Arduino IDE Window 10 installation error "An error occurred while starting"

Development Tools IDE 1.x
1

I'm using windows 10 and have come across an issue that has me stumped.

At some point in the last few years, I (or one of my kids) improperly uninstalled the Arduino IDE. I know this because when the application wouldn't open, I couldn't find the uninstall script. The error was (and still is) as shown in the attachment, "An error occurred while starting the application." "Access is denied". Followed by the ever helpful "OK" box. When you click OK, the application closes. I done a fair bit of searching on the internet for suggestions on how to solve this and have found nothing to date that works.

I have performed the following attempts at fixing the issue:

Basics:

  • I'm running Windows 10
  • My PC is in good working order
  • I have used the IDE extensively in the past with no issues
  • I'm signed in as Admin
  • I'm using PC Matic for security
  • I've been around PCs for as long as they have existed - so I have at least a little bit of experience :-).

What I've tried to date:

  1. I found and downloaded an arduino uninstall file, then ran the uninstall, downloaded the latest version of arduino IDE and installed it. When I tried to open the application, I got the same error.
  2. I rebooted the machine, and tried again to run the Arduino IDE and got the same error.
  3. I uninstalled the IDE and then re-installed it. I go the same error.
  4. I found some thread online that suggested I should clean up my registries. I uninstalled the IDE, then I downloaded and ran a program to clean out the old stuff laying around in my registries. I reinstalled the IDE and upon launching the application, I got the same error.
  5. I'm getting desperate now - So, I uninstalled the IDE and downloaded an older version, then installed it, and started the app. I got the same error.
  6. I've sunk about 5 hours into this at this point and decided that I should look for help - thus this post.

Any suggestions, guidance, opinions, or direction would be appreciated. I strongly suspect that there is something stuck in a directory or windows registry that I can't find... but that is pure speculation.

Capture.JPG

2

Some random points

Maybe the cleanup instructions posted by @ballscrewbob might solve the issue; I can not install any version of the IDE on my laptop. - #3 by Ballscrewbob - Installation & Troubleshooting - Arduino Forum

On Windows, and assuming you installed the normal version (not the windows app), there is a debug version of the Arduino IDE: C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\arduino_debug.exe; maybe it can some light on what the access is denied to.

3

I apologize - I didn't say it explicitly, but I did follow those instructions previously with no change (The error still pops up). Also, I tried the debug version and a black window popped up and closed on its own. There was no text, code, nor commentary.

Any other suggestions?

4

joerfortune:
I apologize - I didn't say it explicitly, but I did follow those instructions previously with no change (The error still pops up). Also, I tried the debug version and a black window popped up and closed on its own. There was no text, code, nor commentary.

Any other suggestions?

You will have to run the debug version from the command line.

If that still shows nothing, I don't know, sorry.

5

I ran at at the command line. Interestingly, I got exactly the same error... but it was in the command line window with no "OK" box :-).

Any other ideas? Anyone?

6

All,

I managed to solve the problem. I'm not sure what finally cut is free, but I went to my C: drive and did a hard search for any files (including hidden files) that fit the criteria arduino. Then, I deleted all of them that I could. Note that many of them were system files and I deleted everything but those. Then I re-installed the IDE. Shut down the computer and then restarted it. Then, when I launched the IDE, it worked!

Thanks to sterretje for the suggestions. The suggestions are, in the end, what led me to do the above steps (although these steps were not called out specifically, it was the line of thinking that helped).