[12.0.191 Pro] SSMS 18.10 on Windows 11 freeze on startup

[12.0.191 Pro] SSMS 18.10 on Windows 11 freeze on startup

Hi all,
I have a problem with the SQL-Assistant on my Windows 11 computer. After an update from SQL Assistant 11.x to 12.0.191.0 SSMS V18.10 freezes when starting.
The only option I have is to uninstall the SQL Assistant - then the SSMS runs fine again.
After uninstalling, I deleted all files and registry entries from SQL Assistant and tried a clean installation again. What's weird is - that most of the time it all works after "clean install" on first times. A few days later the SSMS freezes again when starting.
I have also repaired all the "Microsoft Visual C++ xxxx Redistributable" packages. Unfortunately without success.
Anyone can help here?
Thanks!

Regards
Frankie

Hi Frankie. Let's start with a basic check first. Could you please run the self-diagnostics utility and share it's output? It can be started manually or using the hyperlink available at the bottom of the About tab in the main Options dialog.

Second, if you see it working after a clean install, but then progressing, it's highly unlikely to be a software conflict issue, like version of Redistributable packages. When kind of messages do you see in SSMS when it freezes on startup? Is it referring to MEF cache refreshing or something similar?

Hi,

I did a clean install again today. Here is the log-file:

Quote:

*************************************************************
* SQL Assistant files *
*************************************************************
Installation directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\SQL Assistant 12
SQL Assistant version: 12.0.191
bin\SqlAssist.exe ... OK
bin\SqlEditor.exe ... OK
bin64\SqlEditor.exe ... OK
bin\sacmd.exe ... OK
bin64\sacmd.exe ... OK
bin\sareg.exe ... OK
bin\saddl.exe ... OK
bin\sascan.exe ... OK
bin64\sascan.exe ... OK
bin\sqleditor_std.exe ... OK
bin\saDiag.exe ... OK
bin64\saDiag.exe ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.dll ... OK
bin64\SqlAssist.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssistPrefs.dll ... OK
bin64\SqlAssistPrefs.dll ... OK
bin\sqlite3.dll ... OK
bin\saResDrk.dll ... OK
bin\saResLgt.dll ... OK
bin64\sqlite3.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.mwb64.dll ... OK
SqlAssist.pdf ... NOT FOUND
config\SqlAssist.sas ... OK
config\SqlAssist.setup.sas ... OK
config\SqlAssistDTMap.xml ... OK
config\dbdiagram.themes ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.DocMng.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Sms.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.vs.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.vs.14.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssistPrefs.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Dbm.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Ase.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Dex.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Mso.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.mwb.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.mwb4.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Ase4.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Dex4.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.DDL.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.re.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.Plugins.dll ... INCORRECT VERSION: 12.0.175
bin\SqlAssist.Sms.Bars.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2005.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2005Ent.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2005Std.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2008.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2008R2.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2012.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2014.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2016.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2017.dll ... OK
bin\SqlAssist.SSMS2019.dll ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit.dll ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit9.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit10.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit11.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit12.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit14.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit15.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit16.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit17.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit18.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit19.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit20.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit21.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit22.bpl ... OK
bin\SA_SqlEdit23.bpl ... OK
bin\git-credential-winstore.exe ... OK

*************************************************************
* User registration *
*************************************************************
Access rights: not elevated
UAC Level: DEFAULT NOTIFICATION (2)
Registration mode: Current User
All users serial ... YES
Current user serial ... YES

*************************************************************
* COM Objects (x86) *
*************************************************************
Loading SqlAssist.Dbm.DbManager... OK
Loading SqlAssist.DDLLoader... OK
Loading SqlAssist.saRegExpr... OK
Loading SqlAssist.CSqlClient... OK
Loading SqlAssist.CSmsAddin... OK
Loading SqlAssist.CSmsAddin10... FAILED
Error = 0x80070002: Das System kann die angegebene Datei nicht finden.

Loading SqlAssist.MySQLWBAddin... OK
Loading SqlAssist.MySQLWBAddin4... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.Editor... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.DbManager... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Dex.XtraBars... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Dex.DotNetBars... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Mso.Addin... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.Editor... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.DbManager... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Dex.XtraBars... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.ToadDocumentManager... OK
Loading SqlAssist.Ase.ToadDocumentManager... OK

*************************************************************
* SQL Assistant Add-ons *
*************************************************************
SSMS 2005 COM ... NO REGISTRATION INFO
SSMS 2008 COM ... NO REGISTRATION INFO
SSMS 2012 PCKG ... NOT REGISTERED
SSMS 2014 PCKG ... NOT REGISTERED
SSMS 2016 PCKG ... NOT REGISTERED
SSMS 2017 PCKG ... NOT REGISTERED
SSMS 2019 PCKG ... REGISTERED
SSMS 2012 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
SSMS 2014 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
SSMS 2016 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
SSMS 2017 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
SSMS 2019 MEF ... REGISTERED

