Ok, here are a few things to try:
* stop all running instances of gnucash-bin.exe, gconfd-2.exe and maybe perl.exe
* remove ~\Local Settings\Temp\gconfd-$user\lock\ior, if still existent (~ is C:\Documents and Settings\$user)
* check log files of the form ~\Local Settings\Temp\gnucash.trace.abcdef
* make a backup of ~\.gconf and ~\.gconfd, then delete them
* make a backup of ~\.gnucash, then delete it

(In reply to comment #1)
> Ok, here are a few things to try:
> * stop all running instances of gnucash-bin.exe, gconfd-2.exe and maybe
> perl.exe

Stopped gnucash-bin.exe and gconf2.exe.  There was no perl.exe, and a search of my hard drive revealed that I do not have that file.

> * remove ~\Local Settings\Temp\gconfd-$user\lock\ior, if still existent (~ is
> C:\Documents and Settings\$user)

the file existed and I deleted it.

> * check log files of the form ~\Local Settings\Temp\gnucash.trace.abcdef

Several gnucash.trace.* files existed, but they were empty 0-byte files.

> * make a backup of ~\.gconf and ~\.gconfd, then delete them
> * make a backup of ~\.gnucash, then delete it

Backed up and deleted those folders.  Tried running GnuCash, same problem.  Tried uninstall, reboot, reinstall, repeated the steps you suggested, but still have the same problem.  

@Steve: Which windows is this? 2000, XP, Vista, or any of the older, 98 and so on? We don't support 98 or older.

(In reply to comment #3)
> @Steve: Which windows is this? 2000, XP, Vista, or any of the older, 98 and so
> on? We don't support 98 or older.
> 
This is Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2.

Do you have a firewall blocking access to the internet or do you work offline?  No, we (GnuCash) do not want to phone home, but see http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2007-June/020668.html

(In reply to comment #5)
> Do you have a firewall blocking access to the internet or do you work offline? 
> No, we (GnuCash) do not want to phone home, but see
> http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2007-June/020668.html
> 
I'm connected to the internet, and I had the windows firewall turned on.  I turned it off, repeated the steps from comment #1, and tried again, with the same result.

This reminds me of the mail thread starting at http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-user/2007-April/020150.html .  We did not solve the problem back then :-(

Let us extract a few more things to try:
* make gnucash-bin.exe and gconfd-2.exe ($prefix\libexec) run in the console subsystem.  To this end, install ActivePerl and use "exetype.bat gnucash-bin.exe console", resp. gconfd-2.exe
* spawn gconfd with "gconftool-2 --spawn" (does it hang?)
* ping with 'gconftool-2 ping && echo "alive"' (is it silent?)
* conflict with any other software: check firewall, security-whatever suite logs;  any other gtk/gnome application installed and in PATH?  Virus-infection?

You see, I am a bit clueless.  Any news is good news!

PS: Cstim, Marking as NEEDINFO, but DONOTCLOSESOON ;-)

(In reply to comment #7)
> This reminds me of the mail thread starting at
> http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-user/2007-April/020150.html .  We
> did not solve the problem back then :-(
After reading that thread, it seems I am having the exact same problem.

> Let us extract a few more things to try:
> * make gnucash-bin.exe and gconfd-2.exe ($prefix\libexec) run in the console
> subsystem.  To this end, install ActivePerl and use "exetype.bat
> gnucash-bin.exe console", resp. gconfd-2.exe
Did that.  Now a console window pops up when I try to start GnuCash, but no text appears.

> * spawn gconfd with "gconftool-2 --spawn" (does it hang?)
Yes, it hangs.  No messages are displayed on the screen.  The gconfd-2.exe and gconftool-2.exe processes are started, but they seem frozen.  They unload when I press Ctrl+C.

> * ping with 'gconftool-2 ping && echo "alive"' (is it silent?)
The text "alive" (with quotes) appears on the next line, but that's probably a result of the echo command.  No other output is displayed, and the command exits properly.

> * conflict with any other software: check firewall, security-whatever suite
> logs;  any other gtk/gnome application installed and in PATH?  
No other gtk/gnome apps are installed, and the PATH seems clean.  I have no security suites installed, just the windows firewall and ClamWin AV.  I disabled both, but that didn't help.  

> Virus-infection?
I do daily scans with ClamWin, and weekly with HouseCall, so I don't think a virus could be the cause. 
 
> You see, I am a bit clueless.  Any news is good news!
I very much appreciate your attempts to help diagnose this problem.  If you have any other suggestions, I'll be happy to test them out.  I love using GnuCash on my Ubuntu system at home, it would be great to be able to use it on my Windows machine at work also.

