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Unable to create folder at startup

  • 1.  Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Fri May 13, 2022 09:19 AM
    Hello:

    I have been encountering some delays in startup time from cold launch to empty data editor running on a Win10 machine. With the help of a colleague using a tracer, I have found this issue which I can not seem to correct on my system. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue and how they have been able to successfully change the read-only attributes to the local folder SPSS wants to use to create the Python39 directory. I have tried several options unsuccessfully, but this seems to be the most plausible reason for the lag in startup time.

    CrashReportMgr mIsDoDetect=true
    Running Client Before
    Launching splash screen
    Virtual R has been created
    Cannot create directory: C:\Users\MYUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\IBM\SPSS Statistics\28\Python39
    The extensions will not be installed
    Virtual Python create successfully
    Application: Stats On-Prem UI Client
    Running Client
    Starting thread
    Sending Segment Data

    Statistics Trace Log: 2022-05-10 22:40:04

    Thanks for any insights.

    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------

    #SPSSStatistics


  • 2.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Mon May 16, 2022 08:52 AM
    Hi John,

    The following article from Microsoft attempts to address a folder ownership issue in the .../AppData/Roaming folder. Can you try the steps there and let us know if that fixes the problem?

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/cannot-create-directory-cusersmeappdata/c2f4be5e-483d-4e18-a80d-c491468edaa7

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Mon May 16, 2022 06:04 PM
    Hi Curtis:

    Thanks for your response. Unfortunately this article does not provide help as I already have ownership of the folder. The issue is that I can not change or 'untick' the file attributes of the folder from 'read only.' Nothing I have tried appears to work, as it always reverts back to read-only. FWIW, currently on Win 10 version 21H2 OS Build 19044.1706.




    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Tue May 17, 2022 08:52 AM
    Hi John,

    Please check out this article and let me know if the solutions within do not work for you. It sounds like the same issue, but the proof's in the pudding, as they say...
    https://appuals.com/how-to-fix-folder-keeps-reverting-to-read-only-on-windows-10/

    Best,
    Curtis

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Tue May 17, 2022 05:10 PM
    Thanks, Curtis.

    Yes, I have tried this approach to no avail. See screenshot.

    I am wondering: do you think that this issue (not being able to write to that folder at present) is creating the startup delay when opening SPSS?



    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Tue May 17, 2022 09:31 PM
    Hi John,

    Yes, I do think this problem could be related to the slow startup times. The very first time a user runs Statistics on a new machine, the program attempts to setup a virtual environment for extensions, R, Python, and other items that need to be modifiable by the end user. This involves copying many megabytes of files. If it is failing to complete the copy because the ...\AppData\Roaming folder cannot be written to, then each time you start Statistics it will be trying (and apparently in your case failing) to setup the virtual environment.

    Thanks for trying the "Change the Attribute of the Folder" approach. Can you try one more test with that please:

    attrib -r +s "C:\Users\J.D. Haltigan\AppData\Roaming"

    Did you also try the "Change Permissions of the Drive" and "Disable Controlled Access", and "Disable your Third Party Anti-Virus" approaches from the article above? Trying each one at a time can help us to isolate the cause of the problem.

    Regards,
    Curtis

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Tue May 17, 2022 11:38 PM
    Thanks, Curtis, for these additional recommendations.

    I had previously adjusted the "Disable Controlled Access" (it's set to deactivated)

    and do not run third-party antivirus on my machine so that is not an issue. Nonetheless, I have added exclusions to Win Defender as:

    Finally I did try the suggested approach above:



    Nonetheless, on my last test open of data editor, tracer still yields:



    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Wed May 18, 2022 09:51 AM
    Hi John, this is indeed a strange one. I have a few more things for you to try, after which if your userprofile directory is still read-only, the next step will be to setup a conference call where we can work directly with you to understand the problem.

    1. First thing to try: We will confirm that "C:\Users\J.D. Haltigan\AppData\Roaming" is indeed your userprofile directory. Please open a command prompt, enter the following, and report back what you see:

    echo %userprofile%

    Your userprofile directory is supposed to be read-write, else many software packages will not be able to function properly.

    2. Please check for the flawed Windows update mentioned here: https://superuser.com/questions/1525919/why-are-folders-in-userprofile-all-read-only.

    3. Check to see if you are using Mandatory Windows Profiles as described here: http://woshub.com/mandatory-user-profiles-windows-10/. If the descriptions there are too complex, don't worry - we can work with you on a conference call if necessary. This document from Microsoft also describes MUPs: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mandatory-user-profile.



    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Wed May 18, 2022 05:23 PM
    Edited by System Fri January 20, 2023 04:20 PM
    Thanks, Curtis:

    re: my user profile: here is the echo:



    As for the other two leads:

    I can confirm I am not affected by the Windows update issue as I don't see the diagnostic positive indicator mentioned in the article nor did anything ever disappear for me.

    Re: the final lead: I am not on network, so the MUP issue does not seem likely and I am 99% certain this is not relevant in my case.

    I am wondering however, whether my unique user profile name convention might affect things; that is my name with periods and a space "J.D. Haltigan" ...

    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Thu May 19, 2022 08:35 AM
    Edited by System Fri January 20, 2023 04:22 PM
    Hi John,

    Yes it does not sound like a MUP issue. It may as you mentioned have to do with your path having spaces and periods in the directory name. One way to test that will be to create another account on that same machine. Instead of "J.D. Haltigan", use your Administrator account to create a new one with no periods or spaces in the name. Something like "JDHaltigan" or "JD_Haltigan". Then try and execute Statistics while logged in to that account. If it doesn't work we can schedule a call for sometime early next week.

    Best,
    Curtis

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Thu May 19, 2022 05:22 PM

    Thanks, Curtis.

    I am wondering however: If I just update my UA from within control panel to change the name, will it update the folder associated with it accordingly? This way I would not need to create another UA to troubleshoot the problem.



    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Thu May 19, 2022 06:46 PM
    Yes you can certainly try that. Then check the userprofile directory from a command prompt to confirm:

    echo %userprofile%

    Best,
    Curtis

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Thu May 19, 2022 07:30 PM
    Thanks, Curtis. I am a bit tentative on this only because I lost some R scripts the other night playing around with changing file attribute settings on my original folder. If I simply renamed the folder, I am wondering if that would cause all sorts of unnecessary havoc?

    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Thu May 19, 2022 08:25 PM
    Well: I created another UA and get the same issue noted in the tracer:


    Statistics Trace Log: 2022-05-19 20:19:36

    Time (ms): FreeMem (K): Description:

    --------- ----------- -----------

    CrashReportMgr mIsDoDetect=true
    Running Client Before
    file.encoding == Cp1252
    user.language ==en
    Virtual R has been created
    Launching splash screen
    The extensions will not be installed
    Cannot create directory: C:\Users\SPSSAnon\AppData\Roaming\IBM\SPSS Statistics\28\Python39
    Virtual Python create successfully
    Application: Stats On-Prem UI Client
    Running Client
    Starting thread
    Sending Segment Data

    Statistics Trace Log: 2022-05-19 20:19:39

    Time (ms): FreeMem (K): Description:

    --------- ----------- -----------

    ------------------------------
    John Haltigan
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Unable to create folder at startup

    Posted Fri May 20, 2022 12:05 PM
    Thanks for trying John. I will reach out to you privately to possibly schedule an online call where we can look at your system with you.

    ------------------------------
    Curtis Browning
    SPSS Statistics Architect
    ------------------------------