Broderbund Printmaster v.18.1 installed but won't open

dolaro · 25 Dec 2023

I've been using the program for several weeks without a problem, but all of a sudden it would not open. It looks like it's going to, but then just closes. I tried uninstalling it, restarting my computer then re-installing. It appears that all the files are there, but it won't open. I also tried double clicking on a project I saved, hoping the program would automatically open to display it, but that didn't work either. Hoping someone can help me. I was trying to make some Christmas cards, and it failed on me yesterday.
I'm running Windows 10 on a Dell Inspiron laptop #5555 if that's any help. Thanks in advance.

Catnip · 25 Dec 2023

I think this might explain your problem:

The Importanace Of Upgrading Older Versions Of Print Shop And Printmaster To Newer, Supported Versions - Broderbund Blog

dolaro · 25 Dec 2023

Thank you, Catnip. Unfortunately, I can't afford the $69.99 to upgrade to v23.1. Also, the program worked perfectly yesterday morning, then wouldn't open last night so I can't understand why that happened.

looked · 25 Dec 2023

dolaro said:

Thank you, Catnip. Unfortunately, I can't afford the $69.99 to upgrade to v23.1.

Check system requirements: PrintMaster 2022

the program worked perfectly yesterday morning, then wouldn't open last night

It could be many things which are hard to troubleshoot without working on your machine but one of the most common mistake is to let a software to automatically check for updates so always check the settings as soon as you install a software.
I don't know what uninstall software you're using but reinstall Printermaster then do a deep clean.

There is this free version 15 on archive.org but I don't know if it is an abandonware and legal to use so Admin if it's not, please delete:
Printmaster Silver 15 : Broderbund : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

skeptic mike · 26 Dec 2023

Have you tried running the program from a different user account? For test purposes a new account is ideal. On the assumption that the program ran without you having to elevate, then there should be no problem making this an ordinary user local account. (if you were elevating to get it to work, then you really should stop using it.)

If it works, then there's a problem with your profile. Usually that means the settings stored for that program. For a well behaved program, that should mean files in %appdata% (and/or %localappdata%) in a folder named Broderbund or something obviously related. And registry entries in HKCU\Software\Broderbund (or related name). Save what you find, (export registry entries), then delete sections until it works. You first deletion candidate should be anything in %localappdata%, as this should really be transient data.

Mike

Catnip · 26 Dec 2023

dolaro said:

Thank you, Catnip. Unfortunately, I can't afford the $69.99 to upgrade to v23.1. Also, the program worked perfectly yesterday morning, then wouldn't open last night so I can't understand why that happened.

There is a long standing problem with version 18.1 and Windows 10 that goes back to 2017. Microsoft has repeatedly made 18.1 not compatible with Windows 10 through various Windows updates, though there are workarounds for some problems.

You need to try running the dotnet cleanup tool first to see if that fixes your issue.

Here is the official version: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/down....aspx?id=30135

Also, you may have some success by opening properties on the main Printmaster executable and setting Compatibility mode to Windows 8.1

Give those a try please, and report back.