(In reply to comment #1)
> * make a backup of ~\.gconf and ~\.gconfd, then delete them
> * make a backup of ~\.gnucash, then delete it

Maybe even remove not only ~\.gconf, ~\.gconfd, but also ~\.gnome2 and ~\.gnucash ...? I think this solved a "failed to start" during my checking on Windows Vista.

I am not sure whether ~\.gnome2 makes a difference, maybe.  Regarding ~\.gnucash, I think we have tested that :-(

What about copying all DLLs from $PREFIX\bin to $PREFIX\libexec, so that they are located in the same directory like gconfd-2.exe as well?

(In reply to comment #10)
> I am not sure whether ~\.gnome2 makes a difference, maybe.  Regarding
> ~\.gnucash, I think we have tested that :-(
> 
> What about copying all DLLs from $PREFIX\bin to $PREFIX\libexec, so that they
> are located in the same directory like gconfd-2.exe as well?
I tried the suggestions from Comments 9 and 10, and while it didn't fix the problem, I am now getting a new error message.  The error comes up when I use Task Manager to terminate gnucash-bin.exe

GConf-ERROR **: file gconfd.c: line 384 (gconf_server_load_sources): assertion failed: (sources != NULL) aborting...

Another difference: I can no longer do the trick I originally mentioned, where I terminate gnucash-bin.exe and then restart, which allowed me to see the splash screen + tip of the day.  This no longer works because when I terminate gnucash-bin.exe, gconfd-2.exe now automatically terminates with it.

So, google turned up http://osdir.com/ml/gnome.evolution.windows.devel/2006-01/msg00005.html
Does that thread help you somehow?

Also, you may try to make a backup of your installation directory and extract the contents of ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/GConf/2.18/GConf-2.18.0.1.zip into it (we use 2.14.0 for the setup.exe).

(In reply to comment #13)
> So, google turned up
> http://osdir.com/ml/gnome.evolution.windows.devel/2006-01/msg00005.html
> Does that thread help you somehow?
> 
> Also, you may try to make a backup of your installation directory and extract
> the contents of
> ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/GConf/2.18/GConf-2.18.0.1.zip into
> it (we use 2.14.0 for the setup.exe).
> 
OK, I unzipped the new version of GConf over the existing install directory, but no difference.  I read through the thread you linked to, and I tried their suggestion of setting the GCONF_DEBUG_OUTPUT variable.  This now produced a new error message in the console window when I terminate gnucash-bin.exe:

*******
starting (version 2.18.0.1), pid 1456 user 'Steven'
GConf was built with debugging features enabled
gconfd compiled with debugging; trying to load gconf.path from the source direct
ory
No configuration files found, trying to use the default config source `xml:readw
rite:C:/Documents and Settings/Steven/.gconf'
No such file `c:/devel/src/gnome/GConf/2.14.0/gconf/../backends/.libs\libgconfba
ckend-xml.dll'

Failed to load source "xml:readwrite:C:/Documents and Settings/Steven/.gconf": F
ailed: Couldn't locate backend module for `xml:readwrite:C:/Documents and Settin
gs/Steven/.gconf'
Error loading some config sources: Failed: Couldn't locate backend module for `x
ml:readwrite:C:/Documents and Settings/Steven/.gconf'
*******

Note: Because the error message mentioned the .gconf directory, I tried restoring the copy of that folder that I had previously backed up.  But when I repeated the process, the error message stayed the same.  Since the message only appears when terminating the process, I don't know if it is relevant to the problem, but I figure any information will help.

Looks a lot like the given link.  Have you actually tried to remove both, ~\Local Settings\Temp\gconfd-$user and ~\Local Settings\Temp\orbit-$user?  I think I rarely ask for the latter.

Yes, in fact just to be safe, I deleted everything under ~\Local Settings\Temp\*

Hm.  CC'ing Tor, maybe he has a brilliant idea :-)
(Please tell me if you do not want to be added to bug reports, I try to do that sparingly)

Sorry, don't have any brilliant idea. Feel free to Cc me to Win32-specific bug reports, but I won't promise being able to help...

You could also try to use another ORBit2 package.  In the setup.exe we ship ORBit2 version 2.13.3.  From ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/ORBit2/ you could try to unzip some 2.14 versions (not the -dev files) into your GnuCash folder and retry.

Bug 452173 made me wonder.

I see this bug is "unconfirmed".

Perhaps I can help to confirm it.  The exact same thing is happening to me.  I downloaded 2.15 from sourceforge and installed it on Windows XP, service pack 2, on an IBM Thinkpad T42.

