[solved?] Can't run minetest engine 5.3.0

[ShallowDweller]

All minetest versions up to 5.2 run just fine, but when updating to 5.3, I get this error when attempting to run the exe flie:

+image description, in case it doesn't load

In minetest 5.3.0's bin folder/directory, attempting to run the minetest.exe file will result in the notification that "This application has requested the runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application support team for more information." From Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library

It happens on both the 32bit and 64bit versions, downloaded from the download page or from the forum topic giving the same error message (no mods, no games, no settings altered, just the download as provided by the aforementioned pages).

Machine details(let me know if you need more information):
OS: windows 7 64bit (lastest version)
Processor: intel core i5 (2nd gen)
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6450 (drivers are up-to-date) 2GB VRAM
RAM: 6GB
HD: 1TB total, 4 partitions, 501 GB free room in the windows7's partition

Again, this problem started with minetest's lastest version. the previous ones run just fine. Any idea what caused this? Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
The solution(?): start menu > all programs > accessories > RIGHT-CLICK the command prompt to RUN AS ADM > type SFC /scannow and hit enter.
The engine folder icons are now full of padlocks, but the thing is running, so...

Alternative: try placing the Minetest folder outside the desktop and its subfolders.

Anyway, I would like to thank everybody who replied and here for taking your time to see what you could do to help me. Thank you! ♥

[rubenwardy]

Did you extract the archive? Is there a debug.txt file in the same folder?

[ShallowDweller]

If you mean the .zip, yes it was extracted before I attempted to run the file, just like I did with the previous versions. (If you meant something else, then I don't know)
There is no debug.txt file anywhere in the bin folder, nor outside it.

[sfan5]

Since the release of 5.2.0 I have not upgraded the compiler or any libraries, so that's not it.
The only Windows-specific change I can think of is this, but that is still supposed to work on Windows 7.

[ShallowDweller]

Since the release of 5.2.0 I have not upgraded the compiler or any libraries, so that's not it.
The only Windows-specific change I can think of is this, but that is still supposed to work on Windows 7.

IF that happens to be the problem, is there anything I can do to solve it?
Also... that change doesn't look like it should have broken anything... (but I'm a noob, so I could be wrong)
I'm pretty sure there are still other people in this forums using windows 7 and they didn't have a problem...
Maybe it is on my end, but what is happening?

ps: I would like to thank rubenwardy and sfan5 for their replies.

[sfan5]

After installing Windows 7 SP1 (x64) in VM yesterday and waiting for all updates to complete I tried both the 32-bit and 64-bit build of 5.3.0 and cannot reproduce your issues.

[ShallowDweller]

After installing Windows 7 SP1 (x64) in VM yesterday and waiting for all updates to complete I tried both the 32-bit and 64-bit build of 5.3.0 and cannot reproduce your issues.

Looks like the problem is on my end then... I wonder what happened in my machine: I scanned for malware and fixed what was found: no changes; ran check disk to repair stuff: still nothing. I have no idea what else could cause this without affecting the previous versions as well...
I'm not sure if there is anything else you could do for me now... If there is any extra information I can provide that would be of use or if it is best to close this case... (since the problem is on my end...)

I'm glad it is working for other people, though.
Thanks for taking your time to test it! ^-^
And sorry for the late reply and any trouble I may have caused.

[goats]

the event logs may provide more information than the dialog box. there is SFC /scannow, or maybe reinstalling the relevant MSVC runtime version. sometimes runtime errors are caused just by Windows deciding an application should be using some other runtime version than the one actually required.

just some thoughts on the usual suspects.

[ShallowDweller]

the event logs may provide more information than the dialog box. there is SFC /scannow, or maybe reinstalling the relevant MSVC runtime version. sometimes runtime errors are caused just by Windows deciding an application should be using some other runtime version than the one actually required.

just some thoughts on the usual suspects.

♦ I... never used the event logs, if they are what I think they are, so I have no idea how to read those...
♦ If the "SFC /scannow" thing happens to be CHKDSK, I already did this. If not, I have no idea...
♦ Just to confirm, is MSVC short for Microsoft Visual C++? And is it possible for Windows to make that wrong decision you mentioned for one version of the software but not for the other(s)?

