* Unspecified Error in FH7 when trying to view media

[Gary_G]

I noticed that 3 of my JPEG media files had an "X" through them, which typically means a linking error.
However; I tried the FH7 option to show such errors and the 3 files do not appear.
I then tried clicking on the items, FH7 displayed a dialog box saying "Unspecified error".
The subject files can viewed directly without issue by either Windows or Mac image viewers.
There is nothing particularly special about the images, which are normal census images.
I did notice that the embedded image comments say they were all produced by "LEAD Technologies".
Not sure that this is a clue to the source of the problem, but it is all that I can see.

Has anyone had this issue before and knows the solution?

Does anyone know of a JPEG analyzer site that might tell me if the JPEGs do not conform to the standard?

[tatewise]

Gary, you say you "tried the FH7 option to show such errors". What option is that please?

The X primarily means the file path & name held in the Project data Media Record does not refer to the Windows file path & name for the Media file. Are you sure they do really match?

It might help if you post a screenshot of the Media Record showing its Main tab File: field.
Also a screenshot of Windows Explorer showing where the file is located on the disk drive.

[Gary_G]

Mike;

I tried making screenshots of what you requested, but they end up being too large to upload and I can't make them smaller without affecting the ability to actually see the details.

I used "Find" > "Broken File Links" from the "Media List" though the "Media Window" and it showed no broken links.
However; when I use "Find" > "All Media", it shows three files with "X"'s through them.
I've deleted and re-imported them again as linked images and the issue persists.
Other files in the same directory import and display as they should.
I've verified that the offending files have the same path as the ones that work correctly and that the offending files have the identical filename as in my filesystem.

I then went to the "Media Records-Records Window" to see what was visible via that route.
I got a little further there.
When I double-click on the media record name the associated panel is displayed and a preview image and;
Title: Wells_(Charles_Harry)_001__1901-03-31_CENS__RG013_Pc-0706_Fo-014_Pg-19
Format: jpeg
File: \\Mac\Home\Documents\__Genealogy\Media\Murison Line\W\Wells, Charles Harry (1)\Wells_(Charles_Harry)_001__1901-03-31_CENS__RG013_Pc-0706_Fo-014_Pg-19.jpg

In short; nothing wrong there.

I've passed them through a few JPEG forensic analysis programs, which indicated that they were valid files.
So; I'm thinking that while valid JPEGs, FH7 may not understand something in the files.

[Gary_G]

I've tried moving a renamed copy of the file to my desktop and re-importing. The issue persists. This leads me to believe that the issue is something related to file content/format and not with the name or location.

[Gary_G]

I tried using a utility to delete all the EXIF info in a test copy of one of the offending files.
This time the import worked perfectly.
So; as first suspected, FH7 does not like certain EXIF data.
This is odd, since the file was validated as being a proper JPEG.
This is perplexing. So; I plan to dump the file meta-data and see what may be the actual issue.

[tatewise]

Please keep the original file and report the problem to CP who may want a copy of the file.

[Gary_G]

Mike;

I was planning to do that, but wanted to see if anyone else had seen this first.

[Vyger]

Never heard of the problem before but agree 100% with Mike, raise a ticket and attach one problem file.

[Gary_G]

I believe I've found the issue.
Looks like FH7 does not like an image that is missing one or more EXIF dates. When I stripped all the EXIF data, FH7 likely did not seem to see this as a problem and happily processed the file.

I've a tool that updates the EXIF date taken and makes the IPTC-related dates match as well. Once done, the file works perfectly.

Now that I have a better feel for what the issue might be, I feel more comfortable in being able to report the issue.
I'll also attach the offending image and the images that hint at what might be going on.

[I should note that this original image download came from one of the big-three subscription companies, so there is a fair chance others could see the same issue.]

Issue detected

Screenshot 2024-03-25 at 11.10.54 AM.png (473.45 KiB) Viewed 580 times

Proposed solution

Screenshot 2024-03-25 at 11.16.51 AM.png (384.62 KiB) Viewed 580 times

[Gary_G]

Have created an FH7 support ticket for this issue.

[Vyger]

Have created an FH7 support ticket for this issue.

Good job on discovering the specifics.

[Gary_G]

Just to be sure that my copy of FH7 is pristine and not the source of the problem, I'd like to re-install it. I am a bit concerned about losing my project settings etc., even though I've a complete disk backup. Could someone briefly outline the steps to , hopefully, just refresh the FH7 application itself without affecting data, settings and plug-ins?

I should note that I have 4-5 projects in FH7, so I need to know if any part of the process has to be repeated for each project.

[ColeValleyGirl]

Gary, are you using one of the Backup and Restore Settings plugins (there are two -- pick either, depending on your personal preferences for UI etc.) and use that to backup all your settings before reinstalling. Settings are a combination of registry entries, and file outside projects, so a complete disk backup isn't sufficient.

Reinstallation shouldn't affect those settings but best to be on the safe side.

[Gary_G]

I have "Backup and Restore Family History Settings". As I'm not that familiar with the process, would doing that backup and then simply downloading and reinstalling the software over top of the existing one be the way to go? I take it that this will not touch my entered data which exists in the project directories?

[ColeValleyGirl]

Yes. And no, it won't affect the Project Directories. (It might affect the default directory for projects, so don't panic if they seem to vanish -- I can't remember if this is the case).

