Blank Gui After Update To 1.4

[vto80]

Same here.

 

Fully updated win 8.1 x64, btsync gui gives a completely blank screen. Seems to work normally in the background. Tried updating btsync to the latest version. No difference.

 

[RomanZ]

@vto80

I guess you've checked the .css registry key and it did not help?

[vto80]

Yup. 

Content type was "text/css". Changed to "Volume data".

Before the gui was completely blank and gray. Now the background has changed to white and i can see a single line of text on the top left corner of btsync gui. In times new roman font, saying "Sync is paused | Resume" and a button "x" that does nothing.

 

Btw: sent you the %appdata% folder via mail.

[RomanZ]

@vto80

The "Volume data" key should be "text/css" so it was okay in your case. Could you please change it back? Also, your storage data is missing settings.dat - which, actually, looks to be a culprit. Could you please send it as well?

 

@zbigb69

Thanks a lot for your storage folder! We've managed to reproduce issue and now are working on fix. As a quick workaround you may delete your settings.dat and settings.dat.old file - it contains some corrupt data which prevents UI from opening. It will reset all the global app preferences, but bring back your UI.

[vto80]

@RomanZ

settings.dat sent. 

 

The workaround works. Deleting settings.dat solved the problem for me (btw: the sync folders are unaffected by all this).

I deleted settings.dat, and when i opened btsync, i got the EULA screen. After that, it works just like before.

[zbigb69]

@RomanZ

 

I've just sent you again the same email, on the second email adress. But i didn't see your answer.

 

So i've delete settings.dat and setting.dat.old, and now it's working perfectly. Thank for your help.

[RomanZ]

@vto80, @zbigb69,

 

Great to hear it now works! Thanks for timely sent debugs.

Hope it is the last "Blank UI" issue culprit. We are working on fix in code - will be available in one of upcoming builds.

[exbigpiggy]

 

@all,

 

open the Registry editor  Go to [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.css] and see if there is "Content Type"="text/css" string. If you don't have it, try creating it: right-click on the field, and pick New- > Sting Value. Name - Content Type. Then right click on it and pick "Modify" and put text/css into "Volume data" field.

 

Thanks for this. it solved my problem.

 

PHP ED editor changed this to text/plain.

 

Great to see it working again :-)

[waltermhuber]

Hi

 

I am using a MAC Pro and my browser is Safari. My gui is also blank (we get the same message that there is no connection to the server possible)  and as far as I could find out, sync stopped the same day we installed vers. 1.4

 

any clue how to solve the Problem on a mac/safari?

 

thanks

 

Walter

[RomanZ]

Hi Walter,

 

Do I understand correctly that sync runs on some linux box, you try to connect to its WebUI from Mac (Safari browser) and it claims that it can't connect to the server?

 

If this is correct, then it is different issue, not a blank UI.

 

Also,

sync stopped the same day we installed vers. 1.4

Do you mean that sync process is no longer running, or the fact that data does not synchronize even when Sync runs on both your Linux box and Mac?

[waltermhuber]

Hi,

 

thanks for your post.

 

sorry that I didn't mention my complete environment. I use BTSync between 2 NAS:

NAS 1 is an Asustor Device 608T => used as data source

NAS 2 in a QNAP Device 439 Pro II+ => used as target unit

 

The MAC Pro is being used as my workstation

 

It all worked perfectly well until some days ago, when I was upgrading onto rel. 1.4 on SAN 2 app

 

 

I try to describe what exactly happens:

1. I Login to SAN1 and double-click the BTSync app

2. the sign-on Screen (ip address:port/gui) appears

3. I Login, have all details on the Screen => everything seems to be OK

 

4. I Login to SAN2 and double click the BTSync app

5. then there will appear either:

a) a blank gui on my Screen (with absolutely no Information on screen) - remains blank even after 15 minutes or more

or

a message appears telling me that a Connection to the Server is not possible. SOmehow he cannot find OP address:port/gui of SAN2

 

 

The second Point you mention is:

I will check the exact Status in about 2 hours and upload the answer.