Sorry if my questions sounded stupid. I didn't sleep yet.

ps: If anything I said in this or the previous post(s) sounded rude, I would like to apologize. Being rude was not my intention and I am honestly thankfull for all the aid all of you are giving me. So thank you all for the aid and sorry if I'm getting inconvenient.

[goats]

I hadn't thought anything you have written sounds rude at all. It seems you are merely trying to fix a problem. :)

Yes, MSVC or similar is a common abbreviation for Microsoft Visual C++. You may also see MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) for Visual C++. Downloadable runtime installers usually have a name like vc-redist_xxxxx.

So... Event logs: You can type eventvwr.msc in the search or run box in the start menu to open this. To make a search for the error easier, cause a fresh event to occur by attempting to run the minetest.exe immediately prior to looking for the event. You can set a filter to display only errors or warnings if it helps to find the MS Visual C++ error. It will likely be in the first of the three logs (System, i think is the name), rather than Applications or Security. The error will frequently point to a relevant prior event which led to the error condition.

SFC /scannow is the system file checker. It looks for corrupted, missing, and maybe unregistered / improperly registered necessary and expected files. Lots of things cause random file problems, SFC usually finds them.

Yes, Windows can make a wrong decision. :D It is usually caused by some underlying issue, or such. I have seen it happen where re-registering manually a file or files, or reinstalling a thing (and yes specifically MSVC runtimes) fixes the problem. "Asked the runtime to terminate it in an unusual way" is frequently a sign of wrong or broken runtime version.

Unfortunately i do not have a Windows box at the moment. I have no idea which version(s) of the Visual C++ Runtime is expected, but you can limit any reinstall attempts, should you go that route, to the Runtimes listed in Programs and Features control panel. You can find the installers: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... -downloads

[ShallowDweller]

I hadn't thought anything you have written sounds rude at all. It seems you are merely trying to fix a problem. :)

Yes, MSVC or similar is a common abbreviation for Microsoft Visual C++. You may also see MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes) for Visual C++. Downloadable runtime installers usually have a name like vc-redist_xxxxx.

So... Event logs: You can type eventvwr.msc in the search or run box in the start menu to open this. To make a search for the error easier, cause a fresh event to occur by attempting to run the minetest.exe immediately prior to looking for the event. You can set a filter to display only errors or warnings if it helps to find the MS Visual C++ error. It will likely be in the first of the three logs (System, i think is the name), rather than Applications or Security. The error will frequently point to a relevant prior event which led to the error condition.

I see... I just checked the error log and... I have no idea what to do with that data xP

Code: Select all

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Application Error" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>100</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2020-07-18T22:17:40.000000000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>15225</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>CENSORED</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>minetest.exe</Data>
    <Data>5.3.0.0</Data>
    <Data>00000000</Data>
    <Data>minetest.exe</Data>
    <Data>5.3.0.0</Data>
    <Data>00000000</Data>
    <Data>40000015</Data>
    <Data>00000000003ef7c9</Data>
    <Data>113c</Data>
    <Data>01d65d513cc0986e</Data>
    <Data>C:\CENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\minetest.exe</Data>
    <Data>C:\CENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\minetest.exe</Data>
    <Data>7da8d63a-c944-11ea-81e7-e06995e00a81</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

ps: thanks!

SFC /scannow is the system file checker. It looks for corrupted, missing, and maybe unregistered / improperly registered necessary and expected files. Lots of things cause random file problems, SFC usually finds them.

Sounds like CHKDSK... I already scanned with and without the search and recover option... TT_TT

Yes, Windows can make a wrong decision. :D It is usually caused by some underlying issue, or such. I have seen it happen where re-registering manually a file or files, or reinstalling a thing (and yes specifically MSVC runtimes) fixes the problem. "Asked the runtime to terminate it in an unusual way" is frequently a sign of wrong or broken runtime version.

