No Problem For About Two Years, Then Things(CCleaner) Crashes Big Time!

[falseface]

    Greetings Everyone!

New member here. About 5 days ago I noticed CCleaner stopped appearing on my taskbar. I then discovered it was crashing. Open CCleaner crash. Open CCleaner crash. Contacted support, but problem unsolved. Been getting emails back and forth.  Recommended restore default settings,(Didn't Work),Recommended reinstalling,(Didn't Work). CANNOT REINSTALL the download link of CCleaner off the web site. I purchased the Professional Version, with Recuva, Defraggler, and Speccy. Amazingly all three of those work, but CCleaner won't. When I purchased the Bundle Version with CCleaner, the download link for that is good for a year from purchase. THAT ONE I can download and install CCleaner to my computer, but it now won't open at all! Everything else on my computer works great. No other software crashes/Glitches. I have an HP laptop that is barely 7 months old. An operating system check reveals everything normal. 11th Generation I7 Processor with 12 gigs of ram. More than enough to handle most anything. I'am using Windows 10 Home Version 21HI. Firefox Browser with Malwarebytes Antivirus. Doubled checked to see if Antivirus is blocking anything, but it is not. AT this point clueless to the issue causing this!

Edited September 18, 2021 by falseface

[nukecad]

Normally that is a sign that your anivirus is stopping CCleaner from running. (It will often run the first time from the installer but then not again as the AV blocks it).

But I've never known Malwarebytes to block CCleaner.
Just to double check, you are not running Malwarebytes side-by-side with another AV?

It is interesting that you say that you can download/install from the bundle site but not from elsewhere.
This may have already been suggested by support, but try downloading the 'Slim' installer from here (3rd one down) and see if that will install and run.
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds

Of even more interest is that you say this started 5 days ago, which is the day that the update to CCleaner v5.85 was released.
Can you remember if you had Automatic Updates turned on in CCleaners Options>Updates?

We haven't had any other reports here of such problems with v5.85, but all computers are different and someone has to be first to report something odd.

To see if it is the 5.85 update causing your issue you could roll back and try reinstalling v5.84.
I'd do the install while not connected to the internet, so that it doesn't automatically update itself to v5.85 again.
If v5.84 installs and runs offline then turn off automatic updating before reconnecting to the internet and checking that it still runs when connected.
You can download the v5.84 installer here:  https://download.ccleaner.com/ccsetup584.exe

If 5.84 runs for you but 5.85 doesn't then do come back and let us know, the developers will be interested in finding out why.

[falseface]

Thanks for your very informative replies! I think we might have hit the nail on the head. Yes, I had automatic updates enabled, and yes the problems seemed to have started when the updates happened. Of course since auto updates are enabled, I don't really know when they happen. Since you mentioned a recent update, that might make more sense now. Malwarebytes I have had for years, so I doubt this is blocking anything. If it was, I think it would have started when I first used CCleaner. Windows Defender is disabled, and no other Antivirus is being used. The trial version of McAfee that came installed on the computer is expired and not running. Unfortunately support has been of little help, and are slow to respond in emails. The last email sent by them was over 3 days ago. They mentioned in the last email to run CCleaner in Debug Mode, and to send a log file. Since I can't open CCleaner after installing, that is of no help to me.  First I will try the slim installer,(Which I assume includes the recent updates), and then the older version without the updates.  Great suggestions! Thanks!

[falseface]

Wow! Looks like problem fixed with slim installer! And that is the recent version. Question? What is the difference between the slim installer and the regular one?? I can't tell the difference even after entering my license info. Looks like they both have the same features. Can't say whether the recent update on the regular installer caused my problems or not. Important thing is I got back my CCleaner. And like the old saying goes,(If it ain't broke don't fix it!) So the slim installer stays. I wished support had been more helpful. Thanks again mod nukecad!!

 

[nukecad]

As you say who knows just what caused the problem for you, but good to hear it was fairly easily sorted out by using the Slim installer.

I'm guessing something glitched during the automatic update and left things in limbo until you did a re-install with the Slim installer. It probably won't ever happen to you again.

As for the different installers:
The CCleaner that gets installed is exactly the same; it's the installers themselves which are different.

The Standard installer contains a bundled offer for other products which you can accept or decline, it connects to another server to show that offer.
Some AV's object to that extra connection and so block the install altogether. Some AV's are erratic about if they block it or not.
Although you wouldn't normally get the offer anyway on an automatic update, or from a 'Check for Updates', you should only see it if you are installing manually

The Slim installer is intended for technicians and advanced users, it works slightly differently (and doesn't include any offer), so it doesn't try to connect to another server.
Because it works slightly differently we often suggest trying it when people are having problems the Standard installer.
You might want to bookmark that 'Builds' page for future use?
TBH using the Standard installer while not connected to the internet achieves the same thing, in that case it knows there is no internet so doesn't try to show the offer.

One other thing; but as you have Malwarebytes I'm positive this wasn't your issue.
Certain AV's are notoriously slow to update and so will block a new CCleaner version from running for a few days after it is released, once the AV gets an update it recognises the new CCleaner and stops blocking it.
(We saw quite a bit of that when some AVs were being even slower to update as people worked at home during covid).

[Dave CCleaner]

On 18/09/2021 at 05:41, falseface said:

About 5 days ago I noticed CCleaner stopped appearing on my taskbar. I then discovered it was crashing.

Just to confirm, it was 5.84 or 5.85 that was crashing? Can you remember which version number you were on prior to experiencing the crashes?

On 18/09/2021 at 05:41, falseface said:

CANNOT REINSTALL the download link of CCleaner off the web site

And to double-confirm, it was the 5.85 version that you couldn't reinstall from before trying the slim build? The issue was during installation itself, or the install ran but CCleaner wouldn't run afterwards?  I ask since there were crashes reported for some users on 5.82 - 5.84 that were fixed in 5.85, so we are investigating if there are any crash scenarios still outstanding.

[falseface]

On 20/09/2021 at 03:46, Dave CCleaner said:

Just to confirm, it was 5.84 or 5.85 that was crashing? Can you remember which version number you were on prior to experiencing the crashes?

And to double-confirm, it was the 5.85 version that you couldn't reinstall from before trying the slim build? The issue was during installation itself, or the install ran but CCleaner wouldn't run afterwards?  I ask since there were crashes reported for some users on 5.82 - 5.84 that were fixed in 5.85, so we are investigating if there are any crash scenarios still outstanding.

It was definitely the 5.85 update that was causing the problems and crashes. And it was the 5.85 version that I could not reinstall, because I was downloading the latest version from the website. And It WOULD NOT fully install, so I could not run it at all. Never had any problems before with any updates. Once I downloaded the slim installer with the latest version, all my problems went away. I never even knew such an installer existed. Was it a bug in the software?? Hard to say. Like Moderator nukecad said previously, all computers are different.

Edited September 22, 2021 by falseface