MySQL Bugs: #74109: Improve usability when Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable is missing (fatals)

Bug #74109	Improve usability when Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable is missing (fatals)
Submitted:	26 Sep 2014 14:28	Modified:	15 Dec 2014 9:10
Reporter:	Joerg I.	Email Updates:
Status:	Won't fix	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Workbench	Severity:	S1 (Critical)
Version:	6.2.3	OS:	Windows (Windows 8.1, 64 bit)
Assigned to:		CPU Architecture:	Any
Tags:	crash, Fatal, startup

Description:
I am running Windows 8.1 64 bit.

I downloaded the zip file in order to run Workbench. However, it does not work.

After extracting the package, when I double click Workbench.exe, nothing seems to happen. Especially no window opens.

Afterwards, I have these two entries in the Windows error log:

Description: The process was finished due to an unhandled exception.
System.IO.FileNotFoundException
at MySQL.GUI.Workbench.Program.Main(System.String[])
Event ID is 1026

The second error is:
Event ID 1000
Name of the failing application: MySQLWorkbench.exe
Name of the failing module: KERNELBASE.dll
Exceptioncode: 0xe0434352
Path of the failing module: C:\WINDOWS\system32\KERNELBASE.dll

How to repeat:
I notice this is the first time that 64 bit packages of Workbench are available. 
Before, I have always used the 32 bit packages and they worked correctly.

The error happens with both(!), the 32 bit and the 64 bit version of Workbench 6.2.3.

(Version 6.1.7 worked and for me still works as expected.)

Thank you for the bug report. I couldn't repeat, maybe the path where you extracted the zip file has non English symbols?. Thanks.

No, for 64 and 32 bit, I both times used the default paths (respectively):

C:\Program Files
C:\Program Files (x86)

Same problem both times.

(The old 32 bit version always worked correctly from C:\Program Files (x86).)

Have you installed the MSVC2013 redistributables?

I have installed these packages:
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable 32 bit (several different versions)
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable 64 bit (several different versions)
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable 32 bit
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable 64 bit

No 2013 package there. Do I need that? Previous versions of Workbench nicely worked without that...

Alright, I have installed Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable now and Workbench starts and works. Thanks for the pointer!

Anyway, current usability in case of missing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables is really bad. If Workbench cannot start because of missing MSVC, then currently there is _nothing helpful_ at all. Not even an error message - nothing.

If I had one wish, then I would like to at least get a proper error message!

Thank you for the bug report.

See also http://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=74227

-- Peter
-- not a MySQL/Oracle eprson

The main problem is that you used the zip package, not the installer. The installer would have told you what is missing (and even leads you to the download page). The zip package cannot do that and WB cannot show an error message if one of the dependencies is missing, because it doesn't even get started.

So, the solution is: use the installer. The zip package will be deprecated and will disappear sooner or later.