Unfortunately i do not have a Windows box at the moment. I have no idea which version(s) of the Visual C++ Runtime is expected, but you can limit any reinstall attempts, should you go that route, to the Runtimes listed in Programs and Features control panel. You can find the installers: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... -downloads

Well... I have 10 of those(5 for 32bit + 5 for 64bit)... 2 for 2010 (v10.0.40219), 4 for 2012(v11.0.50727.1 & 11.0.61030.0), 2 for 2013(v12.0.30501.0), 2 for 2015(v14.0.24215.1)
Testing them all may take me a while... I guess I'll start by checking if the fact that I have 2 different versions for the 2012 one could be the reason for the error and see what else the support tells me to do...

Thanks for the advice! I'm glad I didn't sound rude. If reinstalling C++ doesn't work, and nobody else has a clue what could have gone wrong I guess the most rational thing to do is try the Linux versions and eighter wait to see if the problem persists in the next windows version or if someone else appears with the same problem, so we have better odds of figuring it out by seeing what our machines have in common... I need to stop being so stubborn... But I guess it was necessary to check if the problem was on my end or not?
Well... Bid me good luck... I think I'll need it...

+In case anyone is wondering why I didn't just go for the Linux versions yet/before

I ALWAYS try to see if a problem I'm having with software can be fixed before resorting to other software. Real example: I had to come to the conclusion that attempting to run webGL content on Firefox was simply impossible, after lots of effort, even after reinstalling my graphics drivers and having a migraine (seriously, I had to take some painkillers for it to go away) in the process BEFORE I decided to give Waterfox a try. Had I just installed Waterfox before meddling with Firefox's about:config plus everything imaginable, it would have saved me a lot of stress and physical pain, but that's how I do stuff... And I can't seem to learn from my mistakes because I'm THAT stubborn... and stupid

[goats]

Error log: If there are no system or application warnings prior to this, the event log is unhelpful to me (someone else may gain further insight) as the event 1000 error is exactly what the dialog box said.

SFC is completely not CHKDSK. That's for drive errors. SFC is a Windows system self-diagnostic.

Testing them all may take me a while... I guess I'll start by checking if the fact that I have 2 different versions for the 2012 one could be the reason for the error and see what else the support tells me to do...

Multiple versions from the same year (security updates, bugfixes etc.) are common, but what would be super helpful is to know which of these Minetest is actually using. I have no idea*... Windows usually has no trouble deciding which, including from core system files. It has a whole SxS (side-by-side) system to keep multiple versions of MS files registered to the applications which use them in attempt to avoid "DLL hell". But sometimes files or registry entries are broken.

Anyway... I would still try the System File Checker. :) You can see other common solutions for event id 1000 with a general search, e.g., https://www.minitool.com/news/event-id-1000.html If you have already tried multiple downloads of Mintetest, the application to fix would again be the Visual C++ runtime... whichever one that is. SFC can tell you, or fix it itself (if it has the source files available).

*It could be Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 (or it's Update 1, updated versions generally don't break things) which is required. This seems to be the case with MT 0.4.14 and may not have changed.

Yeah, I'm pretty tenacious with problems myself, preferring the adventure of finding and fixing over replacing or nuke-and-pave. I really wish i had my Win 7 box here to see if i can replicate this.

Happy hunting!

[ShallowDweller]

Error log: If there are no system or application warnings prior to this, the event log is unhelpful to me (someone else may gain further insight) as the event 1000 error is exactly what the dialog box said.

There was a WMI error in the log but it was a few hours before the MT one... And are those features even related? And if THAT is the cause, then shouldn't it have prevented me from running MT 5.2 as well?

Code: Select all

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-WMI" Guid="{1edeee53-0afe-4609-b846-d8c0b2075b1f}" EventSourceName="WinMgmt" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="49152">10</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2020-07-18T20:20:55.000000000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>15118</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="0" ThreadID="0" />
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>CENSORED</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>//./root/CIMV2</Data>
    <Data>SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage &gt; 99</Data>
    <Data>0x80041003</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

SFC is completely not CHKDSK. That's for drive errors. SFC is a Windows system self-diagnostic.

