gfizer Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Every time I enter a zip code in the address header of the 1040 or on the W-2 worksheet my software crashes and shuts down. I hadn't noticed it before today but everything I have worked on up until now was rolled over from last year so I guess that's the reason I haven't noticed it before now. Anyone else experiencing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 This has been reported, but not everyone is having this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I was having that problem last night with the 1099 INT entry. I solved it by not putting in the address for the vendor. Tom Modesto, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfizer Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 27 minutes ago, BulldogTom said: I was having that problem last night with the 1099 INT entry. I solved it by not putting in the address for the vendor. That's how I worked around it too for now but the zip will have to be entered before returns can be e-filed. I guess a much dreaded call to tech support is in order. Arrghh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfizer Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I have now discovered that if you don't click on okay when the box comes up and says the program has encountered an unexpected error and needs to close and instead click the red x in the top right corner that the program will not close and you can continue to work. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medlin Software, Dennis Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 1 hour ago, gfizer said: encountered an unexpected error and needs to close Major faux pas. This means the program itself is not handling the error, leaving it up to Windows, and 99.9999% of the time, Windows has to close the program. The usual suspect is an array bounds issue (if there are ten items, trying to access something other than 1 through 10), a memory corruption (but these days, most programs do not need to directly rear and write to specific memory locations), or an overflow (for example, a numerical value of a byte, and trying to set it beyond the range of a byte (say to 257). But, for a zip code, assuming it is a zip code field causing the issue, zip codes are usually stored as strings (text) not numbers, since even in the US, we have the dash in the plus 4. Thus, if it is a string (text) field actually causing the issue, there is more likely a memory corruption, which may be causing as yet unseen data issues elsewhere. So be careful... For me, this would be a 100% stop and focus only on this issue, should I ever get this reported. (Good therapy for me to write this out, as it reminds me of what I have to be wary of as well.) What is very puzzling is the program actually staying open after the Windows message. The windows message is usually only shown when the program does not handle an error (just before the program is terminated by Windows, unless there is some sort of "we really don't have a clue as to what the error is, but we will let you keep going anyway" error handling, which does not show a custom message and shows the windows message instead. Normal practice is to never rely on the Windows message/termination, sine it gives the programmer no clue as to what has happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 Just posted on the official board. Delete this file: C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Local\Temp\Sfs.Cache\ZipcodeData https://community.atxinc.com/forums/permalink/254421/254614/ShowThread.aspx#254614 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 6 hours ago, gfizer said: I have now discovered that if you don't click on okay when the box comes up and says the program has encountered an unexpected error and needs to close and instead click the red x in the top right corner that the program will not close and you can continue to work. I refused to click ok when that message came up a few times last season. It was my way of refusing to cooperate: "No, I paid good money for you to work, I'm not ok with this. Shut up." 3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfizer Posted January 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 14 hours ago, Abby Normal said: Just posted on the official board. Delete this file: C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Local\Temp\Sfs.Cache\ZipcodeData https://community.atxinc.com/forums/permalink/254421/254614/ShowThread.aspx#254614 This fix appears to work once the program is closed and restarted after deleting the file. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 As an aside, when I start my computer every day, I have CCleaner run automatically and it deletes all kinds temporary files. This may have saved me untold grief over the years. Both QuickBooks and ATX have files that can cause the program to not work. I have notes on both. In both cases, the solution is just to delete the file, because the program will recreate on start. And I always ask, why doesn't the program just delete the file as part of the start up or close process to begin with? Anyway, here's the ATX file that keeps your server from starting in 2015 & newer: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\CCH Small Firm Services\ATX 20yy Server\Sfs.ServerHost.exe.config Replace 'yy' with the year in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medlin Software, Dennis Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 Other than the printer and display, file manipulation is the slowest part of computing... Many prefer to pretend their software is faster appearing by handling some file manipulation when the software is not opening or closing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACK BART Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 5:53 PM, Medlin Software said: Major faux pas. This means the program itself is not handling the error, leaving it up to Windows, and 99.9999% of the time, Windows has to close the program. The usual suspect is an array bounds issue (if there are ten items, trying to access something other than 1 through 10), a memory corruption (but these days, most programs do not need to directly rear and write to specific memory locations), or an overflow (for example, a numerical value of a byte, and trying to set it beyond the range of a byte (say to 257). But, for a zip code, assuming it is a zip code field causing the issue, zip codes are usually stored as strings (text) not numbers, since even in the US, we have the dash in the plus 4. Thus, if it is a string (text) field actually causing the issue, there is more likely a memory corruption, which may be causing as yet unseen data issues elsewhere. So be careful... For me, this would be a 100% stop and focus only on this issue, should I ever get this reported. (Good therapy for me to write this out, as it reminds me of what I have to be wary of as well.) What is very puzzling is the program actually staying open after the Windows message. The windows message is usually only shown when the program does not handle an error (just before the program is terminated by Windows, unless there is some sort of "we really don't have a clue as to what the error is, but we will let you keep going anyway" error handling, which does not show a custom message and shows the windows message instead. Normal practice is to never rely on the Windows message/termination, sine it gives the programmer no clue as to what has happened. Uh, yeah; sounds right. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 This is ATXKristin's response late yesterday, "It is a corrupted file in a temp file on the user's computer. ATX cannot repair a file that is not part of the program." Classic, "Not my problem" response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 30 minutes ago, cbslee said: This is ATXKristin's response late yesterday, "It is a corrupted file in a temp file on the user's computer. ATX cannot repair a file that is not part of the program." Classic, "Not my problem" response. We have not experienced such an issue. Because it is only happening on a few systems, ATXKristin is probably correct. We have 10 workstations and as many as 8 people using the ATX program simultaneously. No such issue has been seen here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee B Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 Really, you think these temp files related to zip codes are magically appearing out of thin air. Obviously, the ATX program is creating them and then for some reason on certain users computers the program isn't deleting the temp file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 49 minutes ago, cbslee said: Really, you think these temp files related to zip codes are magically appearing out of thin air. Obviously, the ATX program is creating them and then for some reason on certain users computers the program isn't deleting the temp file. Some other program or activity is corrupting the file. The biggest offenders are anti-virus and internet security programs. Yes, I agree that it is probably a computer problem with the user. Too many "crap" programs on the system. I state this due to my first hand experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogTom Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 I was having the problem, I deleted the file, the problem went away. Seems like a simple fix. Why the file is getting corrupted is another question for techies smarter than me. Tom Modesto, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medlin Software, Dennis Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 The software should be checking the file for valid entries, or at least, gracefully handling invalid file data, such as deleting it (as suggested by their support) or some sort of plain text error message. A generic "we are not handling the error, so Windows is" is never acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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