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The Strange Version Viewer Window That Opens and Scans


Prokofy Neva
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For a long time it was a mystery to me -- this has gone on for years. These windows would open up in front of me as I flew around, teleported or just did nothing -- but usually when I moved -- and I couldn't quite see what they were. Why were they opening in the middle of the world? Like a browser within a browser.

Or like a command prompt window. I thought they were command prompt windows, so I thought, oh, there must be a way to get rid of those. Maybe I hit the wrong F button.

About 2-3 versions ago, all of a sudden I could see clearly what those windows were. All of a sudden, who knows why, these windows graphically display with green lettering and you can see what they say and are doing. Before it was a window, open, flash, black -- nothing. Now it is rendered in a better graphic way (or at least I can see it better but nothing in the graphics card changed).

They were boxes informing me that SL was scanning for "the latest version of the viewer" and then presumably if it found one, it would give me the message to download it while still inworld.

Now, I really, really don't need it to do that. Truly don't. Scans for new viewers are not required when I move to each sim. IT may have its own reasons for doing that? I don't need to know.

And sure, there are settings where you decide whether to get the news of the new viewer or not -- and trust me, I put those settings on "no".

But still I have those creepy windows opening all the time, executing, scanning, lagging me out, even crashing me, and then ceasing as they find no new viewer.

 

HOW CAN I MAKE IT STOP!

Edited by Prokofy Neva
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I'd thought something very similar - that Prokofy is a natural magnet for anything and everything that can pick on her lol.

The only time I ever see the sort of window as described - green lettering and all - is when the LL viewer is booting up, and they only started appearing quite recently. I never see them when I'm logged in, even though I have the viewer set to auto-download updated versions, so it either checks from time to time, or it is notified. When that happens and I am logged in, I am informed that a new version has been downloaded and ready for installation. It's my choice when to install it.

Edited by Phil Deakins
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11 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

For a long time it was a mystery to me -- this has gone on for years. These windows would open up in front of me as I flew around, teleported or just did nothing -- but usually when I moved -- and I couldn't quite see what they were. Why were they opening in the middle of the world? Like a browser within a browser.

Or like a command prompt window. I thought they were command prompt windows, so I thought, oh, there must be a way to get rid of those. Maybe I hit the wrong F button.

About 2-3 versions ago, all of a sudden I could see clearly what those windows were. All of a sudden, who knows why, these windows graphically display with green lettering and you can see what they say and are doing. Before it was a window, open, flash, black -- nothing. Now it is rendered in a better graphic way (or at least I can see it better but nothing in the graphics card changed).

They were boxes informing me that SL was scanning for "the latest version of the viewer" and then presumably if it found one, it would give me the message to download it while still inworld.

Now, I really, really don't need it to do that. Truly don't. Scans for new viewers are not required when I move to each sim. IT may have its own reasons for doing that? I don't need to know.

And sure, there are settings where you decide whether to get the news of the new viewer or not -- and trust me, I put those settings on "no".

But still I have those creepy windows opening all the time, executing, scanning, lagging me out, even crashing me, and then ceasing as they find no new viewer.

 

HOW CAN I MAKE IT STOP!

What you're seeing NOW (which you WEREN'T seeing before) are the pop-ups from the current 64-bit viewer which uses a launcher to load. You'll see them at initial log-in and if you're trying to go someplace from a SLURL from outside of Second Life (i.e. a link from Seraphim in a separate browser, etc.)

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27 minutes ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

What you're seeing NOW (which you WEREN'T seeing before) are the pop-ups from the current 64-bit viewer which uses a launcher to load. You'll see them at initial log-in and if you're trying to go someplace from a SLURL from outside of Second Life (i.e. a link from Seraphim in a separate browser, etc.)

That'll explain why I don't see them at all. LL is still catching up with it's Linux viewers.  I can wait, nothing missing that would make me give Microsoft or Apple a bent cent.

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13 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

this has gone on for years

2 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

What you're seeing NOW (which you WEREN'T seeing before) 

These seem contradictory. Also, if these windows are really appearing on simple region crossings, something is very, very wrong. As Theresa says, they do appear when the launcher is invoked from outside, like from the browser, even if the viewer is already running, but not at times anybody could mistake for random...

