Occasional "Renderer process gone" message

Support
1

Operating system

Windows

Joplin version

3.0.15

Desktop version info

Joplin 3.0.15 (prod, win32)

Client ID: 43a73dd5b8ee46d8a5d81e986a9c288f
Sync Version: 3
Profile Version: 47
Keychain Supported: Yes

Revision: 598677b

Backup: 1.4.1
Note Tabs: 1.4.0

What issue do you have?

Once or twice a week, I receive the following message when starting Joplin:

An error occurred: Renderer process gone
-> Quit
-> Restart in safe mode

I turn off the message and restart Joplin soon after. Joplin starts normally.

I took a look at the other messages and none seem relevant.

I have just turned on "Automatically upload crash reports"

Any ideas as to cause?

Thanks,

John

2

The backup plugin periodically exports all notes as JEX in the background, which could be related to the issue.

It should be possible to disable automatic backups from settings > backup and setting "backup interval" to 0:

Does disabling automatic backups help?

3

I'll try that @personalizedrefriger and see if it works.

Thanks,

John

1 Like
4

As you suggested @personalizedrefriger, I turned off the backup. FYI, I generally restart my computer 3 times a day: early morning, at lunch time and in the later afternoon. As I have Joplin set to auto-start after I login to Windows, I took detailed notes of what happened after I turned off the backup and made other changes to Joplin on my primary computer.

2024.09.28 @ 12:28: Joplin crash after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin
2024.09.28 @ 14:30 it was suggested to turn off automatic backups; interval set to 0
2024.09.28 @ 17:06 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.29 @ 07:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.29 @ 12:15 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.29 @ 17:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.30 @ 05:55 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.30 @ 12:00 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.09.30 @ 17:15 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.01 @ 06:00 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.01 @ 16:35 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.02 @ 05:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.02 @ 12:00 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.02 @ 16:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.03 @ 05:20 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.03 @ 11:45 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.03 @ 16:45 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.04 @ 06:00 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.04 @ 12:00 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.04 @ 16:15 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.06 @ 05:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.07 @ 05:35 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.07 @ 10:15 - turned on Joplin Backup; same settings as before: every 24 hours, keep 7 days
2024.10.07 @ 13:15 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.07 @ 16:45 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.08 @ 05:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.08 @ 11:30 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.08 @ 16:15 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.08 overnight - automatic Windows update and computer restart during the night, Joplin crashed on Windows login; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin
2024.10.09 @ 05:55 - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin
2024.10.09 @ 13:40 - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin
2024.10.09 @ 16:40 - no Joplin crash after computer restart; I made no changes to Joplin after the previous Joplin crashes
2024.10.10 @ 05:05 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.11 @ 05:20 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.11 @ 11:55 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.11 @ 16:50 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.12 @ 05:45 - no Joplin crash after computer restart
2024.10.12 @ 16:50 - no Joplin crash after computer restart

Here are the contents of my Joplin Backup Directory: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

My interpretation of my notes above is that the Joplin backup ran at a time that occasionally coincided with when I restarted my computer in the morning, leading to the occasional Joplin crash. When I thought of that as being the cause, I intentionally turned on the backup at 10:15 as that is a time that I never restart my computer.

If you agree with my interpretation, I believe it would be useful to add a backup time field in Options > Backup.

Thanks for your help,

John

5

Further to my comments above @personalizedrefriger, since the last crash after restart 2024.10.09 @ 13:40, Joplin crashes after a restart once or twice each week. That's the same as when I first opened this case back on Sept. 28.

Any ideas besides the backup back off?

Thanks,

John

6

Is this with Joplin v3.1.20? Joplin v3.1.20 includes a fix for an issue where background timers would indefinitely check for note list items, which might be related.

7

I generally wait a week on apps before I install an upgrade @personalizedrefriger . I'll see if it happens again going forward...

Thanks,

John

8

Here is an update @personalizedrefriger. As you can see, Joplin crashed about once a week after I installed 3.1.20 (prod, win32) on Oct. 25. With Joplin 3.1.24 (prod, win32) that I installed last Friday, it is now crashing more often!

