App "Unable to Start Correctly" Error 0xc000007b

[Gene1000]

I tried many times and on three different computers to open any one of the plugin executible (exe) files in the GIMP plugin folder in order to extract the plugins's dll file. I keep getting an error message stating that the "application is unable to start correctly" and nothing happens. The error code given is 0xc000007b. Please see the attached picture. 

I've tried everything including removiing and reinstalling versions of Microsoft Visual C ++, updating the NVIDIA drivers, reinstalling GIMP, installing various dll files and other things. No luck.

I'm assuming that if I can extract the dll files from their respective exe files in the GIMP plugin folder (about 130 of them) and then install them in that folder, that I will be able to add these plugins in GIMP. Am I assuming correctly? 

Has anyone experienced this issue and if so, have can you provide a fix?

Thanks for the help.

[Tas_mania]

I would say the 'exe' files are compiled binaries, not archives like a 'zip' file. The 'dll' files are libraries used by the exe files and are not usually contained within them

[rich2005]

These are Gimp plugins. They do not run independently. They must run within the Gimp framework and started from the appropriate Gimp menu.

If you want to inspect the code, ...you can download it (all) https://download.gimp.org/mirror/pub/gim...20.tar.bz2 it will be in there somewhere.

[Gene1000]

Thanks guys.

Normally, double clicking plugin exe files, like the ones in the GIMP plugin folder, should open them to one or more dll files. Copying those dlls to the GIMP plugins folder should activate the plugin. This works for every other plugin exe except for the ones in the GIMP plugins folder. In my case, double clicking on these does nothing.

Rich, if I understand your explaination correctly, then the individual plugin folders in the GIMP plugin folder are themselves, dlls?
I notice that numerous individual plugins (folders) in GIMP do not show up in the program itself as plugins. They are not listed at all. This is why I assumed that the individual folders need to be opened and executed.

Why are there exe files in the GIMP plugin folders if they cannot be executed? Where are the individual dll plugin files? Do I load additional plugin dlls that I download....into the GIMP plugin folder? There are no dlls shown in that folder. Would they be in the Windows System 32 folder?

So how to I add more external plugins into GIMP?

[rich2005]

Oh....you are very new to Gimp...

Gimp is developed in linux, (no dll's there) and much of Gimp is based on the plugin concept.  You have already found the Windows installation directory, C:\Program Files\GIMP 2\lib\gimp\2.0\plug-ins Best thing to do with that is leave it alone. If a plugin has a dependency (maybe in Windows, a dll) it will be in the main Gimp bin folder.

There is another folder for Gimp User added plugins C:\Users\"yourname"\AppData\Roaming\GIMP\2.10\plug-ins  A plugin can be compiled or it might be a script, Gimp accepts python script as a plugin somename.py  Either of those, compiled or python, go in that folder.  These are accessed via the Gimp menu.

There is the occasional Gimp plugin that has additional dependencies. A good example of this is the gimp_gmic_qt plugin http://www.gmic.eu That has a raft of QT dependencies, QT is usually present in linux but not in Windows. The plugin comes with those dependencies as dll files. All installed in a single folder in the User plug-ins folder. Still the same in Gimp, it is accessed from the Gimp menu. Install that and have a look.

It is not impossible to run a plugin via command line but it still uses Gimp. it is not stand-alone. This example from the Gimp documents

Code:

gimp -i -b '(simple-unsharp-mask "foo.png" 5.0 0.5 0)' -b '(gimp-quit 0)'

Quote:... notice that numerous individual plugins (folders) in GIMP do not show up in the program itself as plugins. They are not listed at all. This is why I assumed that the individual folders need to be opened and executed.

Why do you say that? Your example "cartoon.exe" is in the Gimp Menu: Filters -> Artistic -> Cartoon (legacy)

[Gene1000]

Thanks, Rich. I'm not new to computers, but as you said, I'm very new to GIMP. 

I had already installed the G'MI-qt plugins about a week ago. Quite a bunch of filters. As you indicated, they install under "App Data/Roaming".

Depending on weather I install GIMP for all users or just myself, GIMP files will wind up either under Program Files or under my user name/App Data/Roaming. This is understandable. 

I'm familiar with the scripts and python folders. I experimented with moving some external dlls to those folders just to see what happens. Obviously nothing did. 

Yes, "Cartoon" does show up in the GIMP filter menu. But apparently others in the plugins folder and in the python folder do not seem to...unless they are listed under a different name in the GIMP filter menu. Some examples would be Colorify, Guillotine and numerous others. 

Can I assume that the executable files in the GIMP plugin folder are the actual GIMP plugins themselves? I'm simply trying to understand. 

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.

[Ofnuts]

(09-02-2020, 08:45 PM)Gene1000 Wrote: Can I assume that the executable files in the GIMP plugin folder are the actual GIMP plugins themselves? I'm simply trying to understand.

Yes. In fact they are not always .EXE files, they can also be .PY files (Python source code for the Python interpreter)

[rich2005]

Quote:.. But apparently others in the plugins folder and in the python folder do not seem to...unless they are listed under a different name in the GIMP filter menu. Some examples would be Colorify, Guillotine and numerous others. ..

The python menu entry brings up a python console, used for manually entering commands (for testing / debugging) and a procedure browser to find those commands.

Stick with the regular menus until familiar with how Gimp works.
One of those you mentioned 'Guillotine'  How do you find it ? It is tucked away in the Image -> Transform menu. (Edit: Oops; used to be there, the one shown in the screenshot is a plugin I added, guillotine has moved to Image -> Slice using Guides. as this https://i.imgur.com/c5Rr9B4.jpg )  There is a plugin browser Help -> Plug-in Browser Type in a (partial) search term and it shows the location in the menu structure:  screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/8BZuHxi.jpg

That also applies to plugins you have installed. As an example a python plugin, one way is examine the script, it defines where the menu entry is placed or again use the plugin browser. Not all menu entries are plugins. Types can be identified in the menu structure by their icons (or lack of icon) At present there are the individual compiled or python plugin and then GEGL filters built into the Gimp system. screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/SQRgxBG.jpg

If stuck, Gimp 2.10 has a search facility, press the (forward slash) / key  enter a search term, click on an item to launch it. screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/omjZqzi.jpg