Evernote does not load

[Mark West Coast 1]

I used EN on my Windows 8.1 laptop without any issues for years.  After being away for three weeks, I now find that EN (version 10.57.5) didn't start when I clicked on the icon. In Task Manager I can see EN briefly appears as using some CPU resources, but then it disappears.  No messages appear on the screen.  I tried upgrading my EN version (to 10.58.8) but that didn't resolve the issue.  I can use EN on my Android device, and I can log into the web version of EN, but  the installed EN no longer works.  Can anyone suggest some things to try?

[gazumped 12,057]

Hi.  Windows 8 is no longer supported by either Microsoft or -more recently- Electron (which is the base code for Evernote).  v10 will no longer work with that OS.

Your basic choices appear to be:

1. Downgrade to Legacy (does not offer the same functionality and may itself stop working within months or years)
2. Use the web version - very similar functions to desktop but some restrictions including no offline access
3. Upgrade your OS

[Mark West Coast 1]

Many thanks, Gazumped.  I only use basic EN features and am reluctant to upgrade the OS on this laptop. 

Is a list of differences between the web version and the desktop version available somewhere?  Based on that information I may opt to downgrade to Legacy. 

I don't see an option for downloading Legacy on https://evernote.com/download  and the website's Help&Learning article "Install an older version of Evernote" has a broken link.  Do you have a link for it?

[PinkElephant 8,780]

The links were removed from that page by EN several weeks ago.

We use to distribute them here, but in fact I have stopped to do so. Legacy can only rely on the old syncing method, and my personal evaluation is that old and new sync don’t go together well. Since the new RTE sync has now taken over, the old syncing method means a continuous conversion of data.

I have had none of the problems described in many threads here, although I use it on several devices, and have notes and notebooks shared with others. RTE works fine for us. If you don’t trust the installed clients, I would rather try the web client instead of reverting to legacy.

The web client is pretty feature complete. It doesn’t support keyboard shortcuts, and exporting notes is not possible. All options are condensed into the UI elements like the 3 dot menu, because the menu items are working for the browser control, not  for the web client opened in a browser window.

[Mark West Coast 1]

OK, thanks PinkEelephant.  I'll take your advice and will use the web client rather than trying to get Legacy.  

I've been resisting upgrading my laptop's OS, based on the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.  My needs are very basic and this hardware and old Windows OS have served me well.  I can see, though, that using some apps will become more difficult or impossible as time goes by.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

The issue is something else: Any PC that is running EN needs to be connected to the internet. And the internet of today is not the same internet it was 15 years ago, when Windows 8.1 was fresh. Todays internet is a much more hostile place. Using an outdated, not supported OS means your PC can be taken over by just visiting a website on which malicious code was installed - often without the website owner even knowing about it.

It’s called a drive-by infection. The initial malware will see where it has taken hold, then contact a C&C server and get a toolkit of specialized malware that takes full control of the PC. You will not even notice, but from that moment every login, every password and every account you are using can be taken over.

Every PC able to run Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 is able to execute Windows 10. Updating creates a much better environment for a safe operation of the computer.

[Kim Whaley 0]

I am having a similar issue to Mark West Coast except I'm on Windows 10 on a desktop (been using EN app for years). It seems to have happened with a recent version of EN (attempted with 10.57.5 and 10.58.8). It shows like it's running in my task bar but it won't load to its own window. I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it twice (including going through RegEdit to remove instances of the app in the Registry with the recent attempt). Web works on the desktop and the app works on my work and personal laptops (both are Windows 11). I can't upgrade this desktop to Windows 11 because the hardware is not supported. I would prefer to keep using the app on the desktop but if there is not a way to resolve it, I guess I'll have to make do. Any ideas besides upgrading the OS?

[agsteele 3,059]

1 hour ago, Kim Whaley said:

I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it twice (including going through RegEdit to remove instances of the app in the Registry with the recent attempt).

I'm not sure that RegEdit will do the trick since program files are still left on the PC. Uninstall using Revo Uninstaller and that should clear out ALL the dross.

[MatthyK 0]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:30 PM, PinkElephant said:

The issue is something else: Any PC that is running EN needs to be connected to the internet. And the internet of today is not the same internet it was 15 years ago, when Windows 8.1 was fresh. Todays internet is a much more hostile place. Using an outdated, not supported OS means your PC can be taken over by just visiting a website on which malicious code was installed - often without the website owner even knowing about it.

It’s called a drive-by infection. The initial malware will see where it has taken hold, then contact a C&C server and get a toolkit of specialized malware that takes full control of the PC. You will not even notice, but from that moment every login, every password and every account you are using can be taken over.

