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Could it be my computer? - Printable Version

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Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-08-2018

Since I used gimp last - this time yesterday now. I can not open any images in gimp except native files. I cannot save them either except again as xcf's. 
I thought maybe something was wrong with my gimp so I deleted it. Installed a new one. Restarted my computer and nothing has changed. A scan doesn't show any viruses. What could be the problem?

RE: Could it be my computer? - Ofnuts - 08-08-2018

Did you erase/rename your profile? Looks like all your file* plugins got disabled.

RE: Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-08-2018

Did none of that. I just downloaded a portable and it is working fine

RE: Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-08-2018

What would have I done to disable some of the plugins? I didn't erase/rename my profile.
I did however overwrite the plugins that were in the user folder from the ones I did a week ago. Could that have done it?
Select to path isn't working either. I haven't tried most other stuff, I only found that out because I wanted to see if I could create something new and export it as a png which I couldn't with the gimp on my desktop.

RE: Could it be my computer? - Ofnuts - 08-08-2018

(08-08-2018, 01:46 PM)sallyanne Wrote: Did none of that. I just downloaded a  portable and it is working fine

On the contrary you did.... the portable version short-circuited your "standard" Gimp profile (because it uses another location), so you started with a fresh profile. Using the standard Gimp after erasing/renaming your profile would have done the same thing.

No, the day the Gimp profile of the portable version is hosed, what will you do? Find another portable version that keeps the profile elsewhere?

RE: Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-11-2018

First thing I did after finding gimp not opening images was to delete gimp on my desktop and download another...maybe I created a new profile then but that wouldn't have been the previous cause.

I dowloaded the portable to a portable Hard drive and didn't do it until I found the other one not opening images Sad

Are you saying even though we were told it is supposed to all be all in the same place it was first downloaded it isn't? Huh (shock, horror)

Sorry Ofnuts I hate to question those who I am asking help from but I don't understand when it is supposed to be separate?

RE: Could it be my computer? - Ofnuts - 08-11-2018

Gimp works with two sets of files:
  • All the files form the Gimp installation. These are shared between users of the same computer
  • The Gimp profile, which is specific to one user. This where Gimp keeps things for you (brushes, additional scripts, etc...)
On the regular Gimp versions, the installation is in C:\Program files\... and the profile is in your user data (C:\Users\yourID...). When you reinstall Gimp, you profile is not deleted, so the new installation re-uses the profile from the previous installation. After reinstalling Gimp you are left with exactly the same file as before, in the installation because you replaced Gimp version N by the same version N, and in your profile because it wasn't changed. If the problem came from your profile (and it usually does), since nothing really changed, the problem is still there and reinstalling Gimp didn't fix anything.

In the "portable" version, everything (Gimp installation and user profile) is kept together. The portable version uses its own user profile and never tries to look for a profile from the regular version. So when you install it, you get a new profile, and if you "reinstall" it, you get a new profile too (oops... where did all by brushes go?). So installing/re-installing a portable version fixes problems that come from the profile.

However, with both regular and portable version, there is a much quicker way to fix problems with the profile. Just locate the directory and rename it. Then restart Gimp. Gimp will create a new profile and everything should work again. Then you can copy the useful bits of your old profile into the new one (brushes, gradients, scripts....).

Windows users are used to fix things by re-installing, because instead of using directory to keep user data, Windows applications store many things in the "registry", which is a database which isn't very easy to backup/restore, and is rarely documented anyway. Re-installing usually rewrites the whole registry data and this fixes things.

TL;DR: if you get a flat tire, do you get a new car?

RE: Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-11-2018

Thanks for the explanation from a 'simple' user.

RE: Could it be my computer? - sallyanne - 08-12-2018

By directory do you mean the profile or the place in 'Program files' where it was installed?

I just changed the profile name and installation failed of my desktop gimp (I copied the error messages but could not save them). My portable will not even save xcf's now.

EDIT:
Looks like it was trying to move everything over from a 2,8 folder I still had in my primary folder. I got rid of it and 2.10 is opening and exporting ok now. Realized I still needed to move other things over as well.
Thank you Smile

RE: Could it be my computer? - rich2005 - 08-12-2018

Going back to the original question

Quote:..I can not open any images in gimp except native files. I cannot save them either except again as xcf's. 
I thought maybe something was wrong with my gimp so I deleted it. Installed a new one. Restarted my computer and nothing has changed.

Gimp is built around plugins, all open/export png/jpeg.. are plugins. If Gimp can not find the plugin location then not available. The path to that location is created when you first start Gimp. That is your Gimp profile. If that is corrupted somehow back to no open/export.

[attachment=2018]

Uninstall/reinstall Gimp does not work because the Gimp profile and any corrupted path remains. You need to disable/delete the Gimp profile so that a new clean Gimp profile is created.

A portable Gimp does not use that Gimp profile, it has its own version, kept with the portable files. That is how it is portable.

[attachment=2019]

If you have managed to break your portable version, congratulations. I would first check in the portable Gimp (samj's?) Edit -> Preferences -> Folders -> Plug-ins that the paths there correspond to what is actually on your computer.

Edit:
If you are using samj's version, some Windows batch files are provided. Look in the Preferences (the samj equivalent of the gimp profile) folder for clean.bat Run that and it deletes all the Gimp settings files. Should be equivalent to a first run of Gimp.