... unless there's something on the machine, trying to launch SL at random intervals. I have no idea what that something could be or whence it could have come, and no simple way comes to mind for detecting if that is what's even happening.

 

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5 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

These seem contradictory. Also, if these windows are really appearing on simple region crossings, something is very, very wrong. As Theresa says, they do appear when the launcher is invoked from outside, like from the browser, even if the viewer is already running, but not at times anybody could mistake for random...

... unless there's something on the machine, trying to launch SL at random intervals. I have no idea what that something could be or whence it could have come, and no simple way comes to mind for detecting if that is what's even happening.

 

The earlier "too-quick-to-read" windows were probably console windows popping up when media started:

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-11349

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I agree with Theresa.

On the older viewer versions, it sounds very much like you were seeing the console window flashing up whenever flash media was in the vicinity.
This was a really annoying bug for me & happily LL pulled in the fix from Firestorm in the Alex Ivy viewer, which is now in the default LL viewer release.

JIRA: BUG-11349 - On CEF viewers, the console window that opens on top of the world view should be hidden.
Look at the attached gifs on that JIRA to see if this is what you were seeing.
If you are using the latest LL viewer, you shouldn't be seeing this happen now - Tis fixed.

The new thing you are seeing sounds like the SL_Launcher window.
On the Alex Ivy LL viewer, when you launch the viewer from the shortcut now on Windows, you do not launch the actual viewer SecondLifeViewer.exe.
Instead you launch the SL_Launcher.exe.
If you look in the install folder for the viewer, you will see both the new SL_Launcher.exe & the actual viewer executable, SecondLifeViewer.exe.

The SL_Launcher serves 2 purposes - it checks for viewer updates and it checks that you are running the correct viewer bitness for your system - the 32bit or 64bit viewer version.
Not all 64bit systems can run the 64bit viewer version - Windows 10 64bit systems that have certain older Intel chips can only run the 32bit viewer version.

You should only see the SL_Launcher window open when you launch the viewer, not when crossing regions or at any other time.

14 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

HOW CAN I MAKE IT STOP!

You can bypass the SL_Launcher if you want, but be aware that you will not get automatic viewer updates if you do.
Make a shortcut on your desktop to SecondLifeViewer.exe.
On launch, the viewer will nag you not to launch the viewer directly in this way, but you can dismiss the nag & login.

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17 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

The earlier "too-quick-to-read" windows were probably console windows popping up when media started:

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-11349

No, no, no.

I know what a media-on-a-prim window opening up looks like. This is NOT them.

This is IN THE SKY. This is when you fly around with no prims or media on a prim or anything, just air/sky/water.

And no, it is not the launch of the viewer or going from a SLURL outside. I've explained what it is and it's not those things.

This is inworld, after log-on, in the sky or open air, it's not related to the regular launch of the browser. 

@Whirly I know about 64 bit but who cares? Not related to this annoyance.

And NO once again. It's not console media when you are on a water sim, over a lake, on an empty sim etc

Now that the green letter is showing, I can see what it is -- it is a window that opens and executes an operation to scan for a NEW version of the view. I don't want it to do that. So I try to shut this off in preferences; it doesn't.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Prokofy Neva said:

Now that the green letter is showing, I can see what it is -- it is a window that opens and executes an operation to scan for a NEW version of the view.

We also know what it is because we (64b) also get it, but we only get it when we're supposed to - on viewer launch.

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I don't think I see this as often as I should expect, based on this discussion. Specifically, I don't seem to see it as a result of rezzing a MoaP surface and don't think I ever have. Sometimes I enable media to auto-play, sometimes not, but I don't recall seeing it either way.

Does it only happen with Flash media, as the jira seems to suggest? I wiped all Flash from my machine years ago and don't use the built-in browser for anything, certainly not plugins, so maybe that's why?

Anyway, short of skirting the launcher, is there anything Prokofy can do to make this go away, if it's indeed MoaP? Should disabling auto-play make it stop?

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4 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

No, no, no.

