TCMD - Dir Command puts out blank lines?

[Arminius]

Just noticed some strange behavior when I use TCMD to list directory contents with Dir on my system (Windows 7, 32 bit).

after the first page or so, the output turns into mostly blank lines - not just on screen, but also in the HTML screen buffer.
See the attached file for an example.

Correction: the forum software does not allow attaching HTML files, so here is a side-by-side screenshot instead.

This is not a problem with screen colors. The content of the blank lines isn't just rendered optically invisible, there actually is none.

In TCC, Dir works fine. Sorry if this is a known issue, I usually work with TCC only.

P.S.
The output of Dir has no missing lines when it is redirected into a text file, or piped to V.exe

 

[rconn]

Not reproducible here. Do you have ANSI enabled?

 

[Arminius]

ANSI colors are currently enabled in TCC, disabled in TCMD.

I tried reversing these settings: ANSI on in TCMD / off in TCC.
The problem with lines appearing blank after about a page remained, see the attached screen shot.

Same result when I turn off ANSI support in both programs:
that makes screen output in TCMD a lot faster, but the blanks did not go away.

 

[rconn]

What happens if you turn off directory colorization?

 

[Arminius]

If I delete all entries in the Directory Colors: field of the TCC options,
Dir outputs monochromatic blank lines …

P.S.
I just pulled out one of my back-up drives and ran a few Dir commands on the old TCMD 21.01.63:
no problems in this version!

 

[Arminius]

Been trying to narrow down the conditions under which TCMD 23's screen output turns into blank lines.

Maybe there's something like a buffer overrun involved, because:

1. if the output is length-limited, like with the Dir/z FAT format option, it does not seem to turn into blanks

2. the first (few) line(s) are always displayed normally

See the attached screenshot for an example.

 

[rconn]

I've tried this on Win 7 & Win 10, 32-bit & 64-bit, and am unable to reproduce it. (Nobody else has reported it, at least thus far.)

The screen update code (reading the hidden console window & painting the TCMD tab window) is identical in v21 and v23. So if it works for you in v21, there's probably a configuration change somewhere in v23.

Some things to try:

1) Try detaching the tab after you get some blank lines. If the stand-alone console window is still showing the blank lines, then TCMD is working fine, and the problem is with the console window (i.e., Microsoft's problem) or your video driver.

2) Try starting TCMD without TCMD.INI, and see if it still fails. (If you have a TCSTART.*, disable that too.) To start without TCMD.INI, run "tcmd.exe /n". If it fails when running your TCMD.INI & works without it, send your TCMD.INI to [email protected] so I can analyze it.

3) Try changing to a different theme.

 

[Arminius]

1) Once the problem shows up, it persists even after detaching the tab.

... and the problem is with the console window (i.e., Microsoft's problem) or your video driver.

If the relevant code in either version remains the same, why would 21 work with my Windows console & video driver, but not 23?

2) Starting without TCMD.ini & TCSTART.BAT makes no difference to blanks in the output & other screen drawing oddities.

there's probably a configuration change somewhere in v23.

I tried using TCMD.INI & TCSTART.BAT from version 21 with the version 23 installation. They also made no difference.

3) Changing themes has again no effect.

For completeness sake', I'll try version 22 next, followed by a video driver update.

P.S.

22 works fine, both with default options, and the configuration files from my other installations.

Also did an uninstall & clean reinstall of version 23, with no prior config files: blank lines promptly reappear.

 

[rconn]

1) Once the problem shows up, it persists even after detaching the tab.

Then the issue isn't with TCMD, it's either TCC or the Windows console (or the driver). TCMD is faithfully mirroring the blank lines in the hidden console window.

If the relevant code in either version remains the same, why would 21 work with my Windows console & video driver, but not 23?

Because something else is different.

Try one more thing - start TCC v21 or v22 in a TCMD v23 tab window, and see if they display any blank lines.

 

[Arminius]

Then the issue isn't with TCMD, it's either TCC or the Windows console (or the driver). TCMD is faithfully mirroring the blank lines in the hidden console window.

