Designer 2.x crashes to desktop when interacting with Windows File Explorer (i.e., saving, opening, exporting)

[TVJD]

On a Win 11 pc, I am no longer able to use Designer 2 after using it successfully for months. The application starts as normal, and it is usable, but whenever I try to open, export, or save a document--in other words, whenever the File Explorer window pops up--Designer crashes to desktop.

I did not make any changes to Windows or to Designer prior to the start of this happening. I have since tried updating both Windows and Affinity Designer (was 2.??? -- probably 2.3 or 2.4 -- and now is the newest version, 2.5.3), as well as the old "turning it off and on again" trick, but that has not resolved the issue.

I have tried starting Designer while holding down Ctrl and clearing all of the defaults and turning off hardware acceleration, but that had no effect.

Also note that I can open a doc when selecting from the "Recently Opened" list. It is only when File Explorer gets involved that the crash happens.

A few sample crash logs are attached.

41aff8b3-dbc4-40bc-bbf7-74e66e503a3b.dmp 5f13dc97-9f47-412d-a70a-f2be16378c8f.dmp

Edited August 9, 2024 by TVJD

[walt.farrell]

Welcome to the Affinity forums @TVJD.

Your first .dmp file (41aff8b3-...) shows that a module named asdrive64.dll is involved, and it is part of IBM Aspera Connect.

That same program also seems to be involved in the second .dmp file, so I would try removing it (or stopping it) to see if that resolves your problem.

If that doesn't help, you may need to wait for one of the Serif staff to examine the .dmp files as they would know more than I.

[TVJD]

Good catch. It looks like Aspera was the culprit -- I uninstalled it and now Designer can open and save documents. (That's unfortunate, because I actually need to use Aspera, but I guess that's a problem for me to deal with.)

[walt.farrell]

Thanks for confirming.