I absolutely love emclient...BUT...the improper shutdown issue is unresolved now for years

Crashing eM Client
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In the early days of Windows 10, windows would issue a wait or shutdown warning if a program was still open. One chronic issue with Em Client (and on more than one machine) is the chronic checking of the database for corruption on the next boot up if Em Client was resident in the system tray upon closing.

To be sure this issue has not been addressed and I was led to believe in my last contact with Tech Support that this is a expected and accepted issue. Doh! I had hoped it would be corrected in version 8. Yes one can close EM before shutdown… but it should be noted that other clients and programs do not display this issue. Also, I’ve never had a check that detected corruption. So perhaps the best fix is to have the option to turn off the notification unless something is found amiss. However. This has been suggested for years and the problem has been posted for about as long. .

EM works superbly, but the poor shutdown is an issue that is hard to get around and it has existed despite being installed on different computers or its running along side other TSRs. This issue really needs to be looked into and fixed. Its really one of the few bugs that should be fixed. I would seriously doubt that Microsoft is going to make way for EM’s shutdown.

Paul

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The notification will not display at all if there is nothing amiss, so it is not necessary to have a separate setting to disable that. It is already taken into account.

The way a SQL database works is that while it is running, new and edited data is not saved to the original dat files, but rather it is cached in a write ahead log. When the application closes, those wal files need to be written back to the dat files. As far as I know the application itself is not running at that point, but a background process is handling the write back. Windows does not care about the background processes when it closes. It just terminates them.

The next time eM Client starts, it first checks to see if the database was closed properly. If it was, there is no notification and it loads as normal. If the write back was interrupted by Windows shutdown, it will attempt to write the old wal data back to the database. If you cancel that process, you may end up with a corrupted and unusable database.

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I opened a support ticket on this a couple of days ago, and I suspect that I was not the first user to do so. They asked me whether any firewall, antivirus software, CCleaner, etc. was running, which was not the case (apart from the recommended Windows Defender). The final reply was that the developers would look into the problem.

If this is the known reason for the problem, let’s hope that the developers find a solution.

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thanks Gary and Eisbaer… All in all, this is a programming problem. Why, because other clients like Mailbird do not have this issue. Google drive, its backup version did, originally and they fixed it up. So when the program is running as a TSR, it has this problem, frequently. It would be nice if Em Client would at least admit to the issue rather than blaming antiviris’ and firewalls. I was hoping that they would work this out with version 8, but this issue was documented in 2013, suppose to be fixed in 7.1. Its nice to have the program start at bootup, sit resident and close at shutdown. Certainly one can learn to close down before leaving windows. So, finally, it seems reasonable to assume that the program design has made a fix difficult. I would think that after all this time and with it happening on many different system types and makes and configurations, that EM would at least admit to it.

To be honest, I love the interface of EmClient, I like the fact that its competitor Mailbird does not have this issue… but am not in love with their color schemes or layout. However in the end, the chronic checking holds up, the bootup and I would think that all database programming is not alike.

I went through the checking of firewalls and antivirus (of different types) and even turned them off.
And again, this doesn’t happen on other programs.

I was hoping that someone could shed some light on known conflicts, a remedy. So again, I come away thinking that, yes its shutdown issue related to the database shutdown problem, but related to how its being integrated into the program. However it really needs to be corrected to be the best contender for use with Gmail. My complaint should not be seen as a rant. The lack of response by Em and the continuation of the problem evidences a need, I feel for Em’s developers to handle this ongoing problem.
If only to be the best stand alone client for windows. Paul

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In the recent versions of eM Client for Windows 10 you can also optionally check in Settings “Close application to tray” which leaves it open in the tray to load quick when restarting your computer.

Then use Start / Shutdown / Sleep mode which then resumes fine on both my Win 10 20H2 computers when restarting pc’s without any checking for startup errors. Might be an option for you.

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Hi. There is no problem with how em client starts and yes I have the minimize and close to system tray. However the problem is that when either is in effect when one shutsdown, the database is summarily closed and on boot up, the database is checked for corruption. Some other programs like google backup and sync have had this issue and it was corrected. Other mail clients with the same option i.e. Mailbird never crash on bootup. Em Client has had this issue for years. Now, in early windows 10, a warning would come up that a program hadn’t closed… do you want to wait or close? This no longer appears in the latest version of windows. But, this all things considered is a problem that the developers need to resolve as it happens on many of my computers (and other’s reports) over the years. It is not an antivirus or firewall issue and seems to be unique to em client. Love the program, had the bug.

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This “checking for error on startup” when EMC is opening issue (was resolved back in Dec 2020) for me and some other users on this forum with “recent versions of eM Client” where (EMC prev wasn’t allways closing in the background 100%) and was still sometimes showing in the Win 10 task manager even after “completely exiting / closing” EMC (the normal way) and waiting aprox 5sec or so before shutting down.

I can now also use the EMC setting “Close Application to Tray” or “Minimize to tray” options or even the regular “Minimize to Taskbar” too and use the Windows 10 “Shutdown / Sleep” mode and again no issues with checking for errors opening EMC when the computer resumes from sleep mode.