I know what a media-on-a-prim window opening up looks like. This is NOT them.

This is IN THE SKY. This is when you fly around with no prims or media on a prim or anything, just air/sky/water.

And no, it is not the launch of the viewer or going from a SLURL outside. I've explained what it is and it's not those things.

This is inworld, after log-on, in the sky or open air, it's not related to the regular launch of the browser. 

@Whirly I know about 64 bit but who cares? Not related to this annoyance.

And NO once again. It's not console media when you are on a water sim, over a lake, on an empty sim etc

Now that the green letter is showing, I can see what it is -- it is a window that opens and executes an operation to scan for a NEW version of the view. I don't want it to do that. So I try to shut this off in preferences; it doesn't.

 

 

Theresa Tennyson sighs.

Probably GRU surveillance then.

(Because once you rule out what something is, the only possibility remaining is that it's something that it isn't.)

Theresa Tennyson crawls around until she finds her right eye, which has finally popped clean out of its socket after a particularly savage eye-roll, and presses it back in place.

The windows that you are seeing that stay around long enough to read are what we said - the windows that start when a 64-bit Linden Lab viewer is launched. You're using a 64 bit Linden Lab viewer, whether you realize it or not.

The windows that you are seeing that don't stay around long enough to read are completely different. They are an internal system console window that will briefly pop up when the viewer finds a media source. It's not the thing that actually plays the media. If there's a television, etc. within range of you (and the range can be very long - so long that you might not actually be able see to that television) that window may pop up for a fraction of a second, even if you're over open air or water.

Edited by Theresa Tennyson
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6 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

I don't think I see this as often as I should expect, based on this discussion. Specifically, I don't seem to see it as a result of rezzing a MoaP surface and don't think I ever have. Sometimes I enable media to auto-play, sometimes not, but I don't recall seeing it either way.

Does it only happen with Flash media, as the jira seems to suggest? I wiped all Flash from my machine years ago and don't use the built-in browser for anything, certainly not plugins, so maybe that's why?

Anyway, short of skirting the launcher, is there anything Prokofy can do to make this go away, if it's indeed MoaP? Should disabling auto-play make it stop?

You shouldn't see this problem when around media now, as long as you are on an up to date viewer.

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9 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

This is inworld, after log-on, in the sky or open air, it's not related to the regular launch of the browser. 

@Whirly I know about 64 bit but who cares? Not related to this annoyance.

And NO once again. It's not console media when you are on a water sim, over a lake, on an empty sim etc

Now that the green letter is showing, I can see what it is -- it is a window that opens and executes an operation to scan for a NEW version of the view. I don't want it to do that. So I try to shut this off in preferences; it doesn't.

Next time you see this happen when logged in, can you take a screenshot & post it here?

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5 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

The windows that you are seeing that stay around long enough to read are what we said - the windows that start when a 64-bit Linden Lab viewer is launched. You're using a 64 bit Linden Lab viewer, whether you realize it or not.

The SL_Launcher will run on both 32 & 64bit builds of the LL viewer, it's not specific to the 64bit version.
It shouldn't be popping up a window & checking for updates apart from viewer launch though.
If Prok is seeing the SL_Launcher window checking for updates frequently while logged inworld, it's a bug.

 

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On 2/10/2018 at 10:04 AM, Whirly Fizzle said:

I agree with Theresa.

On the older viewer versions, it sounds very much like you were seeing the console window flashing up whenever flash media was in the vicinity.
This was a really annoying bug for me & happily LL pulled in the fix from Firestorm in the Alex Ivy viewer, which is now in the default LL viewer release.

JIRA: BUG-11349 - On CEF viewers, the console window that opens on top of the world view should be hidden.
Look at the attached gifs on that JIRA to see if this is what you were seeing.
If you are using the latest LL viewer, you shouldn't be seeing this happen now - Tis fixed.

The new thing you are seeing sounds like the SL_Launcher window.
On the Alex Ivy LL viewer, when you launch the viewer from the shortcut now on Windows, you do not launch the actual viewer SecondLifeViewer.exe.
Instead you launch the SL_Launcher.exe.
If you look in the install folder for the viewer, you will see both the new SL_Launcher.exe & the actual viewer executable, SecondLifeViewer.exe.

