Aut2exe : Error copying source to destination file when compiling ?

[binbinhfr]

Hi,

sometimes, after a faulty run (the autoit compiled, but there was an error at runtime), at next compilation, I have this Aut2exe  error "Error copying source to destination file name_of_the_exe_file"

I cannot even delete the exe file under windows 10 : it says the file is opened. But I do not see it in the task list...

To solve it, I have to reboot the computer.

It seems that in some case, the exe file is "locked"

Do you know how to solve this without reboot ?

[Subz]

Have seen this behaviour in the past, in my case the AV was scanning the file for a long period of time and wouldn't allow me to delete until it had completed.  What was strange was that it occurred after I added a particular .ico file to the script, after changing the icon it worked.  Haven't seen the behaviour in a while now though.

My 2cents.

[binbinhfr]

Thanks for your answer.

But in my case, it should not be an AV problem, because the whole directory is set as an exception and never scanned...

[pseakins]

16 hours ago, binbinhfr said:

cannot even delete the exe file under windows 10

I can't speak for windows 10 but for sure the exe is still running, that's why you can't delete it. I have a hotkey script running permanently in my PC. I often get this issue when I forget to terminate it when recompiling a change. Sometimes MsgBox() windows from AutoIt can get hidden behind foreground windows and you may not notice this has happened.

EDIT: In my script I have executed AutoItSetOption("TrayIconHide", 0) and so there is no trace of the running script in taskmgr. I have setup a hotkey;  HotKeySet("^!{F5}", "TerminateMyScript") ; and use this to terminate the script. CTRL-ALT-F5.
 

Edited October 30, 2021 by pseakins
Noted in text.

[TheDcoder]

17 hours ago, binbinhfr said:

But in my case, it should not be an AV problem, because the whole directory is set as an exception and never scanned...

Don't trust the AV, in my experience exceptions are wonky and are a hit-or-miss most of the time, I have had many of my files quarantined even after adding an exception. It has been many years since I have used an AV so don't know if things have improved.

Try turning it off entirely, and maybe uninstall it to be 100% sure. If the issue doesn't occur, you have your answer.

[Nine]

In some situations, compiling may request a temp file in user folder.  You would need to also set the whole directory as an exception.

[Jos]

On 10/29/2021 at 10:18 AM, binbinhfr said:

because the whole directory is set as an exception and never scanned

Which directory did you exclude? 
Did you also exclude this directory: %localappdata%\AutoIt v3\Aut2exe ?
Did you check your AV logs for any activities?

[binbinhfr]

31 minutes ago, Jos said:

Which directory did you exclude? 
Did you also exclude this directory: %localappdata%\AutoIt v3\Aut2exe ?
Did you check your AV logs for any activities?

 

You're right, I forgot the aut2exe dir....  I included it now.

But I checked the AV logs : nothing about autoit or my program... (BTW teh AV already screams in the past as soon as I compiled a autoit prog, that's why I add some exceptions that solved the problem.

[Jos]

So does it work now? 
The %localappdata%\AutoIt v3\Aut2exe is used to store the tempfiles & binaries. The compiler has al kinds of PE header activities on these files, which is something AV software finds suspicious. 

[binbinhfr]

for the moment it works, but it's a rare bug.

It only happens if there is some kind of crash after compile/running.

Often when once runned, the program gives an error like "variable not yet defined" or something like that...

I'll tell you.

Thanks all for your help anyway.

[Jos]

20 minutes ago, binbinhfr said:

the program gives an error like "variable not yet defined" or something like that.

That is not the same thing as an issue at compilation time!  

[binbinhfr]

4 minutes ago, Jos said:

That is not the same thing as an issue at compilation time!  

The first issue is this one. And afterwards, I have a neverending issue at compilation time, about "cannot write EXE".

So the operation that "locks" the EXE is probably this first runtime error. It leaves something "hanging"... (maybe a driver, because I deal with opening MIDI drivers...)

Edited October 30, 2021 by binbinhfr

[Jos]

It is correct that you can't create a new EXE when the original one is locked, but that is again another issue. 
Try separating the issues and tackle them one at a time. 

 

[binbinhfr]

25 minutes ago, Jos said:

It is correct that you can't create a new EXE when the original one is locked, but that is again another issue. 
Try separating the issues and tackle them one at a time. 

 

read the top of my post : that is what I described : impossible to write the exe. Maybe I was not clear. Sorry english is not native to me.😉

And I don't know if it's really "locked". But I cannot delete it.

Edited October 30, 2021 by binbinhfr

[Jos]

No worries...  I did read before answering.  

So you need to figure out why your system is locking the file so you can delete/override it. Is it possible to rename the exe?

[binbinhfr]

no rename. Need to reboot, and then the file is deletable

[JockoDundee]

Next time when it happens go into resource monitor CPU and search the handles:

 

then you can “whack the pid”, as they say…

[binbinhfr]

7 hours ago, JockoDundee said:

Next time when it happens go into resource monitor CPU and search the handles:

then you can “whack the pid”, as they say…

It happens again yesterday. I did look at the handle using Process Explorer which is a quite precise tool from MS :

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

I found 4 reference to my EXE running. But impossible to kill any of the 4 tasks with the "kill" button...

Do you have a trick to kill them "harder" ?

Edited October 31, 2021 by binbinhfr

[JockoDundee]

15 minutes ago, binbinhfr said:

Do you have a trick to kill them "harder" ?

A few:

Try it here.

[binbinhfr]

51 minutes ago, JockoDundee said:

A few:

Try it here.

Thanks, I'll try it next time