However if you use the Close app to tray or Minimize to tray options or even the regular Minimize to Taskbar and then use the “Normal Windows Shutdown” (not the Sleep Shutdown) you will generally get checking for error when EMC opens again after Windows startup, as EMC app & database (is still technically open) in the background / memory.

Note:- I personally run a stock Windows 10 pc with (no optional) firewall / security / antivirus / malware / VPN’s programs. Just use the Windows Security built-in.

(Reasons why you can get checking for errors on opening eM Client) with recent fixed EMC.

If you shutdown Windows normally (too quickly) after closing / exiting EMC where the database then doesn’t get enough time to close 100%. You need to wait aprox 5 secs or so after closing EMC to give the database time to close and then shutdown Windows.

You are shutting down Windows normally but “still have EMC minimized to the tray or closed in the tray” or “minimized to taskbar” and (not used) the Shutdown / “Sleep” mode.

You have a partly corrupted EMC database and it will then randomly always give you the same checking for startup errors until it’s repaired even with the fixed / updated recent versions.

Some optional program is interfering with the shutdown of EMC and doesn’t allow it to close 100%.

(eM Client normal shutdown fix problem update below in Dec 2020)

This fix update also for me allowed EMC to “Wakeup ok” after Sleep Shutdown “without checking for errors anymore”. So fixed both the normal shutdown background issue & the Sleep mode issue.

https://www.emclient.com/release-history

8.1.973.0
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
eM Client 8.1 Service Update

  • Some fixes for application shutdown
  • Addresses in People view are now selectable
  • The current theme is now loaded when opening Theme editor
  • Support for copy/paste colors in Theme editor
  • A bunch of other fixes and improvements for Theme editor
  • Improved theming support for Christmas theme
  • Fixed a favorite folder reappearing when deleted issue
  • Chinese, polish, french and czech localization updates
  • A lot of other fixes
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To be sure, I was disappointed with version 8.1.1054 (582ba95) exhibited the same shutdown issue. I reported this and tech support wrote back that this is an expected behavior.

I appreciate your input. However, I have installed em client of 4 or 5 machines of widely different
setups and versions of Windows 10 with a variety of antivirus’s

I guess I need to decide if the checking is irritating enough to move on or stay with it.

While I understand the cause and the work-a-rounds, it is important to note that other clients, Outlook and
Mailbird, the former left open on the taskbar and the latter left in the systray during shutdown do not exhibit the behavior. And not to be flip… The app needs to make the adjustments and not Microsoft… and further if em and Microsoft are partners then it seems that something can be done to fix this. There is nothing unusual about my system(s) and if you will search, posts are still appearing. What can I say?

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I’m currently using v8.1.1054 (582ba95) after upgrading from v7x. I had no problems at all closing eM Client using v7x. Problems started as soon as I upgraded to v8. Nothing else on my PC has changed.

I contacted support who sent the following response:

"… Indeed, recently Windows stopped taking eM Client into account when shutting down.
While we resolve this issue, please make sure to check your Task Manager to make sure that all eM Client adjacent processes have disappeared before shutting your computer down.
Sorry about any inconveniences caused by this issue and thank you for understanding! "

It seems like eM Client Support are trying to blame a recent Windows change in behaviour !
Here was my latest response…

" I tried monitoring Task Manager, but eM Client appears to close immediately and disappears from Task Manager with no delay whatsoever.
Then if I close the PC straight away, the corrupted database checking happens again on next boot-up.
Clearly even Task Manager is unable to see that eM Client is still running.
Has the problem been identified and when is the fix likely to arrive? "

Disappointed to say no response received from eM Client Support after 10 days of waiting…

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No, there is a background process still running. You will need to scroll down a bit further in the Task Manager. I understand that this is what Windows is ignoring when it shuts down.

The workaround during version 7 was to close eM Client a few seconds before shut down of Windows.

I remember it was much discussed at the time, and then some changes were made to improve the way eM Client shut down. As far as I am aware it is less of a problem with version 8 users than it was with 7. It is interesting Ian that you said you didn’t have this issue with version 7.

I think you will wait a lot longer, but one thing you can do while you wait is to make sure that you keep eM Client up to date by checking the Release History regularly. There is already a newer version there than what you are using, and a link for an even newer unreleased version was given recently in this post:

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Wow, Gary… Thank you… What a fast response ! …

Ever thought of working for eM Client Support? :wink:

I appreciate your help…

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I installed the version below. I’m crossing my fingers. We’ll see what transpires. Hope abides!

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As of this date, 12-15-21, emClient still shuts down when it wants, and has to check databases when re-opened. My solution is sad but simple, although I think the program is excellent, it’s obvious that emClient will not fix its issue, therefore I will not renew my subscription. There are other excellent programs around that are stable.

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jueves 16 diciembre 2021 :: 0756hrs (UTC +01:00)

Hi @mblum10209

Do you mean that it crashes without warning?
I do not recall the last time eMC shutdown/crashed without warning, for me it is stable.
If you are experiencing unexpected shutdowns for no apparent reason, maybe it is your system?

¡Saludos desde la soleada Sevilla en España!

Skybat
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Hablo español, luego portugués e inglés, con conocimiento de varios otros idiomas.