Exactly. Photolab not starting at all was fixed. Photolab not being able to browse through folders by means of file manager windows hasn’t been fixed yet.
@Barbara-S and DxO, by now there is a clearly defined issue with opening up Windows Explorer dialog.
Can we please get an official response, if DxO is trying to resolve the issue, and if we can expect a fix?
I am finding the issue worse than initially understood because it basically affects all parts of the program that opens up ANY file dialog.
Therefore I cannot make any new Presets and apply it to my other files, as Create New Preset opens up a file dialog, and this crashes the app. Unlike with export, I have not found a workaround within DxO for this. Thanks.
Hello @AvengingAB,
did you open a support ticket , what is the ticket number?
ticket #404545
Hello, @AvengingAB
so you opened the ticket just a few minutes ago as general feedback instead of a technical ticket?
Would you mind adding at least basic information about your system and your workflow to the ticket and please also answer inside the ticket my questoin if you use for instance Dell Backup and Recovery (which is known for causing such issues).
Please everybody: when opening a support ticket, please make sure you choose most approriate category and give a minimum of information about your Hardware, OS, … instad of just giving a link to a forum thread. This will help us to respond more promptly by referring your support ticket to the team most capable of assisting on the issue you observe on your system. It also ensures that we have the necasary information at the right place.
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Hellio Everybody,
it seems that the issue affects other applications too (reported on Avast forum NEW Avast Version 23.1 (January 2023)).
So we think the issue is on Avast side.
The only known workaround for now is to revert to a previous version of Avast or to completely uninstall it .
@Barbara-S, respectfully but in truth, I opened “a ticket” because it sounded like DxO has a process and did not want to acknowledge an issue and look into it unless I did, despite it is very clearly demonstrated an issue for everyone with Avast or AVG installed.
You could just nicely ask me directly what my system setup is, which I listed in earlier thread in direct response to you initially already anyway, without chastising me for not knowing how your paperwork system should be done properly and cutting and pasting comment about “Dell Backup and Recovery”.
If I filed the “paperwork” incorrectly I apologize and will resubmit…but it is affecting multiple people widely…you can see from the forums.
SYSTEM DIAG INFO
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 10.0.19045 Build 19045
CPU: Intel i9-13900k
GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 Gigabyte Gaming OC
MB: Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero
RAM: 2 x 32GB Gskill Tridentz F5-6400J3239G32GX2-Tz5RK
AV: Avast ver 23.1.6049 build 23.1.7883.774, def ver. 230223-2
PHOTOLAB: v6.3.1 build 134
Dell Backup and Recovery?: NO
Triggers:
ANY function that opens a Win explorer file dialog (New Preset, Specify Export Folder, Change Database Location) with Avast (above version) installed or reported by others also AVG.
Symptoms:
DxO Photolab process will go into weeds causing 100% utilization of single thread and indefinitely with loss of program response. It does not recover, escaping keys does not affect, nor does process exit with exception; I have left it for hours this way.
New Ticket: #404595
If DxO is looking into it me know what else your team needs, I will try to see if I can provide…
Can you confirm with development team if DxO continue to look into it?
DxO is the program that is crashing by going into infinite thread loop, debugger trace for offending stack and what lines of code are affecting would be a pretty solid place for developers to start. It is understandable if the only workaround is to uninstall - for now, but I hope developers are looking into it.
As a practicing firmware/software engineer with decades experience, I understand, it may be something another program has cross-thread interaction with opening windows file dialog form, but that does not mean it is “Avast fault”, it is a bug where Photolab reaches undefined program execution after the operation resulting in hang of Photolab.
As others have stated, it is not just presence of Avast, but also AVG and there may be possibly others.
No problem here (btw with Avira) and could export to 2 different locations with different profiles applied.
Avast owns AVG since 2016.
I’ve used them both in the past but they are nesting themself to deep in the os. So I went back to Zonealarm. No problems.
When I remember well it as very difficult to uninstall AVG.
George
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Yes George, I noticed! The user interface is very similar between Avast and AVG, probably the antivirus engine is the same too! 
Yeah good to know, I actually did not know, thanks for pointing out.
At this point since it does not seem a fix may come soon and I need DxO to be working again, I am considering a different antivirus. I have used some many others in past, but empirically speaking since Avast Web Shield has been so effective, I have lost touch with others’ current capabilities.