2024.10.19 @ 06:00 - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.10.21 @ 03:25 - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.10.24 @ 05:12 - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.10.25 @ 05:00 - installed Joplin 3.1.20 (prod, win32)

2024.10.29 - Lunch time restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.11.07 - Lunch time restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.11.13 - Early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.11.15 - Installed Joplin 3.1.24 (prod, win32)

2024.11.18 - AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.11.20 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.11.21 - PM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

9

As you can see @personalizedrefriger, I am still getting lots of Joplin crashes after computer restarts...

2024.11.28 - PM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.01 - PM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.13 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.14 - evening restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

10

I am getting more and more Joplin crashes after restarts @personalizedrefriger. I don't understand why something like a 5 minute timer can't be put on the backup routine so that it runs after Joplin has completely started up.

2024.12.19 - lunch restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.20 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.21 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.22 - evening restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.23 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2024.12.23 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

I'm turning off the backup, I'll set up a Robocopy routine for backup.

If the Joplin backup ever gets fixed, please let me know..

Thanks very much,

John

11

Despite the fact that I turned off the Joplin Backup Plugin nearly a month ago, Joplin is still crashing frequently @personalizedrefriger.

2025.01.02 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.06 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.13 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.15 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

Best,

John

12

What if you turn off OCR in settings, does it help?

13

@laurent I'll turn off OCR before my restarts and see if that fixes the problem.

14

I just read about OCR in the Joplin help file and have a question...

I have a second computer that I use as a backup in case my primary computer crashes.

I rarely use my secondary computer for any kind of work. It syncs to the primary computer via Joplin cloud. I believe that Joplin on the secondary computer will OCR PDF files that are uploaded on my primary computer?

If so, I will turn off Joplin OCR long-term on my primary machine.

Thanks,

John

15

Yes that would work. OCR data is synced between computers

16

These are my most recent notes on this issue @Laurent:

2025.01.15 @ 16:15 - turned off Joplin OCR on primary computer

2025.01.16 PM - OCR of a PDF (Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark", 438 pages) on secondary computer works very well in testing full-text search

2025.01.17 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.17 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.17 - afternoon - installed Joplin 3.2.11

2025.01.18 - early evening restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.19 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

I had hoped that 3.2.11 would fix the problem, but that was not to be!

FYI, I did some tests of Joplin at the beginning of last year. Once I got the initial issues worked out (including subscribing to Joplin Sync as I couldn't get Dropbox sync to work properly), I installed Joplin on March 23 and moved over from Evernote.

I started noticing the "Renderer process gone" a couple of times a week in September and started this thread on September 28.

Is there something in Joplin that changed between March 23 and September and that may be the cause of this?

Thanks very much,

John

17

When it crashes, before restarting the app, could you please check the last 20-30 lines in the log to see if there's any pattern? Maybe it's specific operations in a specific order that causes this. Also please enable debug logging: https://joplinapp.org/debugging

But also because it's a crash it's likely to be a low level issue that may resolve itself eventually as we upgrade the relevant package or Electron.

18

These are my notes from the past 10 days @Laurent:

2025.01.20 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

  • nothing in logs after computer restart

  • as requested, added "flags.txt" in Joplin profile directory containing: --open-dev-tools --debug --log-level debug

  • dozens of Joplin crash dumps in Home directory: 34 before I started this thread on 2024.09.28; 64 from 2024.09.28 to 2025.01.20 @ 05:32!

2025.01.25 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.27 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.01.27 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2027.01.28 AM - Installed Joplin 3.2.12

2025.01.29 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

Also attached are 4 screenshots of the errors I saw.

I have Joplin set to "Automatically upload crash reports". Can you find those crash reports?

Hope this helps you figure out the cause!

John

20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 1
20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 1835×286 110 KB

20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 2
20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 2812×243 73.8 KB

20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 3
20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 4
20250127 - Joplin Screenshot 4854×875 122 KB

19

These are my notes from the past 3 weeks @Laurent:

2025.01.30 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.02 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.02 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.03 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.05 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.06 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.07 - early AM restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.07 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.10 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.18 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.20 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.20 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.21 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.21 - afternoon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

2025.02.22 - noon restart - Joplin crashed after computer restart; as usual, Joplin started fine after clicking on "Quit" and restarting Joplin

So it's still happening very often!

FYI, I still have Automatic Backups disabled... And I missed noting some crashes because I was busy with other projects.

Any ideas on when this will be fixed? And when I can turn the backups back on!

Thanks very much,

John

20

Maybe worth stating as well, what version of Windows are you using?