How do I find out why Komplete Kontrol crashes?

Florian Hoffmann · 2023-05-26T18:17:11+00:00

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Until four weeks ago, I had a fully operational setup with Windows 10, Ableton Live 11 and the Komplete 13 Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Then, one of my side hard disks E: started crashing. It is old and has reached end of life. That drive contains user documents - letters, photos, etc. - that are not relevant for my music setup. I copied all data from it and physically disconnected it from my system.

My system boots from another drive C:. My audio software - Ableton, Komplete, VST folders, etc. - are installed on yet another drive F:. All of my software works fine, with one exemption:

When I start Komplete Kontrol, installed on "F:\Native Instruments\Komplete Kontrol" it crashes shortly after startup. It will scan for plugins, as usual. After completion, it shortly display its main screen. Then it close without further notice.

This happens in both cases, when I open it standalone as well as when I open it as a plugin.

Starting other NI tools works fine though. I can successfully start and use tools like Kontakt 7, Massive X, etc., standalone and as plugin. Komplete Kontrol is the only thing that fails.

When I reconnect the failing hard disk E:, Komplete Kontrol starts alright as well. It lets me choose instruments, play them, produces sound. Up to the point when the failing hard disk suddenly disconnects. Then Komplete Kontrol will again close without further notice.

I assume that there is one setting of Komplete Kontrol which still connects to that hard disk E:. Maybe it tries to scan there for templates, preferences, downloads, updates infos, whatever. When it cannot access that drive, the code ends.

Unfortunately, I cannot identify which setting that is, or how to fix this. I've resorted to NI's articles on registry editing and resetting the user database, but following these steps didn't solve the situation.

Is there another tool I can use to collect logs or input from Komplete Kontrol while it crashes to see what exactly is failing?

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Accepted answers

Florian Hoffmann

Found the solution: Windows still had the Documents library mapped to "E:\Eigene Dateien\Florian". Some Native Instruments tools pull this setting automatically to store custom presets there.

I found the solution when I inspected the individual NI tools. In FM8's Options, I found an entry "E:\Eigene Dateien\Florian\Native Instruments\FM8\{some sub folder}". When I tried to change this entry to C:, it said that the program was unable to change the default user location. This made me revisit the Windows settings, and I found that indeed Windows still mapped my main user location to E:.

I fixed this by opening E:\Eigene Dateien in the Explorer. In there, I right-clicked the Documents icon, and selected Properties. On the Path tab, I changed the path to C:\Eigene Dateien\Florian, and chose Move... Windows then moved the Documents folder to that new location, and updated its system settings accordingly.

I shut down, disconnected the broken drive, booted, and now could successfully start Komplete Kontrol in standalone mode.

I was aware of Windows managing Libraries in special ways, but not that I would have to adjust so many places. When I copied my user data out of the broken drive, I also updated Windows' settings to redirect new content to C:, and relocated my Desktop folder from E: to C. I was not aware that I'd have to do the same for the Documents folder.

Optimally, Komplete Kontrol should have started and issued a warning that it can be used, but that user presets cannot be loaded. The message should have included the path it expected (E:\Eigene Dateien\Florian), and where it gets this path from. ("Change this path in the settings of your operating system.")

All comments

Paule

Do you own another functional external hdd you can connect and name it E:

What happens with that new E:. Mayhaps there is an internal setting to E:. Presets for example saves pathes inside the files.

Brad Yost

Check in the KK Preferences (<Edit><Preferences>) that there are no libraries referenced to your E: disk in either Factory OR User sections.

Florian Hoffmann

@Paule My system has a small 128 GB SSD installed as H: that I currently do not actively use. I renamed it to E: and restarted the system and Komplete Kontrol in standalone mode. Same error as before. Splash screen comes up, it successfully scans for plugins, shows its main window, then unexpectedly closes without further notice. If it is the connection to E: that breaks this, it must be a specific sub-folder that was not available on that renamed drive.

@Brad Yost Since Komplete Kontrol currently won't start at all, I reconnected the broken hard disk to start it up. Then went to the menu Edit / Preferences and went through all the tabs in there, including Library and Plug-ins, both Factory and User. I checked all entries by sorting by location. There are no entries that refer to E:. I have some pointing to C:, lots pointing to F:, and in the sorted view, there are no E:s between them. Some locations refer to the placeholders [Common Files] and [Florian]. I assume that the latter points to my user folder C:\Users\Florian, but I have no clue what [Common Files] points to or where that is defined. For good measure, I disabled the option to rescan for user content at startup. I then shut down, disconnected the broken hard drive, and restarted. Komplete Kontrol failed as before.

I also tried reinstalling Komplete Kontrol via Native Access. Native Access' first attempt failed with an error that it is unable to remove the current installation. I followed their knowledge article https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003509269, installed the NI Uninstall RegTool_64bit and removed Komplete Kontrol, including the program file folder "F:\Native Instruments\Komplete Kontrol". Then reinstalled it from Native Access, which worked this time. Starting Komplete Kontrol after this reinstallation yielded the exact same error as in all other cases.

I also double-checked the Preferences in Native Access itself, following the idea that it might configure a downloads folder that might be shared with installed programs for update checks. However, all entries in there point to C: or F: as well.

I'm starting to get lost. Reinstalling should have been the ultimate remedy. Except for uninstalling all of NI and reinstalling the complete bundle - which takes forever to download - I have no further ideas what to investigate.

Brad Yost

It sounds as if it is installed correctly and safely.

<Common Files> is the default (dictated by Steinberg) location for the VST3 format... that's OK.

The fact that it won't run in SAL mode is sketchy.

Check your Windows Event Logs for any errors right after it crashes.

Make sure that your Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable files are installed (current version is 14.32.31332.0 for Win10 22H2)

It also may be a conflict with your Video GPU driver.

Document as well as possible and file a support ticket HERE, then be patient as they won't respond until mid next week at soonest.

Florian Hoffmann

Found the solution: Windows still had the Documents library mapped to "E:\Eigene Dateien\Florian". Some Native Instruments tools pull this setting automatically to store custom presets there.

I shut down, disconnected the broken drive, booted, and now could successfully start Komplete Kontrol in standalone mode.

Trick McKaha

Thank you Florian! You gave me the answer about the Documents folder.

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