Exactly the same situation.  You get the hourglass, then it goes away.  You look in the task manager, you see a gnucash process but it's doing nothing.

Yeah, I'd classify this bug as "Critical".  There's nothing strange about my corporate laptop, it's very vanilla.

I just wished I had access to such a machine :-D

Confirming.

Hi,

Confirmed with 2.2.0 using a Thinkpad T43 running XP Pro SP2. Trace files were empty.

The problem is due to the following dirs in C:\Documents and Settings\$user are created without any $user permissions. The only account with perms is SYSTEM.

.gconf
.gconfd
.gnome2
.gnome2_private
.gnucash

Not sure if this is a Thinkpad only issue...

Version 2.20 has been released?  Isn't that a bit irresponsible considering this open bug report is still classified "critical"?

On the main page of gnuCash web site it says "Port to Microsoft Windows completed."

I can appreciate this this particular bug is probably hard to track down, but to knowingly publish version 2.20 and advertise it as working is ill-advised. 

I'll admit that i'm surprised that it's been out for 2 weeks and only one person has added on to the report though.

I am experiencing this problem too. If you look at the gnucash-user list for July, you'll see that there are quite a few users experiencing this problem on Windows XP, and only a handful who are able to run GnuCash on XP.

After browsing the GnuCash web-site, I think it's a great product, and am very interested in trying it. So I hope that you can fix this problem soon. :)

I agree with the previous post - it is not fair of you to "release" GnuCash 2.2.0 for Windows and even call the release "stable", when it is completely broken for so many people. I have spent half a day troubleshooting, thinking it was a problem with my system.

Ok, I was able to narrow down the problem, and run GnuCash. The problem seems to be caused by gconfd trying to interact with the network somehow. 

Disabling (as in disconnecting the ethernet cable) the network enables GnuCash to start up and function properly.

I've noticed that the installer adds exceptions for GnuCash and gconfd to the Windows Firewall. However, they don't help, and GnuCash won't start with:

1) The network connected, the firewall on, and the exceptions disabled.
2) The net connected, the firewall on, and the exceptions enabled.
3) The net connected, and the firewall off.

So something is clearly broken. 

This also begs the question, why is GnuCash's startup dependent on the network?

Could you please post the output of "ipconfig /all" when your ethernet cable is connected?
What does "netstat -a -b" tell you about gconfd-2.exe and gnucash-bin.exe?

Re comment 24: There are thousands of downloads of GnuCash 2.2.0 and if it would not work for the majority of Windows XP users, there would be a little more noise, in my opinion.  Of course, this is no excuse and I would be so grateful if someone could come up with steps on how to reproduce this bug (or bug 457100) on my system.

Hello to all.

Glad I found this as the Bug described nearly perfectly matches my experience today installing.

I believe my issue sounds almost perfect like comment 22 from Ed (and I am running a T60 with the same set up more or less, XP pro SP2).

I have found that Gnu nor any of the other processes mentioned in task manager. In fact, nothing!

I don't believe GNUCash is well enough know I am afraid w Win XP for you to hear noise yet, but there is clearly a very queer issue.

Hello, from the gnucash email list (by "Forrest Sedgwick") this suggestion worked in getting my copy of Gnucash at least executing although I don't know how well it works yet.

____

I was having the same problem initially as well, and I was having it in
 
earlier versions of Gnucash.  However, in my case, the processes would 
just appear for a short amount of time and then terminate, so I don't 
know if this fix will help you or not. 

Check and make sure that you can open the following folders:
...\Documents and Settings\user\.gnucash
...\Documents and Settings\user\.gnome2
...\Documents and Settings\user\.gnome2_private
...\Documents and Settings\user\.gconf
...\Documents and Settings\user\.gconfd

It's OK if only the .gnucash folder exists, see below.  If you get an 
"Access Denied" message when you try to open one of these folders, then
 
maybe this fix will help you.  Enable Simple File Sharing by clicking
 on 
"tools", "folder options", "view" tab, then check "Use Simple File 
Sharing" (you can uncheck afterwards if you don't like Simple File 
Sharing).  Right click on .gnucash, click properties, sharing tab, and 
make sure "Make this folder private" is CHECKED.

If you have the other folders, do this for them as well.  If you don't 
have the other folders, then run Gnucash again.  It will create .gnome 
and .gnome2 and then fail.  Fix the permissions on those, and run 
Gnucash a third time.  The program should run OK, but it will create
 the last two folders with incorrect permissions.  Fix the permissions on 
.gconf and .gconfd.

_______

Ergo, there appears to be a problem in creating proper permissions on installation.