 

 

 

 

(I cannot give you the exact wording as I am not at home right now; I will upload it later today)

[waltermhuber]

The exact message is: Safari cannot establish a connection to the server
Safari cannot open the page "ipadress:port/gui/" as Safari cannot establish a connection to the server 

[GreatMarko]

The exact message is: Safari cannot establish a connection to the server

Safari cannot open the page "ipadress:port/gui/" as Safari cannot establish a connection to the server 

 

Ok, as RomanZ indicated, this is not the same as the issue being discussed in this thread. This thread relates to a blank UI once connected  - you're not even able to connect to the UI - that's different.

 

Your issue is likely due to the fact that Sync 1.4 restricts access to the WebUI to the loopback address (localhost/127.0.0.1) only by default. If you are trying to connect to the UI on a different IP address, you'll need to adjust the "listen" parameter in your Sync config file, or start Sync with the "--webui.listen <IP:port>" switch

[mariano]

Hi all,

I've upgraded to 1.4.91 using the auto-update function, in one peer (win 8 with IE10) I've now the blank UI issue.

I've checked all the suggestions in this thread (security option in IE, firewall, antivirus, .css in registry).

Nothing seems to work.

The only thing that is different in this machine is that the account that uses btsync does not have admin privileges.

Btsync works, I can see the peer online on other PC.

 

The strange thing is that with the admin user, the UI works. What I have to do?

[jdrch]

Same problem here on fully patched Windows 8.1 x64 running IE 11. I've already tried the Registry .css fix (actually I already had the necessary entry) and deleting my settings.dat and settings.old.dat files. None of the above work. Any ideas?

 

 

PS: Also, you guys are doing a good job and all, but could we have a lil more QA on BT's side? I'm dead scared of updates since 1.4 because about 1 in 3 of them absolutely hose core functionality. I can understand folder sharing being wonky, but dead UIs and hosed syncing (both of which I've experienced in various builds since 1.4) are like having a car that won't drive.

[dontEmbedIE]

Embedding Internet Explorer as the sole way to display the BtSync UI on Windows guarantees failure.

 

 

[ NOTE:  Internet Explorer is NOT my default browser, I have both Chrome and Firefox installed, and tired to display the btsync UI with each of them set at the default browser.  No luck. ]

 

It is possible for Internet Explorer to get itself into a state where it is IMPOSSIBLE to repair it, reset it, or work around this problem by completely removing and reinstalling it.  There is a setting buried in the registry somewhere which prevents proper rendering of content in certain circumstances.  Circumstances like:

• the bysync UI
• the login screen used by Word, Excel, etc., by Office 365 to login to its online account.  (all other aspects of Word work fine, it just cannot log in.)
• the login screen at http://live.microsoft.com

In effect, any use of IE as an embedded control, and even some instances of live websites, can lead to circumstances where the content simply does not get rendered, or the UI is completely unresponsive.  It is as if scripting is completely disabled, when in fact it is not.

 

 

Observe:

 

 

 

Yes, it connects and retrieves the page content:

 

 

 

But, as a previous poster observed, the DOM is never populated:

 

 

 

 

Internet Explorer is just utterly broken, and cannot be repaired without completely reinstalling Windows.

 

Before you reply, I repeat, all attempts to remedy this, including every permutation of the following:  repairing ie, resetting the security settings, wiping all history, creating a new windows user, removing and reinstalling internet explorer, etc., etc.,  are COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE AND USELESS.

 

In rare instances, resetting the security zones will help some users.  But in many instances, there is simply no help to be had.  There are a significant number of users out there who are completely unable to login to live.microsoft.com, or login to their Office 365 accounts on certain computers.

 

I suspect that the genesis of this problem was an emergency hotfix which Microsoft released years ago, to address some sort of zero day exploit, without needing to wait for patch Tuesday.  I have a dim recollection of this, but I cannot remember precisely.  But I do remember that it had to do with an obscure situation involving scripting permissions, perhaps relating to kill bits, or perhaps only happening contemporaneously with the kill bits issue I'm remembering...  Maybe some obscure DLL got unregistered or something...

 

Anyway,  NONE of the advice available online to do the typical repairs to Internet Explorer are effective in any way.

 

This may seem like an edge case, but trust me, you will have a significant number of users for whom repair of IE will simply be IMPOSSIBLE.  And it is likely that where one user is affected, ALL users in the organization will be affected, if the emergency hotfix from years ago is the culpit, and it was rolled out to an entire inventory of desktops...

