cfhd.dll Crashes with Vegas and TMPGEnc and...
 

Hi,

I have installed (and bought) Neo Scene for my 5D files, but now Vegas Movie Studio 9, TMPGEnc and also other programs using codecs (AFX Trial did) crash often.

I usually have to re-start the program a few times, until I get no error and it then it works.

I have a lot of these in my Vista Event Viewer:

Faulting application VegasMovieStudioPE90.exe, version 9.0.0.92, time stamp 0x48e14e0f, faulting module cfhd.dll, version 4.6.0.321, time stamp 0x497e63ec, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0015a3f0, process id 0x111c, application start time 0x01c9d7b5e65b9ffb.

Is there anything I can do?

I too get a lot of crashing with applications, e.g. DVDA, AE CS4, Crazy Talk, etc. with Neo Scene installed. This is on Vista64. I would suggest opening a support ticket if you have not already done so. Still working through my one.

me too!!!
it crashes photoshop elements so often i can no longer use it. it was especially crashing a 3d program i use named grobotto. the program parses all avi codecs and it crashes on neoscene.
i got this reply from the groboto programmer when i tried to find a solution:

"I downloaded the demo of this codec. It has a bug in it's support for ICOpen - a standard AVI call is used to query information about the codec. It sporadically writes to an invalid address (3 out of 4 times when I tested), and because this is happening in a DLL Groboto is unable to trap this error.

BTW, this codec causes every AVI compression program I own to either crash on startup or when trying to compress a movie with this codec selected - AVI Convert, Camtasia, and TMP Genc 4.0 all crash with this codec installed.

I'm sorry but we will not be able to offer a workaround other than to not have this codec installed when using Groboto.

I did.

That explains why after a few crashes I am able to start the applications...

i meant to say premiere elements 7 in my post above not photoshop.....

I originally thought it was some sort of registration issue, but the above would exactly explain what I am seeing.

You have to open an application multiple times as it crashes 3 out of 4 times. I get white thumbnails in Adobe bridge - guess it can't work out how to decode the clips. Windows Explorer will sometimes show thumbnails and sometimes not - guess the same reason.

Crazy talk crashes immediatly upon select avi as a file type - guess it does a codec scan.

Vegas 8 has been OK, but guess it has its own special Cineform dll, not the generic windows one.

i also believe that there are installer issues. i have installed multiple versions of neoscene and never has the import plugin been installed (premiere elements 7). i've had to request the plugin frm support and manually place it into the proper plugin folder. it makes me wonder, though, if other needed files are not properly installed too.

I did a hybrid of Jay Bloomfield's technique in the other thread as I am not sure how to modify .inf files. Basically, I copied the cfhd.dll from the SOSWOW64 directory into my Vegas8 directory. I then renamed the cfhd.dll file in the SOSWOW64 directory to cfhd.dll.old effectively disabling it.

Since I did that, I have not experienced any crashes with my other software. Vegas works as expected. Being as I have Neo Scene, this also means I can't export Cineform files from AE CS4 or any other VFW program. AE can still import Cineform AE files.

I think it is safe the say that the problem lies with the cfhd.dll file.

Don't mess with the CFHD.INF file, if Vegas can find and use the CFHD.DLL after you move it. Else, right click CFHD.INF in Windows Explorer and click Uninstall. If this cludge doesn't work, move the two CFHD files back where they came from, right click CFHD.INF in Windows Explorer and click Install.

Well. not much interest from Cineform for this problem.

Neither on this forum, or for the submitted ticket.

Keep in mind, that except for the few Cineform staff who monitor this forum, the rest of us here are Cineform users, just like you are. First take a look at this post from another thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1145082-post74.html

Second, read over the suggested workarounds in this thread. The error may or may not be entirely due to CFHD.DLL, but rather it is probably a combination of how specific pieces of software are enumerating all system codecs and what each program does with the information it obtains (including faulty information about a codec). The error that you are getting is apparently not that common, among the entire installed base of Cineform users, so it is possible that it is specific to your hardware and software setup. For example, I have the most recent version of TMPGEnc Xpress installed and I have never seen that error. On the other hand, that error does show up for me with Vegas 9 Pro, but not that often.

If you don't feel comfortable isolating the CFHD.DLL file to specific software folders, then you will have to wait for Cineform Support to respond to your ticket. I suggest that you wait, because you would have to make copies of CFHD.DLL (and delete the version in the Windows system folder) and move them to at least three locations (NEO Scene, Vegas Movie Studio and TMPGEnc XPress) and hope that the 3 programs would still be able to "find" the VFW codec file.

Oh,

I would certainly accept that I have to play with workarounds, or that it is related to my system setup.

But how....

It may be a user forum, but it is listed on the Cineform site as the official support forum.



Anyways.

I got an email that my ticket is solved with a message to uninstall my current version, and install a new version.

However. The file was not found on the server. Searched for the file on Google, and found out what was wrong. The email (link) text I got had the right version number, but the link itself pointed to an older version, which of course, was not found.

And.

The version that would resolve my problems, was already installed on my PC. I had to run "Register Components", and I did. Vegas still crashes. (If it loads the previous project, if it doesn't load the previous project, no crash)

Well. Excuse me. Its all a bit chaotic and sloppy, as is the Neo Scene program. Press F1 in the program. And the bloody "split scenes" I have to uncheck every time.... Non working links in the PDF, non working serial nr generators, Support Centers telling me my cookies are disabled (not) and plenty of 404 errors there.

Well, my ticket got closed as the workaround, aka removing the VFW codec appeared to stop the crashing. Wouldn't call that problem solved.

Rob.

If you read through the various threads about this, these crashes are a combination of the CFHD VFW codec and the program that is crashing. The program's role is either a general incompatibility with the Cineform VFW codec or more likely, a result of how the program enumerates all the system codecs present and what the program does with that information. By moving the CFHD.DLL file out of the Windows system folder and copying it to the folders where each program resides, you can check on what's causing the error.

I have posted here before that the error is more prevalent in software that tries to access both the VFW CFHD codec and the DirectShow CFHD codec also. For example, TMPGEnc XPress does not need the VFW codec, as it seems perfectly happy to use the DirectShow version. So it doesn't make sense that CFHD.DLL is causing an error there, except for the fact that TMPGEnc must be going through the Windows registry and finding any and every video codec.

Cineform can control the code in the VFW codec, but they have no control over what other pieces of software might do when accessing that file. I suspect that it will be possible to patch the VFW codec, but in the mean time, like the doctor says, 'If it hurts, don't do it". Unfortunately, if all someone has is NEO Scene, you only have the VFW version of the codec, so your options are limited.

J

I have already reverted back to using the Lagarith codec. Yes, it is slower and takes more disc space, but I don't get this crashing. It also has a 64 bit version. Neo Scene has fallen really short of my expections.