The SL_Launcher serves 2 purposes - it checks for viewer updates and it checks that you are running the correct viewer bitness for your system - the 32bit or 64bit viewer version.
Not all 64bit systems can run the 64bit viewer version - Windows 10 64bit systems that have certain older Intel chips can only run the 32bit viewer version.

You should only see the SL_Launcher window open when you launch the viewer, not when crossing regions or at any other time.

You can bypass the SL_Launcher if you want, but be aware that you will not get automatic viewer updates if you do.
Make a shortcut on your desktop to SecondLifeViewer.exe.
On launch, the viewer will nag you not to launch the viewer directly in this way, but you can dismiss the nag & login.

I think the LL post about the new viewer warned people about the launcher (and possible window). I guess folks missed it?

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2 hours ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

Next time you see this happen when logged in, can you take a screenshot & post it here?

Gosh, now WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT!

The answer is, in the years before when I saw this sporadically but not clearly, it went by too fast -- and now, when it happens more often and is visible, it goes

by too fast but yeah, i've been trying. It is definitely not media on a prim opening or consoles opening because it has a message that says something like "scanning for new viewer."

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7 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Theresa Tennyson sighs.

Probably GRU surveillance then.

(Because once you rule out what something is, the only possibility remaining is that it's something that it isn't.)

Theresa Tennyson crawls around until she finds her right eye, which has finally popped clean out of its socket after a particularly savage eye-roll, and presses it back in place.

The windows that you are seeing that stay around long enough to read are what we said - the windows that start when a 64-bit Linden Lab viewer is launched. You're using a 64 bit Linden Lab viewer, whether you realize it or not.

The windows that you are seeing that don't stay around long enough to read are completely different. They are an internal system console window that will briefly pop up when the viewer finds a media source. It's not the thing that actually plays the media. If there's a television, etc. within range of you (and the range can be very long - so long that you might not actually be able see to that television) that window may pop up for a fraction of a second, even if you're over open air or water.

Um, yeah, I realize. But again, the windows I am seeing ARE NOT MEDIA OPENING. This is not rocket science. They have a message saying they are SCANNING FOR NEW VERSIONS OF THE VIEWER. That's how I, um, can tell, among other reasons like "being where there are no prims over open water".

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3 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

and now, when it happens more often and is visible, it goes

by too fast but yeah, i've been trying.

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You can choose whether to save each shot to your PC or upload it online, no account needed.
By default, hitting the F6 key will take the shot right away, so you can capture things quickly.
Details: https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html

Does it look like this?  If so, this is the SL_Launcher window.

AMB88Sb4TvG8Pvtit9CHPw.png

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On 2/11/2018 at 1:55 PM, Prokofy Neva said:

They have a message saying they are SCANNING FOR NEW VERSIONS OF THE VIEWER.

Our viewer doesn't have that message anywhere.  It would help if you described the problem very precisely.

One of the changes we made with the new  updater is that it is only supposed to check for new viewers when you first launch, and for any optional upgrade it silently does the download in the background so that you're not bothered by the option until the new viewer is ready to be installed. If what you're seeing is the new updater, then it's running when it shouldn't.

 

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On 2/13/2018 at 1:47 PM, Oz Linden said:

Our viewer doesn't have that message anywhere.  It would help if you described the problem very precisely.

One of the changes we made with the new  updater is that it is only supposed to check for new viewers when you first launch, and for any optional upgrade it silently does the download in the background so that you're not bothered by the option until the new viewer is ready to be installed. If what you're seeing is the new updater, then it's running when it shouldn't.

 

Yes, Oz, that is what is happening, what is supposed to be running in the background is constantly appearing as visible inworld, and not just when you first launch but regularly, constantly. and yes, you have that message, it says "CHECKING" not "SCANNING" but that's not materially different, it doesn't matter what the literal search string of words is, what matters is that this damn thing is opening up all the time and is annoying and lagging -- I will screenshot it and maybe you will believe then.

Edited by Prokofy Neva
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