Oh. My bad... I'll try that... I hope it works...

Anyway... I would still try the System File Checker. :) You can see other common solutions for event id 1000 with a general search, e.g., https://www.minitool.com/news/event-id-1000.html If you have already tried multiple downloads of Mintetest, the application to fix would again be the Visual C++ runtime... whichever one that is. SFC can tell you, or fix it itself (if it has the source files available).

Just to confirm: you meant Minetest's source files or C++ source files?
Anyway, I'll take a look at that link. I hope it does the trick... will save me some time if it does...

*It could be Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 (or it's Update 1, updated versions generally don't break things) which is required. This seems to be the case with MT 0.4.14 and may not have changed.

Yeah, I'm pretty tenacious with problems myself, preferring the adventure of finding and fixing over replacing or nuke-and-pave. I really wish i had my Win 7 box here to see if i can replicate this.

Happy hunting!

I was going to ask if the 2008 version of C++ is of any use, but the lack of the 2008 version being the culprit sounds too bizarre to be true.

Thanks a lot!

*goes try the scan and resist the urge to reply every new post asap again*

[goats]

WMI: No, that's Windows Management Instrumentation. Ignore it. What you would be looking for is something (warning, error) happening roughly the exact same second in Applications or System Logs. Clearly you do not find any, so that's OK.

Just to confirm: you meant Minetest's source files or C++ source files?

Ah, no, i mean Windows installation sources, like all the archived installer files Windows keeps deep in the systems directories. Sometimes it would ask for the original installation media, but generally that would be a very out-of-date source, given the number of updates since any Windows disc, or image in the recovery partition, was created. (When repairing using original installation files, sometimes that can be fixed by forcing windows update to look for updates - if that is still a thing for Win 7? I think you can still pull old updates.) But the files you would likely want here are the easily downloadable vc-redist installers, which are again probably backed up by Windows anyway, so no matter.

Reply as fast as you like. I am just glad i caught it, and i hope something here helps.

[ShallowDweller]

Sorry for the late reply, but after downloading and installing the lastest C++ updates, I noticed something strange... Minetest STILL refused to run, so I restarted the computer to see if it made a difference and... I managed to open minetest right after the system started, but closing the app and trying again would result in the error again.
also, I attempted to create a world to see how that went and the app crashed (by the same error that prevents it from starting), but I managed to get the debug.txt to appear (if that is of any use by now):

Code: Select all

-------------
  Separator
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2020-07-20 19:04:35: WARNING[Main]: Failed to write to file: C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST\map_meta.txt
2020-07-20 19:04:39: WARNING[Main]: Failed to write to file: C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST\map_meta.txt
2020-07-20 19:04:39: ERROR[Main]: loadMapMeta: could not open C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST\map_meta.txt
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ACTION[Main]: World at [C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST]
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ACTION[Main]: Server for gameid="minetest" listening on 0.0.0.0:57325.
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: ServerError: AsyncErr: ServerThread::run Lua: Runtime error from mod '*builtin*' in callback on_prejoinplayer(): Failed to open SQLite3 database file C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST\auth.sqlite: unabl
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: e to open database file
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: stack traceback:
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: 	[C]: in function 'read'
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: 	...Engine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\builtin\game\auth.lua:133: in function <...Engine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\builtin\game\auth.lua:129>
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ERROR[Main]: 	...ne\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\builtin\game\register.lua:429: in function <...ne\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\builtin\game\register.lua:413>
2020-07-20 19:04:42: ACTION[Main]: Server: Shutting down