 

Good luck fixing this, (he said sarcastically).  Because you won't be able to.  You have ZERO POWER to fix a broken IE, when it is broken in this fashion.

 

 

PLEASE release a "headless", command line version of btsync for Windows, or expose the localhost web GUI as I see others mention in this thread.

[GreatMarko]

Embedding Internet Explorer as the sole way to display the BtSync UI on Windows guarantees failure.

...

PLEASE release a "headless", command line version of btsync for Windows, or expose the localhost web GUI as I see others mention in this thread.

The "dependance" on IE9+ won't persist (see this post) - in fact for WinXP/2003 you can already access Sync 1.4 through your favorite browser (be it Chrome/Firefox, etc)

 

As for a "headless/command line version of Sync for Windows" - are you aware that you can run Sync with a config file, and that there's also an API available as well?

[dontEmbedIE]

The "dependance" on IE9+ won't persist (see this post) - in fact for WinXP/2003 you can already access Sync 1.4 through your favorite browser (be it Chrome/Firefox, etc)

 

That's great news.  However I'm not on XP / Server 2003.  This doesn't help me yet.  Anxiously waiting, eagerly anticipating...

 

 

As for a "headless/command line version of Sync for Windows" - are you aware that you can run Sync with a config file, and that there's also an API available as well?

 

Thanks.  As far as I can tell, btsync is actually functioning.  I just have no idea what it's doing, because the UI won't display.

 

I know about settings.dat , but I don't know where to find a text format config file.  This would be invaluable, as it is an artifact I could put into source control, and be able to quickly deploy btsync on new installs.

 

 

Thanks.

[jdrch]

 

I know about settings.dat , but I don't know where to find a text format config file.  This would be invaluable, as it is an artifact I could put into source control, and be able to quickly deploy btsync on new installs.

AFAIK they're working on an enterprise version, which hopefully/presumably would have this feature.

Observe:

 

 

 

This happens in Firefox too, actually. What you're observing is the browser doing exactly what the MS login page tells it to.

[GreatMarko]

I know about settings.dat , but I don't know where to find a text format config file.  This would be invaluable, as it is an artifact I could put into source control, and be able to quickly deploy btsync on new installs.

It's really quite simple and straight forward on Windows:

1) Create a file named "config.conf" and save it to the same location as your BTSync.exe (Please refer to the documentation as to what to actually put in your config file, as we're getting somewhat off-topic here already!)

2) Create a .bat file in the same location containing the following line:

START BTSync /config config.conf

3) Instead of starting Sync via BTSync.exe, start it via your .bat file instead

[dontEmbedIE]

AFAIK they're working on an enterprise version, which hopefully/presumably would have this feature.

This happens in Firefox too, actually. What you're observing is the browser doing exactly what the MS login page tells it to.

 

 

Nope.  Not correct.

 

Firefox works fine.

 

 

 

Internet Explorer is hopelessly broken.  

 

Ignore me if you want.  I know what I'm talking about.  

 

My purpose in posting here is to save the time and sanity of others like me who find themselves in this situation. There is a large number of people for whom use of applications which depend on the IE control is simply impossible. Like microsoft's login services at live.com, and Office 365 applications like Word and Excel. For now, btsync has been added to the list of applications for which a dependency on Internet Explorer renders them useless.  (Office 365, live.com, and now btsync are how I've run into this.  I am certain that any other application which depends on IE in this way is also affected.)

[RomanZ]

@jdrch

Could you please pack your whole storage folder (%appdata%\BitTorrent Sync)? Please exclude the sync.dat and sync.dat.old from the archive and send it to me. Note that this one goes for RomanZ regarding Blank UI.

[datroubler]

I have the same Poblem.

OS is Win 8.1. I am running version 1.4.93 of btsync.

I just reinstalled btsync and also iExplore 11 but the problem remains.

[jdrch]

@jdrch

Could you please pack your whole storage folder (%appdata%\BitTorrent Sync)? Please exclude the sync.dat and sync.dat.old from the archive and send it to me. Note that this one goes for RomanZ regarding Blank UI.

Already did that. I've PMed you the link to the Zendesk support request, let me know if you got it. Thanks!

[datroubler]

I just solved it by deleting the whole appdata folder and saving the old sync.dat file and replacing it in the new created folder.