can't open chm files all of a sudden

[John Machin]

John Salerno wrote:
> John Salerno wrote:
> > Hi all. I apologize since this is only remotely Python related, but I
> > hope someone might now the solution.
> >
> > I tried opening my Python chm docs just now, as well as the one for
> > wxPython, and both are giving me an error dialog when I double-click
> > them and I can't open them. This happened apparently for no reason, just
> > today. I even reset but that didn't help.
> >
> > Does anyone know what might cause this,

Many things might cause an error dialogue -- further info needed.

>>  and if it could affect the rest
> > of Python or wxPython as well?

It could. Depends on what "it" is.  Have you noticed any symptoms of
other problems?

> P.S. Here is part of the error, but not the long detailed section:
>
> AppName: hh.exe	 AppVer: 5.2.3790.2453	 ModName: itss.dll
> ModVer: 5.2.3790.2453	 Offset: 00006bec
>
> The same thing shows up for both files.


1. This is like telling us only the last source file name and line
number in a Python traceback -- not very useful, especially w/o the
source.
Care to tell us what the text of the error message was?

2. Are these events resulting in a dump in your Dr Watson file
(C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr
Watson\drwtsn32.log)? Each dump starts with something like this:
"""
Application exception occurred:
        App: C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP OfficeJet T
Series\Bin\HPOstr05.exe (pid=2172)
        When: 2/09/2006 @ 05:35:58.515
        Exception number: c0000005 (access violation)
"""
... search for hh.exe

3. Have you been installing other software since this last worked?
Fiddling with your path?

4. Have you done a full virus and spy-ware scan? Do you regularly
install Windows updates from Microsoft?

5. C:\windows\help has many .chm files -- pick a couple at random; do
you get the same problem with them?

6. Fire up a Comamnd Prompt window, and type this in:

\windows\hh \python25\doc\python25.chm
\windows\hh \windows\help\whatever.chm

Any difference to the results from double-click launch method?

...

I suspect that this is a narrowly focussed problem, probably a stuffed
DLL or a DLL conflict. I tried profiling hh.exe opening
c:\python25\doc\python25.chm with the dependency walker, and it visited
a kazillion DLLs before it got to itss.dll and another kazillion after
that till it stopped awaiting user input. If we don't get a clue from
your answers to the above questions, it would probably be worth doing
that on your machine. You could even do it yourself: google "dependency
walker" and follow your nose :-)

HTH,
John