PROBLEM

Operator gets the following error in TestWorks 4 SH (Figure 1):

An application error has occurred

And an application error log is being generated

Testwrks.exe

Exception: access violation (0xc0000005), Address: 0x77f6ccc4

Figure 1 – TestWorks 4 SH Error Window 

ANSWER 

The first things to check are disk capacity and disk fragmentation.  It doesn’t help to have enough free space if it is broken into too many little pieces.  Defragment the C: drive by selecting it in Windows Explorer and then selecting File > Properties > Tools > Defragment Now.

If TW4 crashes it might leave behind a running process.  If this happens, a new TW4 process will not be able to connect to the controller because it will see the old one.  Start the Task Manager and end all of the Testwrks.exe processes.

The test method file might have been corrupted.  To recover a working version, open and old sample file (,mss) from when the system was working correctly.  From the menu, select Method > Save Method As to extract the method from the sample file.