FreeCommander Forum

After not being able to alleviate an issue with FC I decided to do a clean installation.
All in all it took me 9+ hours, so I would only suggest this alternative as an option of last resort.

Just so it's mentioned, when re-installing it is important to observe the following:

Prior to uninstalling FC, save all settings and copy this backup to another folder for later use.
The backup can be found under C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\FreeCommander\Settings
I also recommend recording your settings. Using the FC screen shot function is extremely useful for this, albeit some information must be recorded separetly, for example when entries in the text fields are so long that the content cannot be completely captured within a screen shot.

After uninstalling FC it is advisable to delete the following folders:
C:\Programs\FreeCommander XE
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\FreeCommanderXE

Especially the last folder should be deleted as it contains all the .ini files (configuration) for FC. More than likely these files are responsible for any issues.

Reboot and install FC. Then reinstate the desired settings manually. Don't just copy the backed up .ini files into the Settings folder.

An example:

upon comparing my FreeCommander.mren.ini files I discovered in my old version two form sections
[fcFormMultiRename] and [fcFormMultiRename_1]

This is not so in the new version, there is only [fcFormMultiRename] to be found.

I believe to know the cause.

It is common practice to test FC with default settings. My suggestion is to do as follows:

in an elevated command promp
first change path to
cd C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Temp

thereafter execute command to create new ini file and start FC
"C:\Program Files\FreeCommander XE\FreeCommander.exe" /N /NewIni=FreeCommanderTest.ini /NoPlugins /Lng=English

Without changing the path to another folder, executing FreeCommander with default settings can lead to modifications (corruption) of the .ini files in C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\FreeCommanderXE

I'm open to suggestions regarding the above.

Best regards,

FreeCommander XE 2021 Build 845 64-bit donor
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Version 20H2 Build 19042.870

My suggestions:

Report a bug, send the freecommander.ini file to Marek.

FC has an integrated backup feature, so you can try to use the settings from backup first, or even own backup.

https://freecommander.com/en/faq-settin ... ngs-backup

With portable version backup is even easier.

AFAIK, if the settings are in one folder, so reinstall is not necessary, just copy/paste Settings folder and try to delete freecommander.ini file while FC is closed.

FAQ - Where are the setting files placed?

If you have the old corrupted ini file and the new ini file, you can compare them, e.g. in PSPad.

You can even try to copy/paste parts from corrupted to new ini file, while FC is closed, always re-open the FC, test if you have the issue or not, close FC, add more lines... First you can copy first 50% of the lines, if you have the problem, copy first 25% of lines, if you don't have the problem, it must be between 25% and 50%, then copy 10 lines from 25%, test, next 10 lines - and if you find the groups, add lines one by one, until you find the line causing the problem. It's not easy, but it helped me few times, not just with the FC.

Sometime the problem can be in other file, not in freecommander.ini, I had a problem with corrupted .lay file, so you can do the same, add the ini files from backup one by one, until you find the corrupted one.

As I said, it's not easy, but it should not take 9 hours and could be the only solution, if you're using lot of custom settings, shortcuts, defined programs, auto views etc.

One more hint, backup, backup, backup - if the program is working good, backup the settings to a separate Backup folder from time to time, add a date to folder name, like "Settings 2021-03-25" and always maintain few backups.

Backup is one of the reasons, why I'm using 99% portable programs.

Good free programs for backup:
Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition - to backup whole system drive - C: - even while Windows is running
SyncBackFree - to backup individual folders/files.

Once you setup the programs to auto-create backups, you don't have to do nothing, just copy the backup to external disk from time to time, this disk should not be connected to PC, just when creating a backup.

Hey Dreamer,
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Dreamer wrote: 25.03.2021, 21:39 ...
Report a bug, send the freecommander.ini file to Marek.
...

I don't believe it to be a bug. For me it's logical that if starting FC with default settings and not changing the path before execution, the default AppData folder will be used. When I start an elevated prompt, I'm in Windows\system32 folder.

In regards to comparing .ini files, it might take less time, but for me personally it would be more nerve racking. Errors in an .ini file can be so minute. Others might find it to be a better solution than a clean install, especially as you mentioned using lots of custom settings, shortcuts, defined programs, auto views etc.

Dreamer wrote: 25.03.2021, 21:39 ...
One more hint, backup, backup, backup ...

I agree with you 100%! I've long been a proponent of using backups in general. Even without any special backup software, I find it very easy to make and secure backups of FC.

Best regards,

Odamn-Ete wrote: 27.03.2021, 09:44I don't believe it to be a bug. For me it's logical that if starting FC with default settings and not changing the path before execution, the default AppData folder will be used.

This is not a bug, I meant your initial issue:

Odamn-Ete wrote: 27.03.2021, 09:44After not being able to alleviate an issue with FC I decided to do a clean installation.

BTW You can reset settings also in menu - Tools - Restore all settings.