Every PC able to run Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 is able to execute Windows 10. Updating creates a much better environment for a safe operation of the computer.

Even if your arguments are correct, some users have made different decisions, and they have their reasons for doing so. What needs to be criticized is the mindset that one knows better than the users themselves and must, if necessary, force them "for their own good". Forcing an update that renders the software installation unusable makes no sense either way. But that's exactly what's happening right now.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

We are not talking about 2 software choices from the actual market, that wouldn’t match against promises of doing so.

We are talking about 2 different cases here

• One are operating systems that are deprecated since years, with severe security gaps. Microsoft has officially given up delivering any fixes for Windows 8.1, 8, 7 and older. No company delivering actual software is obliged to deliver any actual package that must be able to run on such outdated systems. If it executes by accident, fine. If not, it stops, and that’s it. Minimum system requirement for EN v10 is Windows 10 / MacOS 10.14 / iOS 13 / Android 10 , and this since it launched.
• The other is deprecated software, given up and replaced by its vendor. This is the case with all EN versions prior to v10 clients. They are all deprecated since more than 30 months, no more releases, no security fixes. The installed clients may still be working (Windows), or less so (Mac, if on the current MacOS). Here the clients depend beside the local install on their ability to sync with the cloud server. Since the data structure was switched to a new concept not supporting legacy, the old clients depend on the continued supply of the sync interface for the old data format. This can’t be taken for granted forever.

From these 2 general cases you can derive 4 sectors in a matrix: OS supported/outdated, Client actual/deprecated.

Users can use each of the 4 quadrants, there is no institution forbidding any of them. You can open a forum thread with the latest „How to replace a missing plugin in xyzOS for client 0.99 by modding code from my Atari vintage 1989“ and will have the full attention of your fellow nerds.

An assured sustained operation for us regular users can only be expected with the combination „Supported OS & Actual client“. The other 3 sectors of the setup possibilities have no assured operational foundations. We can exchange ideas here about how to prolong a certain use case - but it’s over when it’s over. And for legacy, depending on cloud sync with an outdated data structure it is obvious this point is getting closer now.

So anybody not on an actual OS and/or actual client should prepare his individual „Plan B“ - and if possible execute it.

[John in Michigan USA 140]

 

Todays internet is a much more hostile place. Using an outdated, not supported OS...

I agree Win 10 or 11 is a important security improvement over Win 7 or 8.

I can't help thinking that EN's RTE (Real Time Editing) is a security nightmare. Based on my (limited, but telling) experience so far the teams, sharing, and RTE code base is a mess and only getting messier as they scramble to debug it live and in real time.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

I wouldn’t call RTE a security nightmare. AFAIK all security measures still apply, especially TLS/SSL encryption for the server-client communication.

It had a rough start operational. Although my experience was only the lagging when opening notes. This was improved a lot since RTE took off. A lag of a few seconds is for me only noticeable when opening older notes with large attachments. All others now open quick. No data loss, and a superfast syncing experience.

From what we learned the main improvements were applied to the server backend.

[agsteele 3,059]

Without doubt, the introduction of RTE has been a terrible experience for many users and a nightmare for Evernote. I've been fortunate but suspect that I am in the minority.

Bending Spoons inherited many complaints about data/note duplication. The Evernote team had been working on a collaborative editing process linked to a new sync process aimed at resolving the old sync issues. That was being worked on for a year or longer with extensive beta testing. I had the opportunity to contribute some six months before it was released.

It is evident that the RTE Sync was seen as an important win for the new owners. Sadly, what had worked well in beta with, I suspect, limited datasets could not cope at scale. It was further complicated by deciding to continue supporting the old sync alongside the new.

[gazumped 12,057]

Since this is a Windows issue,  it's worth noting that lots of apps have various problems if a service from a previous attempt at loading the app is still running on the device.  Task Manager will show you everything that is active,  and the services can be sorted alphabetically.  If you still see 'Evernote' in there when you know the app is not loaded,  endtask it to death and try again.

[John in Michigan USA 140]

On 7/1/2023 at 2:50 AM, PinkElephant said:

I wouldn’t call RTE a security nightmare. AFAIK all security measures still apply, especially TLS/SSL encryption for the server-client communication.

They likely did basic security to encrypt and authenticate the RTE packets as they dart about the Internets. My point is, based on the bug reports and the difficulty resolving them, the code base is still a hot mess and now has an even bigger footprint than before. And messy code + large footprint is far, far more likely to have unanticipated security gaps.