I think that the file permissions bug reported in Comment 22 and mentioned in Comment 27, and Comment 28 is probably not related to the original bug reported by Steve.  It seems that he was able to delete .gconf etc. which he wouldn't have been able to do if he had the aforementioned permissions problem.  I think the permissions problem is probably related to Bug 466512 - Won't run on XP Home Edition.  Comment #3 of Bug 466512 details more experiments I did with the file permissions (sorry about the HTML mess, I thought that would work...)

Hope these help...
-Forrest

Thanks Forrest!  Let us keep that issue in bug 466512 then.

Back to the topic: Re-raising questions from comment 26:
Could you please post the output of "ipconfig /all" when your ethernet cable is
connected?  What does "netstat -a -b" tell you about gconfd-2.exe and gnucash-bin.exe?

Generally, please give us as much network information as possible.  I guess the most valuable data will be the one that describes the differences between a working and non-working setup.

I hope to have some time to take a look at the ORBit2 code and come up with some dll changes to help us with debugging.  So far I am sorry :-(

*** Bug 471827 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Hi,

Just checking in here to see if I can be of any help at all. I filed Bug 471827. I'm not sure my symptoms really did match what's being reported here. I didn't see any mention of the error message I reported in this thread. And my problem was EASILY fixed by extracting the contents of ORBit2-2.13.3 into my system's "\Program Files\GnuCash\bin" folder.

I am running Windows Vista Business. I use it connected to a variety of networks including a regular DHCP (from wireless router) network at home (set up as what Vista calls a "Private" network) and an Ethernet hard-wired connection with a fixed IP address set up as a "Public" network where I work.

Before the fix of ORBit2 was applied the system behaved exactly the same at both locations. Following the fix, GnuCash just started normally at the work location (fixed, IP, Public network settings in Vista) but gave me a couple of firewall warnings the first time I started it at home. I just had Vista stop blocking gnucash-bin and gconfd-2 at home, and it works perfectly at home, too.

If I can gather any information that may be of use to you, please let me know. I'll be glad to try to be useful.

Regards,
Ross

*** Bug 496315 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

The network issues appear to be yet another duplicate of bug 363648. The file permission problems are noted in Bug 466512 and bug 486398.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 363648 ***

I am not sure if I should file a new bug report or simply add my comments to this bug report, I believe the latter is less intrusive. (Correct me if I am wrong.)

Using Wireshark on my laptop running Windows XP Professional w/SP2, I noticed that either GnuCash (2.2.4), GConfd-2, or ORBit, is trying to lookup in the DNS every file and directory it can find in the root directory of the C volume (C:). I can only wonder why.

Using the command netstat -a -b -n, I noticed gnucash-bin.exe has already connected to gconfd-2.exe via the loopback interface:

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2004         127.0.0.1:2005         ESTABLISHED     3504
  [gnucash-bin.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2005         127.0.0.1:2004         ESTABLISHED     3504
  [gnucash-bin.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2008         127.0.0.1:2009         ESTABLISHED     3772
  [gconfd-2.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2009         127.0.0.1:2008         ESTABLISHED     3772
  [gconfd-2.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2010         127.0.0.1:2011         ESTABLISHED     3772
  [gconfd-2.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2011         127.0.0.1:2010         ESTABLISHED     3504
  [gnucash-bin.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2012         127.0.0.1:2017         ESTABLISHED     3504
  [gnucash-bin.exe]

  TCP    127.0.0.1:2017         127.0.0.1:2012         ESTABLISHED     3772
  [gconfd-2.exe]

If I disable all network interfaces shown in the Control Panel, GnuCash executes in a flash. If any of my network interfaces are active when I execute GnuCash, I have to wait for almost 11 minutes before I am able to do any work with GnuCash.

Clearly something is wrongly programmed in either GnuCash, GConfd-2, or ORBit. Why on earth do any of these programmes need to lookup in the DNS any file that are present in the root directory of the C volume? Why can't these programmes stick to using the loopback address when attempting to establish communication with GConfd-2 and whatnot?

To my big surprise, running GnuCash 2.2.4 on Windows Vista Business edition (pre-SP1) works flawlessly, even with the network interfaces active.

> Why on earth do any of these programmes need to lookup
> in the DNS any file that are present in the root 
> directory of the C volume?

Of course, no code is doing such on purpose. If that is what is happening, it must be the result of some very strange bug scenario. Could you please attach the Wireshark log files?

GnuCash bug tracking has moved to a new Bugzilla host. This bug has been copied to https://bugs.gnucash.org/show_bug.cgi?id=449153. Please update any external references or bookmarks.