-------------
  Separator
-------------

2020-07-20 19:47:37: [Main]: Automatically selecting world at [C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST]
2020-07-20 19:47:50: ACTION[Main]: World at [C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST]
2020-07-20 19:47:50: ACTION[Main]: Server for gameid="minetest" listening on 0.0.0.0:52580.
2020-07-20 19:47:58: ACTION[Server]: singleplayer [127.0.0.1] joins game. List of players: singleplayer
2020-07-20 19:48:09: WARNING[Server]: Failed to write to file: C:ENSORED\Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine\minetest-5.3.0-win64\bin\..\worlds\TEST\env_meta.txt
2020-07-20 19:48:09: ERROR[Server]: An unhandled exception occurred: Couldn't save env meta
2020-07-20 19:48:09: ERROR[Server]: In thread 8:
2020-07-20 19:48:09: ERROR[Server]: /home/stefan/mt-build/build/minetest_64/minetest/src/server.cpp:7d: run: A fatal error occurred: Couldn't save env meta

I'm not dual booting Linux yet because I'm afraid of screwing up mid-quarantine with nobody to help me fix the damage, but if this debug.txt log doesn't help... I may just try the leap of faith...

EDIT: Added screenshot and more debug.txt log from an attempt to run the world after another system restart.

[goats]

OK, from the get here, you have errors which look like the application does not have permission to read/write to files in your /TEST directory at the very least, and possibly further up the directory tree. Right-click on the minetest.exe file, select Properties, and make sure there isn't a warning somewhere like "this file came from another computer blahblah". If this exists, click the button to "allow". (This is odd, as the engine should have created these folders and files in the first place...)

Also your env.meta may be corrupted now, due to abnormal exits. You can replace it with a blank file, but i rather suggest creating a new test world (as you did) each time you start until the error is resolved, or you will crash due to secondary errors. (For some reason a bad env.meta or lack of read/write access seems to be unhandled. I have had it happen.) In fact, as your world is automatically selected at startup, i would delete any worlds manually before starting the engine.

Edit: if none of the above helps, create a brand new folder and extract Minetest there and try again.

And just in case, to cover in advance:
If that doesn't help, you may need to look at making sure you are the Owner of the folders and set necessary permissions. Again, this may need to be done possibly much higher in the directory tree if there was a pre-existing and unrelated issue. For ease, it can be done at your User folder, or the Desktop folder, and include all subfolders. This can appear complicated, and honestly i find some of the process both redundant and weird, and would not advise you without actually looking at a Win 7 machine. But Taking Ownership / Setting Permissions is something one can totally look up: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windo ... n-windows/ https://www.wikihow.com/Change-File-Per ... -Windows-7 . Of course, if checking shows that ownership and permissions are fine, then there is no need to change anything.

[ShallowDweller]

OK, from the get here, you have errors which look like the application does not have permission to read/write to files in your /TEST directory at the very least, and possibly further up the directory tree. Right-click on the minetest.exe file, select Properties, and make sure there isn't a warning somewhere like "this file came from another computer blahblah". If this exists, click the button to "allow". (This is odd, as the engine should have created these folders and files in the first place...)

Also your env.meta may be corrupted now, due to abnormal exits. You can replace it with a blank file, but i rather suggest creating a new test world (as you did) each time you start until the error is resolved, or you will crash due to secondary errors. (For some reason a bad env.meta or lack of read/write access seems to be unhandled. I have had it happen.) In fact, as your world is automatically selected at startup, i would delete any worlds manually before starting the engine.

Edit: if none of the above helps, create a brand new folder and extract Minetest there and try again.

And just in case, to cover in advance:
If that doesn't help, you may need to look at making sure you are the Owner of the folders and set necessary permissions. Again, this may need to be done possibly much higher in the directory tree if there was a pre-existing and unrelated issue. For ease, it can be done at your User folder, or the Desktop folder, and include all subfolders. This can appear complicated, and honestly i find some of the process both redundant and weird, and would not advise you without actually looking at a Win 7 machine. But Taking Ownership / Setting Permissions is something one can totally look up: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windo ... n-windows/ https://www.wikihow.com/Change-File-Per ... -Windows-7 . Of course, if checking shows that ownership and permissions are fine, then there is no need to change anything.