VS 2005 ... NOT REGISTERED
VS 2008 ... NOT REGISTERED
VS 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 COM Add-on ... NOT REGISTERED
VS 2010 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
VS 2012 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
VS 2013 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
VS 2015 MEF ... TARGET NOT INSTALLED
VS 2017 MEF ... NOT REGISTERED
VS 2019 MEF ... NOT REGISTERED

MS Access ... NOT REGISTERED

Delphi 2005 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi 2006 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi 2007 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi 2009 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi 2010 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 2 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 3 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 4 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 5 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 6 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 7 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 8 ... NOT INSTALLED
Delphi XE 10 ... NOT INSTALLED

SQL Assistant diagnostics completed ... WITH ERRORS

When SSMS freeze on startup, I had there no error message or something else. The app hangs only with "no response".
Thanks.

Regards
Frankie

Thank you. This is helpful. I'm not seeing anything striking.

Next time when it freezes, please try the following:
Terminate SSMS
Delete C:\Users\<your>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\SQL Server Management Studio\18.0_IsoShell\ComponentModelCache
Restart SSMS

Does that help?

Hi,

my problem ist back this morning.
Delete ComponentModelCache will not help - SSMS restarted and also a restart of my machine doesn't makes it better.
Any other things i can do?
Thanks for your help.

Regards

Please search for ComponentModelCache folders, there could be multiple copies in different places.

My Windows search found these location:
C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\17.0_c247486c\ComponentModelCache
C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\16.0_ed631eb4\ComponentModelCache
C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\SQL Server Management Studio\18.0_IsoShell\ComponentModelCache

I think the Visual Studio pathes have nothing to do with SSMS. I deleted them anyway.
The problem ist still there.

Please disable Handle Exceptions option in SQL Assistant settings for SSMS. See if that helps.
If it doesn't, disable the Document Manager feature, set Active option to No in the settings for the Document Manager. See if that helps.

Hi,
my problem is back on my new notebook. Is there anything else what I can do?
Also, reinstallation of SQL-Assistant will not help.
When I rename the folder "C:\Program Files (x86)\SQL Assistant 12" the SSMS will open in 2 seconds without any problems.
Thanks.
Regards
Frankie

Do you see any warnings or alerts in your anti-virus program about it blocking something around the time of SSMS starting?
Something looks suspicious to me. If SSMS is unable to load an odd-on, it automatically disables it and doesn't attempt to load again. So if you rename a folder as you said, and then start SSMS, it should disable SQL Assistant add-on and don't try loading it next time, not until the add-on gets re-registered. I suggest to check if your antivirus is interfering, and then re-register the add-on: disable and re-enable the add-on for SSMS in SQL Assistant's options dialog on the Targets tab (Register... -> No -> Apply, Register... -> Yes, and then Apply again)

I do not have any 3rd party virusscanner or something like that. Only Windows Defender is running.
SSMS will not disable the Addon. Because when I rename the folder back to the normal name and start SSMS, the problem is back.

Are you able to start SSMS in Run as Administrator mode?

When I start SSMS as admin I have the same problem.
It's also weird that some days everything works and other days it doesn't. It's incomprehensible to me.
At first I thought the problem was due to the VPN connections, which are sometimes established and sometimes not... Even if all connections are established, I have the problem.
Is there anything else I can check?

I would suggest running SSMS with the -log parameter and checking for logged errors as

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 18\Common7\IDE\Ssms.exe" -log C:\temp\ssms.log

To make it easier, you can create a shortcut for SSMS with parameters so that you don't need to start it from command line manually and remember them.

Hello,
Unfortunately, my problem with SSMS freezing at startup is still not resolved.
I currently have SSMS v 19.0.2 and SQL Assistant 12.3.427 installed.
A few days ago I discovered by chance what the problem was. Basically, I only ever had the problem when working from home. Never in the company. The cause is my screens – for whatever reason. I'll try to explain this...
In my home office I have 2 screens connected to my laptop via a docking station (HP Elite USB-C Dock G4). The two screens are to the right of the laptop and have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 - scaling 125% (I don't know if that's relevant). My laptop screen is usually off when I work from home. If I have both screens activated then my SSMS freezes when starting up. If I deactivate the right screen via the display settings and then start the SSMS, it works without any problems. After starting the SSMS, I can turn the right screen on again and the SSMS continues to run without any problems.
I'm glad now that I have a workaround... but I hope you can help me.
Thank you.

Regards
Frankie

Screen settings

Freezed SSMS