Nvidia driver updated to latest version from March 23, no difference.

Because something else is different.

Even after a clean reinstall of 23?

Try one more thing - start TCC v21 or v22 in a TCMD v23 tab window, and see if they display any blank lines.

Did that: the blank output also appears in TCC 21 & 22, when they are running inside of TCMD 23.

Then the issue isn't with TCMD, it's either TCC or the Windows console (or the driver). TCMD is faithfully mirroring the blank lines in the hidden console window.

Running by itself, TCC 23 has no problems. I don't know what could have happened to my Windows console that only affects version 23, not the earlier versions.

I also tried your suggestion in reverse: running TCC 23 inside of TCMD 21 - output was normal, no blanks.

 

[rconn]

Are your Windows console properties the same for TCC v21 and v23? If you primarily use TCC stand-alone, it's likely you've changed the defaults for v21.

Does this only happen with DIR, or do you see the same with other commands (like TYPE or TREE)?

 

[Arminius]

Does this only happen with DIR, or do you see the same with other commands (like TYPE or TREE)?

DIR's output is normal at first, like there was some threshold that has to be reached. Once this happenes, after a page or two, screen writing in general seems to become messed up, e.g.:

- previous input persists optically in the command line

- extraneous blank lines appear in the output of TREE

- TYPE omits large sections of its target file

I have HTML files to illustrate these effects, though the forum software doesn't allow posting them.
BTW, once the bug has shown up, saving output into HTML files causes conhost to consume noticeably more CPU time.

Are your Windows console properties the same for TCC v21 and v23?

To answer that question, what do I check beyond TCMD.INI & TCSTART.BAT?
I tried starting version 23 from a clean install, but that seemed to have no effect on the bug.

 

[vefatica]

1) Once the problem shows up, it persists even after detaching the tab.

Can you make it (blank lines) happen again in that now-detached console?

 

[Arminius]

Can you make it (blank lines) happen again in that now-detached console?

Once the bug has appeared in TCMD, detaching the console makes no difference:
all further screen output will be corrupted.

TCMD 23 - bug becomes active after line VDEU.DLL:

The TCC console after detaching from TCMD, and running another DIR: screen output now permanently corrupted

P.S.
It is not only DIR that triggers the bug, TYPE also works, e.g. after dumping one or two *.html files on screen.

 

[rconn]

You can see (and set) your console properties by clicking on the icon in the TCC title bar and clicking "Defaults" or "Properties".

You can see the TCMD shortcut properties by right clicking on the TCMD icon and selecting "Properties".

Both of those are Windows properties, not internal to TCC or TCMD.

 

[rconn]

Once the bug has appeared in TCMD, detaching the console makes no difference:
all further screen output will be corrupted.

TCMD 23 - bug becomes active after line VDEU.DLL:

And this is with ANSI disabled in both TCC and TCMD? The only thing that TCMD could affect in a console process is ANSI - TCMD will (if ANSI is enabled) inject an ANSI dll into the console process. Detaching the tab will not unload the dll.

 

[Arminius]

You can see (and set) your console properties by clicking on the icon in the TCC title bar and clicking "Defaults" or "Properties"

I compared TCC 21 & 23 Windows console properties - they are identical.

You can see the TCMD shortcut properties by right clicking on the TCMD icon and selecting "Properties".

I found two differences:

- the shortcut to TCMD 23 is stored in C:\Users\Public\Desktop, the one for 21 in C:\Users\<user name>\Desktop.

- the shortcut to 23 did not have the 'Run as Administrator' option set.

I will make all settings equal and see whether that has any effect.

Solution found?

After deleting the previous shortcut to TCMD 23, and creating a new one with settings fully identical to the one for TCMD 21, screen output in version 23 seems to be finally back to normal.

I have no idea how & why shortcuts (*.lnk files), created by the same user on the same desktop, can end up with different options and storage locations. Could there have been more differences behind the scenes, like compatibility settings?

My Windows 7 system is 2011 vintage, and may well be suffering from general bit rot. But I WIndows 10 is such a pain to work with, and its user interface so immensely ugly…