Well... Can you belive the 5.3.0 folder has the same permissions and ownerships as the 5.2.0 one? They even share the same folder (Desktop\MEH\folders\MineTestEngine) I even tried running the minetest.exe as ADM and it gives the same error as the 1st post... And I did everything you said here...
(I once took ownership of compatTelRunner.exe to send it to the trashbin because it was inconvenient (and useless, according to the research I did) the scan command put it back on the folder but I think this particular file is unrelated to the problem)
Anyway, Thanks for the help.

[goats]

Gah, i wish i could be of more help, sorry. Best wishes for some resolution.

[ShallowDweller]

One thing people should know about "SFC /scannow": you MUST run the command prompt AS AN ADM or it will not help...
Right-clicking the command prompt, running as adm and using the SFC /scannow command SEEMS to have solved the problem... for now... several of MT's folders now have padlock icons in them, but at least the engine is running now... I guess... There is something weird happening... I hope it is not a corrupt registry...

@goats: You provided me with the solution to my problem, but I failed to use it correctly, causing you to waste your time with me... Sorry about that. It really didn't occur to me that I was supposed to run the command prompt as an adm instead of just running it the normal way.

[parasite]

Hi ShallowDweller!

I have noticed that in your lastest log report , the "desktop" word show up in the minetest directory.

I know this may sound bizarre, but have you tried to run the minetest from somewhere other place than the desktop?

Windows 7 may have configurations that limit the permissions of some applications run from the desktop. If that's the case, then it doesn't matter what permissions you manually grant the file or whether you run it as administrator. It works like some sort of preventive sandbox but from a deeper level (which is why weird error messages appear instead of a popup informing about preventive blocking of unknown application running in suspicious location). For example, I have a problem with saving and editing MS World files placed on the desktop.

Some antivirus software also prevents any changes to the system (including writing to and reading from other files) by applications launched from the desktop. It does not need to be accompanied by any explicit information generated by the antivirus about why *this* application has been assessed as untrustworthy and even that any security procedures have been activated at all. So user maight have no clue that antivirus software is doing something.

[ShallowDweller]

Hi ShallowDweller!

I have noticed that in your lastest log report , the "desktop" word show up in the minetest directory.

I know this may sound bizarre, but have you tried to run the minetest from somewhere other place than the desktop?

Windows 7 may have configurations that limit the permissions of some applications run from the desktop. If that's the case, then it doesn't matter what permissions you manually grant the file or whether you run it as administrator. It works like some sort of preventive sandbox but from a deeper level (which is why weird error messages appear instead of a popup informing about preventive blocking of unknown application running in suspicious location). For example, I have a problem with saving and editing MS World files placed on the desktop.

Some antivirus software also prevents any changes to the system (including writing to and reading from other files) by applications launched from the desktop. It does not need to be accompanied by any explicit information generated by the antivirus about why *this* application has been assessed as untrustworthy and even that any security procedures have been activated at all. So user maight have no clue that antivirus software is doing something.

Strangelly, this also seems to work...
(tested with another app that suddenly begun to display the same no-permission behavior)

I'm finding it odd that this behavior started all of sudden, though... All apps I used to drop on desktop used to work just fine prior to... Whatever caused this problem...

Your problem with saving and editing MS World files placed on the desktop shouldn't be happening, that's for sure.
I mean... What use is the desktop if we can't edit files placed on it? Those are meant for easy access...
And all the search results I found were about not being able to write to the program files folder, rather than to the desktop... I wonder if there is a way to re-grant permission...
If it is the antivirus, in theory, witelisting should fix it, but what if it isn't?

[parasite]

Strangelly, this also seems to work...

Do you mean that you can run minetest without problems from other than desktop locations?

I'm finding it odd that this behavior started all of sudden, though... All apps I used to drop on desktop used to work just fine prior to... Whatever caused this problem...

I guess I had no problems with running MS Word from the desktop earlier. I mean, it wasn't like that before. But I also don't know when or why it happened. Personally, I use this application rarely, I prefer LibreOffice for everyday use, especially that LibreOffice has absolutely no problems with running and editing files located on the desktop, both its own and MS Word files - which makes the whole thing even more odd. But that is not the point. The point is what to do to run minetest smoothly and seamlessly.

