Evernote_5.7.1.5586 fatal error on startup

[RGL 0]

My data is safe, right?

 

This week I switched laptops, going from Windows 7 to Windows 8 (both 64 bit).  Everything went smoothly EXCEPT for what should have been the easiest step: recreating my Evernote database on the new machine.  I have been an Evernote member since Jan 2009 (premium since Sep 2011) and have basically moved everything important into Evernote.  So, not being able to get a clean copy of my full database of ...

• 16,861 notes (?GB) (web client) 
• or is it 16,849 notes / 20.5 GB (iMac client v5.5.1) ?
• or is it 16,843 notes / 20.7 GB (Win 7 laptop EN v5.7.1.5586) ??
• or is it 16,845 notes / 17.4 GB (Win 8 laptop EN v5.0.3.164 - see below) ???

... is quite troubling!!!  BTW, trash is empty and there are no local or unsynchronized folders that I am aware of.

 

Same application error on two different laptops

 

I had been running the latest version of Evernote_5.7.1.5586 on my old laptop with no obvious problems.  On Thursday, I downloaded and installed this same version on the new laptop and started syncing.  Within a few minutes I received the dreaded "Fatal Error" dialog box.  I took the obvious steps to troubleshoot: uninstalled, reinstalled, rebooted, deleted old files, etc., but kept getting the error.  I even tried to recreate the database on my old laptop and received the same error (now I'm worried)!

 

Evernote support was not helpful

 

My next troubleshooting step was to contact support, so I opened "Ticket# 816749 - Fatal Error in Evernote 5.7.1.5586 - can't create new local database".  I even went through the effort of including a redacted copy (removed note name stings) of the 4000 line log file for tech support to analyze.  About 24 hours later (on Friday) I received a generic "Let's try removing the current database that's on your desktop and start over" response email.  Had anyone thought about the actual problem?  Frustrated, I quickly replied, pointing out that a log file was available for analysis.  Now another 24 hours has passed and it is Saturday, meaning that the earliest I'll hear back from support is on Monday because, of course, "Evernote is closed on Weekends and Holidays."  

 

Problem Resolved / Work Around 

 

Fortunately, I just happened to have had a few hours free to troubleshoot on my own.  I found this thread

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/67394-support-response-times/ where a user with a similar problem had reverted to a previous version to get around the error.  Fortunately I had saved off a copy Evernote_5.0.3.1614 from Nov 2013 or so and gave it a shot.  That worked!  I am now running Evernote_5.0.3.1614 on Window 8 and it has successfully replicated my database.

 

No longer panicking, but still concerned

 

I feel better now that I seemingly have a fresh local copy of my data.  However, I remain concern about how vulnerable my data may be in a service like this.  With two-factor authentication, etc, I am not too worried about security.  Rather, now that I am fully invested in the platform, I am troubled by the thought that my data could somehow become corrupted or lost over time - either through application or user error.  I suppose should start keeping periodic backups of my data files (and fingers crossed) for some downside protection!

 

[BasieBand 42]

Same problem. I tried going back to version 5.6, but no luck. I will try an earlier version on Monday. Support closed my ticket and advised me to use the web version. Not acceptable. I too am a premium subscriber.

[RGL 0]

Just received this update from tech support:

 

Dave Z. (Evernote Support)

Nov 18 11:36

Thank you for your patience and working with me on this.

I have gathered enough details to determine that this appears to be a bug. I am going to pass this along to my product team to further investigate.

In the meantime, I will need to wait for the quality assurance lead to finish testing and then assign it a priority. Based on their priority they will implement a fix. Due to the nature and way software changes and processes are implemented it may take sometime to implement a fix. I do understand how this can be frustrating and I am hopeful that a fix will be ready shortly. I also recommend following the discussions in our user forums (https://discussion.evernote.com) for the most up-to-date info on when fixes are released. Finally, it is advised to download our latest updates when they become available, so you don't miss out on any of our latest features and bug fixes.

Again, thank you very much for helping to bring this issue to our attention, I hope that we can get this resolved quickly and let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you for your feedback and being a valued Evernote user.

Dave Z

 

[BasieBand 42]

I received almost an identical email from Evernote Support on November 4th.  

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

@RGL:  Well, that's actually a pretty decent response.  You can reply and ask for notification when the bug is fixed, but I'm not sure if they will do that.

 

Meanwhile, I encourage everyone who encounters this behavior to submit a bug report.  The more reports they have, the more pressure there should be to fix it.

 

Submit a BUG report via an EN Support Ticket. In the Support Form, select "Report a bug, crash, or data lost", and start the Ticket Title with "BUG:  " to make it clear.  Reporting a bug should be available to all users, including Free Account owners.

[EdH 1,670]

This has been a bug for several months. Glad to see that 5.0.x will do the download. I have kept a copy of 4.6.whatever and that will download, then upgrading from there.