Closing User Preferences window crashes Blender; triggers "Error: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" #45422

System Information
Windows 8.1 Pro
i7-4790 CPU @ 3.6GHz
16 GB RAM
GTX 770 2GB
I built this computer myself.
There are two monitors:
Primary: 2550 by 1440, arranged on the right. Connected through DVI to my Graphics Card.
Secondary: 1920 by 1080, arranged on the left. Connected through HDMI to my Graphics Card.

Blender Version
Broken: 2.75a
Worked: N/A
I tried 2.57b to see if the error was present back then. It didn't crash blender when I closed the User Preferences window, but when I later quit Blender, it would crash instead of exiting normally. This crash did not happen without first opening the User Preferences window.

Short description of error
Opening User Preferences from the file menu and then closing it crashes Blender. When I opened it from the command line, I saw "Error: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" appear at the moment that the close button was clicked. This also occurs if I open a duplicate window with Window->Duplicate Window; closing the new window triggers the same crash and error message.

I open Blender with --factory-startup, and the results are the same. I have also tried both the .zip download, and the installer version, as well as deleting the Blender Foundation folder in Program Files and installing fresh. I also found a [bug report with the same apparent error ]], where someone posted a software OpenGL DLL. It did not fix the issue (but the UI was slow, so I know I used it right). [ https:*developer.blender.org/T42464 | This bug report also appears to document the same issue, though on OSX.

The issue does not occur in a Debian VirtualBox instance, on the same computer. I could also not reproduce the error on a different computer, my MacBook.

Here is my system-info.txt: system-info.txt

Also, this may not be relevant, but when I open Blender from the command line, I get the message "AL lib: (EE) UpdateDeviceParams: Failed to set 44100hz, got 48000hz instead".

Exact steps for others to reproduce the error
Open User Preferences window, close User Preferences window. Error occurs.

**System Information** Windows 8.1 Pro i7-4790 CPU @ 3.6GHz 16 GB RAM GTX 770 2GB I built this computer myself. There are two monitors: Primary: 2550 by 1440, arranged on the right. Connected through DVI to my Graphics Card. Secondary: 1920 by 1080, arranged on the left. Connected through HDMI to my Graphics Card. **Blender Version** Broken: 2.75a Worked: N/A I tried 2.57b to see if the error was present back then. It didn't crash blender when I closed the User Preferences window, but when I later quit Blender, it would crash instead of exiting normally. This crash did not happen without first opening the User Preferences window. **Short description of error** Opening User Preferences from the file menu and then closing it crashes Blender. When I opened it from the command line, I saw "Error: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" appear at the moment that the close button was clicked. This also occurs if I open a duplicate window with Window->Duplicate Window; closing the new window triggers the same crash and error message. I open Blender with --factory-startup, and the results are the same. I have also tried both the .zip download, and the installer version, as well as deleting the Blender Foundation folder in Program Files and installing fresh. I also found a [bug report with the same apparent error ]], where someone posted a software OpenGL DLL. It did not fix the issue (but the UI was slow, so I know I used it right). [[ https:*developer.blender.org/T42464 | This bug report ](https:*developer.blender.org/T44626) also appears to document the same issue, though on OSX. The issue does not occur in a Debian VirtualBox instance, on the same computer. I could also not reproduce the error on a different computer, my MacBook. Here is my system-info.txt: [system-info.txt](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F206768/system-info.txt) Also, this may not be relevant, but when I open Blender from the command line, I get the message "AL lib: (EE) UpdateDeviceParams: Failed to set 44100hz, got 48000hz instead". **Exact steps for others to reproduce the error** Open User Preferences window, close User Preferences window. Error occurs.

Changed status to: 'Open'

Added subscriber: @Zeliss

Oh, and I also tried changing the 3D Viewport to User Preferences (not opening a new window) and changing it back. This did not induce the crash.

Added subscriber: @JacobMerrill-1

I read about this in the game engine section,

delete your imported preferences

Added subscriber: @mont29

Most likely a GPU/driver issue, can you please:

Try to disable any running antivirus.
Try the latest build from our buildbot.
Try to tweak OGL settings in UserPreferences, System tab.
Try to tweak your GPU driver settings (e.g. try different values between 'performance' and 'quality' if you have such slider, etc.).

PS: The 'AL lib' line is just info/warning about audio stuff, nothing to worry about really.

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Archived'

No news since one week…

I have no running antivirus.
No luck with the latest build.
No luck with tweaking OpenGL settings in user prefs.
No luck from changing my GPU driver settings.

:/

For posterity: I built a debug release of Blender, attached a debugger, and triggered the crash.

It appears that GHOST_WindowWin32::bringTabletContextToFront uses GetProcAddress to retrieve the ""WTOverlap" function and call it. Somewhere along the line (I don't have symbols for it) this triggers an access violation. When I removed wintab32.dll from my C:\Windows\System32 folder and rebooted, the problem went away, since Blender would no longer load that library and trigger the bad call. Perhaps the call should be wrapped in a try/catch?

I don't fully remember, but I would not be surprised if this problem started immediately after I installed tablet drivers.

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Closing User Preferences window crashes Blender; triggers "Error: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" #45422