My main antivirus usage is Avast Web Shield, as sometimes when searching online, it is inevitable to reach a malicious website or ad tunnel that leads you to them faster than you can get the situation under control. Real-time file monitoring is useful too, but all the varieties probably do similar, and I actually prefer that Avast is a bit more aggressive because I can always go find the offending item in Quarantine and add an exception, but if something gets loose, going the other way around is not as easy.
Any strong recommendations (with regards to my use case)? Free is better, but I am ok paying one-time perpetual license for the engine version with limited duration updates, but I do not prefer subscription model at all for definition updates. Thanks in advance.
This is really not new with Avast. I do not use it myself, but I have seen it causing various problems on friends computers over the years. In fact, for a number of years when friends have asked me to assist them with software issues, one of the first things I ask them is if they are using Avast, and it turns out to be the culprit far too often.
Mark
I feel like we had already discussed this. I’m not willing to bash Avast because it is effective and aggressive at what it’s job.
I am looking for recommendations because the two cannot co-exist and I need DxO to work. Do you have any recommendations per usage description?
Matt, I have switched to Avira in the meanwhile. It is supposed to be just as good in virus scanning, but a little bit less effective in real time protection (at least in the free version). I will switch back to Avast once this has been fixed.
In my 30 years of computer usage, I must say that once in a while EVERY antivirus program somehow screws something. I have had bad experiences in the past with AVG (crashing my automatic network backup software), with Kaspersky (blue screens), Norton (huge performance crawl), and now Avast. The more an antivirus program is effective, the more it tries to take control of system processes, which can potentially have an impact on other software. It’s unavoidable. Avast is a particularly effective antivirus… and as such, it has an even higher probability of side effects.
Avast is very aggressive as you point out, and that can be both a benefit and a curse. That aggressiveness has been responsible for a number of issues with software over the years.
You certainly should not blame the software that’s affected If it works correctly with other antivirus programs. If Avast impacts the use of legitimate commercial software then the issue is on their end and it is their responsibility to fix it. DxO can try to look for a workaround, but one may not be available. Additionally, DxO really doesn’t have any responsibility to modify their software when an antivirus program is creating issues.
Mark
I decided to try out Bitdefender for now. It is refreshing to be able to open file dialog window 
Nobody is using ZoneAlarm? Firewall and antivirus.
George
I have this exact problem too. i install the latest beta for Avast premium Security, (23.2.6052 (version 23.2.7940.762), problem is still there. Any solution ?
My Windows 11 privacy & protection setup is very simple, as I don’t use anti-virus other than Windows Defender, but depends probably too much on being sensible & not making mistakes in my computer usage:
- ensure “Memory Isolation” is active in Windows Defender settings, and generally use the maximum protection settings available in that Windows feature;
- I use Microsoft Edge as my browser and I use medium security settings in the program’s options dealing with cookies, tracking, etc., but I ensure that the Edge “browser isolation” feature is configured and available: if I have the slightest doubt about a link, I open it in an isolated browser tab via the link’s context menu;
- I use some Chrome browser privacy extensions on Edge to virtually eliminate online advertising cluttering my web experience, “uBlock Origin” (default settings, with additional geographic and malware block lists) and for a little more privacy “Cookie AutoDelete” (i.e. I only allow persistent 1st party cookies for websites I explicitly need & choose), and “Web Archives” to consult earlier or deleted versions of web pages;
- I subscribe to the DNS filtering service nextdns.io and configure all my devices to use it with a separate nextdns.io DNS filtering configuration for each kind of device (Windows, Android, etc.) to block advertising, tracking, malware, telemetry etc. domain names (with some necessary white listing, always a bit annoying to get right).
This is all very geeky, of course, but my rationale is that Microsoft knows best the internals of the Windows operating system, I would prefer their own invasive kernel drivers that are a necessary part of any anti-malware solution, rather than another company. Also, many anti-malware solutions use a “man-in-the-middle” design & HTTPS driver to intercept all Internet connections, and there the issue of trust is even sharper about how secure their programming practices are, and what kind of telemetry these companies may be collecting about your Internet interactions.
Anyway, too long a post, but those are some of my choices for wading through the Internet swamp and keeping dry…
Hello Everybody,
After our intervention with Avast, the reported problem is resolved with the latest update of with Avast anti-virus (tested on a virtual machine just now).
Problem solved with:
• Virus definitions >= ver.230228-4
• Release => ver.23.1.6049 - build 23.1.7883.775
Therefore, we invite you to update your protection system in order to regain normal use of your DxO PhotoLab software.
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