Snipping Tool problem, again...

[hasiel]

My Vista is updated to the end of December 2015.

I notice when I reboot my desktop, in order to get Snipping Tool to execute correctly, I have to try twice.

On the first try, I get an error message saying that Snipping Tool isn't working and that I should reboot the computer.
I don't reboot, and Snipping Tool executes on the second try.

Everytime I reboot the computer, I have to try two times to get Snipping Tool to work.

I remember having a similar problem several months ago and found out on a forum, by deleting a windows update file, the problem was solved.

Help is always appreciated.
Hasiel in frosty AB

 

[MilesAhead]

It sounds like it could be caused by the update noted in this post:
http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/303012-snipping-tool-not-working.html#post1399960

 

[hasiel]

Thanks
I checked and that update isnt in my update history. Maybe I deleted it and solved the problem last time. Maybe a recent update or something else. No mention of it in recent searches I have conducted using Bing and G

 

[MilesAhead]

Unfortunately with Windows Updates, unless you get a hit where someone traced down which update causes what problem, it ends up being a process of elimination. Try doing a clean boot and see if the snipping tool launches on the first time.

I could not find if the snipping tool depends on a particular service. It could be if that service is set to start manually it may take two kicks to get it to launch. If you can find out that this is the case you could try changing the service setting to Automatic Delayed Start. That is if you can find out which service it needs to have running.

 

[hasiel]

Unfortunately with Windows Updates, unless you get a hit where someone traced down which update causes what problem, it ends up being a process of elimination. Try doing a clean boot and see if the snipping tool launches on the first time.

I could not find if the snipping tool depends on a particular service. It could be if that service is set to start manually it may take two kicks to get it to launch. If you can find out that this is the case you could try changing the service setting to Automatic Delayed Start. That is if you can find out which service it needs to have running.

I see snipping tool (when i execute it) in my Processes tab, but not in my Services tab.
Is it part of TabletInputService, or ?

I remembering installing Snipping Tool years ago, and it was connected to something else that I did not expect.

 

[townsbg]

Control Panel -> Program and Features -> Turn Windows Features on and off. Uncheck Tablet PC Optional Components and hit apply. After that is done go back in and check tablet pc optional components and then try snipping tool again. You can also try a restore point from before the point that snipping tool was last working.

 

[MilesAhead]

Another thing you can do if townsbg's suggestion does not work, is verify which service changed by running a program that puts out a report of the state of all services, before and after you launch snipping tool. Then enter the files in a "diff" program to zero in on what is different. It may seem like a lot of work but it could be a generally useful technique rather than gazing at the services list for 20 minutes trying to pick out what is different.

A free program that outputs a nice report on the state of services is LookInMyPC

There are many free diff programs for Windows. One is WinMerge

Edit: In the general case where you cannot find which services a program depends on, you could get a state of services report, then run the program, then get another services report. At least it would show the services that were manually started by the program. A bit of detective work but sometimes there's no easier way.

Edit2: Also there are 3rd party Task Manager programs and dependency walker utilities that can analyze the application exe and find out what services or DLLs it uses.

 

[hasiel]

Control Panel -> Program and Features -> Turn Windows Features on and off. Uncheck Tablet PC Optional Components and hit apply. After that is done go back in and check tablet pc optional components and then try snipping tool again. You can also try a restore point from before the point that snipping tool was last working.

Tried to do what you suggest, above. After I unchecked tablet pc opt. comp., nothing happened and left if for more than an hour. Read that this too was a common Vista problem with corrupted files. Doing a sfc /scannow to see if my story changes.