If it is the antivirus, in theory, witelisting should fix it, but what if it isn't?

Yes, if this is done by antivirus, than it can be set up to not doing this I guess.

[ShallowDweller]

Do you mean that you can run minetest without problems from other than desktop locations?

I am running minetest from desktop with a bunch of padlocks on several folders and files, but when I tested both minetest and another app (zorbus) outside the desktop folder, both worked smoothly, when only minetest was running on the desktop...

I guess I had no problems with running MS Word from the desktop earlier. I mean, it wasn't like that before. But I also don't know when or why it happened. Personally, I use this application rarely, I prefer LibreOffice for everyday use, especially that LibreOffice has absolutely no problems with running and editing files located on the desktop, both its own and MS Word files - which makes the whole thing even more odd. But that is not the point. The point is what to do to run minetest smoothly and seamlessly.

While the SFC /scannow worked for minetest when I stoped being stupid enough to not run as ADM, the behavior is still strange... Why are all folders "padlocked"? And will the engine stop working if I remove that eye sore? I can't get rid of the feeling that something will go wrong soon or later, since whatever made minetest stop working is still affecting other software.

What antivirus are you using, by the way? Because one of Avast's updates added a ransomware shield that may be causing touble, but when I temporalily lifted protection from desktop, nothing seemed to change... And if your antivirus also happens to be Avast, it says it doesn't block apps like MS word, so...

I wish I knew what on earth happened... What if it starts to affect other places in the system?

[parasite]

Why are all folders "padlocked"?

When there are more than one users ond single Windows computer, we can install any application for "all users" or just for single one selected user only. In a similar way, we can grant read and write permissions to files and folders. (The permissions and padlocks can be edited by the group and users options in security tab of "properties" menu of any files.)

The system by itself assigns permissions to folders such as "desktop" or "my documents" only to a specific user. All other users can see these folders on the system, but with a padlock and cannot access them. Therefore, the first thing you can think when someone describes the minetest do not work from desktop and has padlocks all over, is that it was installed for use by other user, but instead of being saved in that user's desktop folder, it ended up in the general desktop folder, with files shared by everyone. Or something like that. Generally, when files and applications are assigned only to a specific user, they should not be visible on another user's desktop. It may also be that files and folders do not have any user assigned at all in the group and user permissions settings. Then each user will see the padlocks and will have difficulty running the file.

However, I can imagine that Windows do not work the way we all imagine. The effect of an action can sometimes creates problems instead of what it should be. So, since you have a problem with running the application and there are padlocks everywhere, maybe something refuse the access to those files from your account in the system? I don't know why the system refuses to grant you full permission to minetest on the desktop, but my experience shows that Microsoft applications and Windows sometimes do such things. People on the Internet complain that their accounts have lost their administrator status, or that they have padlocks on thousands of mp3 files.

Check this: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... f40d35676a

I wish I knew what on earth happened...

Sometimes theoretical considerations and deep analyzes are a waste of time. Sometimes you don't need to understand what's going on and finding the simplest practical solution to the problem - like sewing up a patch on a hole in your pants - is the optimal response. Physicists do not understand what quarks, electrons, and photons are, but they can calculate them. (If you've heard in school that they are small balls - particles - or waves, then you should know that they are definitely not balls or waves or balls and waves at the same time or, generally speaking, anything that we can imagine.). Do not worry. It is true that we can joke that entropy slowly make more chaos in every closed system (unless you do regular cleanup in such a system), for example a computer running a Microsoft system, but the problem with running a minetest full of padlocks does not have to mean the end of the world is coming.

I do not use Avast and I am sure that my troble with MS word is not caused by antivirus. MS Word just open files from the desktop in read-only mode and refuse to grant to those files edit permissions. No antivirus software can interfere with MS Word that much :D I suspect that this problem occurred to me after some update.

[goats]

Hi! I've been away, sorry i missed everything. Glad to see you have things at least working.

Padlock icon: This happens when you have a private file or folder (that is, an item belonging only to your user account) in a non-private context. Not sure why your user Desktop isn't considered to be inside your own user context...