[New-bugs-announce] [issue37025] Misleading error message "Python failed to load the default activation context"

[Ralf Habacker]

New submission from Ralf Habacker <ralf.habacker at freenet.de>:

When I started Kicad under Windows I got the following error message in dbgview: "Python could not load the default activation context".

This message is issued by the Python runtime environment when checking the return value of the Windows API function AddRefActCtx() if the return value is zero (see https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/a3488e5902f5c26e5cc289aec2518e7b5058e5d1/PC/dl_nt.c#L107).

According to https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/windows/desktop/api/winbase/nf-winbase-AddRefActCtx, this function does not return a value, which makes the check result dependent on temporary internal register/stack values and does not indicate a real problem.

This check should be completely removed so as not to waste the precious time of developers and users searching for the reason for this misleading message.

The corresponding definitions https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/2.7/PC/dl_nt.c#L36 (and line 37) should also be adjusted.

The issue is also present in version 2.7.

----------
components: Windows
messages: 343329
nosy: paul.moore, rhabacker, steve.dower, tim.golden, zach.ware
priority: normal
severity: normal
status: open
title: Misleading error message "Python failed to load the default activation context"
type: behavior
versions: Python 3.7

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Python tracker <report at bugs.python.org>
<https://bugs.python.org/issue37025>
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