API Error 8

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JohnS
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Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 10:57 pm

API Error 8

Post by JohnS »

Sometimes (often!) I get this error message.
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What is happening here?
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gpb
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Re: API Error 8

Post by gpb »

Windows is failing to change wallpaper with a system error 8, it means "Not enough storage is available to process this command"
Do you have free disk space on drive C: ?
Gianpaolo Bottin
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JohnS
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Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 10:57 pm

Re: API Error 8

Post by JohnS »

135GB of a 1TB drive.

Could it be physical RAM memory? In my litle screen shot I had FireFox open with a zillion tabs and memory is shown in it. At full capacity it shows 2047, and in PIC is was down in the 300s.
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gpb
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Re: API Error 8

Post by gpb »

It's hard to say, I never had that error and nobody else reported it. Windows documentation refers to "storage" normally this means hard disk space, but it could be something else, if system memory is low windows could fail for that reason.
Did you try to restart windows ? Sometimes the component that handles the wallpaper start behaving badly and only way to recover is to restart windows.
Which windows version are you using ?
Gianpaolo Bottin
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JohnS
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Re: API Error 8

Post by JohnS »

I am using Win XP SP3.

I would not be surprised if it was low RAM memory. 300s is pretty low and strange things can start happening.

Restarting would fix it for sure because I would be back at 2,047, but I hate doing that unless really forced to.
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gpb
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Re: API Error 8

Post by gpb »

Yes, it is possible that a low free ram amount causes that issue, in particular windows XP needs some free nonpaged memory to manipulate bitmaps for the desktop.
Gianpaolo Bottin
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JohnS
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Re: API Error 8

Post by JohnS »

This program is still buggy here

All was fine, WallPaper SSP was working, nothing too drastic was done ion the PC, full memory (2047) available, 223GB to 29GB free on 4 hard disks--then suddeenly it stopped--see PIC.

Why?
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gpb
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Re: API Error 8

Post by gpb »

That error is returned by Windows function that sets a new desktop wallpaper, it's not a bug in WallpaperSS. Probably windows is low on resources or non-paged memory, there is nothing I can do about it.
Gianpaolo Bottin
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JohnS
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Re: API Error 8

Post by JohnS »

I have tried other Wallpaper changer programs and have never had any such issue. Of course, none were as complicated and multi-featured as WallpaperPro, for sure, and I wont be going back to thse other ones either, but I find it interesting that you do not seem to understand exactly why this is happening with your program. Maybe because MS does not describe the error in enough detail for you and your program code?

But my guess is that the complexity of your program is causing this to happen because I have never seem this in other programs happening. But then I have not tried **every* other wallpaper changer program either.

It is just a bit sad that you can offer more precise direction, advice, comments, etc. The only way I can clear this error when I get it is to reboot, and that is pretty bad "solution."
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gpb
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Re: API Error 8

Post by gpb »

You could try to change the option for "smooth wallpaper change", according to the setting of that option WallpaperSS uses different windows functions so it is possible that the error happens only when using one of the two functions.
Anyway I repeat, the error is generated by windows when WallpaperSS sets a new wallpaper, if this happens only after some time the system is running it is probably caused by the shortage of some kind of resource or by some kind of issue in the windows components that handles the wallpaper.
BTW, Windows XP is outdated and is not supported any longer, WallpaperSS still runs but I don't test it on XP any longer.
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