the newest version of NET, rebooted, installed the newest version of VC++, rebooted, installed an update to VCC++, rebooted, and finally installed v2.3 of NX2, hoping that I would improve the performance of NX2 and wouldn't break any other programs. <br /><br />Although I had previously been extremely conscientious about keeping everything up to date on this machine, regularly cleaning the registry, and tried several times re-installing the newest versions of NET, VC++, and NX2, I never before threw out everything related to these files, started from scratch, and then installed only the latest version of each. <br /><br />When I was done with this process, I was pleasantly surprised to find (a) I hadn't broken any other software, and (b) NX2.3 was working better than it has run in the past year or two. Specifically, it ran very fast, and could only force it to crash if I intentionally overloaded it and used up almost all available RAM. Since yesterday, I've processed about 15 NEFs, some using lots of NX2 features (including several control points). Only once did it crash unintentionally, and then it restarted without going into the dreaded, "I'm now going to crash every time you save" mode. :-) . In contrast to past "fixes", which would evaporate after a few uses of NX2, this time things seem solid, and I didn't have to perform any magic rituals to keep it going ;-).<br /><br />Anyway, I want to thank you and Ben4345 (from the dpchallenge forums) for pointing out the sensitivity of NX2 to the condition of NET and VC++. Obviously, my problem had absolutely nothing to do with malware or an intrinsic flaw in Vista that would force me to move to Win 7. Also, someone pointed out problems with the Nikon Messaging program, so I trashed and reinstalled it, as well. <br /><br />Now, let's just hope that by writing this message, I haven't jinxed my fix, and a few days from now, the system goes south on me. Wish me luck. <br /><br />Thanks all.<br /><br />Tom M</p>

<p>So glad to have been of help (fingers crossed) even if I was really only a signpost. I had similar problems with Nikon Scan software and my version of NX1 so I remembered those findings from when I was researching a cure. <br>

I took a slightly different approach, more of an "if you can't beat em, jump ship". I sold my Nikon 8000 and later acquired a Minolta Multi Pro and more recently added a Sony alongside my Nikon for my DSLR thus lessening the need to use NX. I'm leaning more towards trying to use Lightroom for the bulk of my work along with PSE9 for the things that are "beyond" LR. This is because I've been having a similar problem to yours, but with PSCS1, since I upgraded to Win7. An earlier thread see <a rel="nofollow" href="00Zb7O">http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00Zb7O</a> and <a href="00ZfHI">http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00ZfHI</a> addressed this and although I discovered an obscure remedy for some of my problems I realised my PSCS1 is a bit too out of date to persevere with, (doesn't support my Sony in Raw for instance).<br>

Hopefully we'll both be able to enjoy less temperamental computers for some time to come.</p>