[Gary_G]

Ok. I've backed up the drive, the FH7 settings and the projects themselves.
I'll download an re-install the software now.

[Gary_G]

Thanks, Helen.

I re-installed the program and verified that the settings etc. are still there. Unfortunately; the issue with the image import persists.

CP stated that they couldn't re-create it, so I've sent them the offending file again (to make sure they have the correct one).

To ensure that I could recreate the issue at my end, I also created a dummy project and only added the required initial family and the offending file (added using drag-n-drop). I noticed something strange during the file import. The same “Add Media to Project” box popped up twice. Each time I selected “Add:”. Upon completion, the “Unspecified Error" message was displayed, the image filename was displayed and the icon was a box with an “X”.
I then added a known “Good” image. This time the “Add Media to Project” box popped up only once and the image was shown without any error message and the image icon was perfectly normal.

Must admit that I am at a loss as to what is going on.

I do know that "fixing" the "Creation Date" allows the regular import of the offending images. However; this feels like ignoring a potential issue and is something I really feel uncomfortable about doing.

[Vyger]

Gary,

Hopefully there is a file mix up but if CP still can't recreate feel free to email the file to me detailing your steps.

I'm not home from vacation until the weekend but I'm happy to try it then.

Jackson

[Gary_G]

Thanks, Jackson.

Given that CP could not recreate the issue; I'm wondering if my using Parallels is what is causing the issue. Perhaps the Parallels file-system interface is confused by the lack of a creation date, or some such aspect of the file. Perhaps I need to see if they can offer some advice on this.

I wonder if there is another Parallels user who would be willing to try to load the image into a dummy project?

[Gary_G]

I contacted Parallels support. We tried accessing the offending file when stored in the Mac filesystem and then accessing a copy stored totally separately on the virtual Windows filesystem. When accessing a copy stored on the virtual Windows filesystem, FH7 imports the test file. When accessing the one on the Mac system, it doesn't.

It seems to be that Parallels is not supplying FH7 with the same information when it accesses the physical Mac directory copy as when the file is supplied to FH7 from the virtual Windows directory. Somehow; the missing info is something FH7 expects the file access system to supply. So; in short, it appears to be an issue with Parallels and not FH7.

I was told that Parallels is escalating the issue and will contact me for more info.

[Gary_G]

Well...
After Parallels raised the issue to their second level support, I received a response.
The solution offered appeared to be for image files not backing up and restoring properly.
Unfortunately; I don't know whose ticket they were trying to address, but it definitely wasn't mine.
So; I've written back to them and described the issue yet again.

To recap; the issue is very simple...

Certain JPG files can be successfully loaded into the Media library, when they are located in the virtual Windows filesystem. However; those same files cannot be successfully loaded, when they reside in the Mac filesystem. If Parallels were working correctly, the location of the offending files shouldn't matter.

About the only difference that I can see is that the offending files seem to have some missing EXIF date info and ones that load correctly from both file-systems do not have that issue. I should stress that the aberration in the EXIF content of the offending files does not make them invalid JPG files and they actually pass all the JPG validation programs I can find. Oddly; if I remove the entire EXIF or set the missing creation/scan date, then the offending files work just like all the other JPGs when loaded from either filesystem.

I hope that the Parallels support team can straighten this out soon.

Until then; the best solution I can offer is to use one of the freeware tools to set the creation/scan date to the download date. The reason for doing this is that I've noticed that with some sites this automatically occurs when one downloads an image. Although it should not be necessary, it seems to be a pragmatic workaround.

[Gary_G]

I've received another request from Parallels. This time it's to remove my virus scanner to see if it resolves the issue. They seem to feel that BitDefender anti-virus is interfering with Parallels. I've heard this same virus-scanner reason from all too many vendors. It seems to be proposed any time a software vendor finds you're using one. As it's rather "dangerous" not to run a virus scanner these days, I'm not sure whether it's worth following up. I know that ensuring the creation date is present in the EXIF seems to solve the issue. While one shouldn't have to fiddle with the EXIF, it's less risky than running without a virus scanner of some kind.

[BillH]

I don't use Parallels or Bitdefender, but I was wondering. Is there a way to add Parallels to the "allow list" or "safe list" in Bitdefender?

Bill

[tatewise]

Which version of Windows are you running with Parallels?
If it is Windows 10 or 11 then it has a perfectly good built-in Windows Microsoft Defender that costs nothing.

Perhaps you are talking about the Mac BitDefender anti-virus. According to the post linked below it is not needed:
Does the MacBook Air need antivirus software

[Gary_G]

I'm running Windows 11. The issue is that I need BitDefender to protect my files outside the virtual machine and Parallels support wants BitDefender completely removed. Besides; they would likely suggest that any virus scanner was the cause of the problem.

Oddly; I found a decent and MUCH less risky work-around; all without fiddling with my virus scanner.

If I used Phil Harvey's EXIFTOOL to look at the EXIF and then used it again to write just a valid creation date.

Original dump & fix

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 11.43.39 AM.png (143.88 KiB) Viewed 172 times

I then used it a third time to check that a creation date had been embedded.

Check dump

Screenshot 2024-04-06 at 11.46.25 AM.png (145.36 KiB) Viewed 172 times

Finally; I tried importing the file to a test project. It imported flawlessly. So; I'm really not convinced that the virus scanner was ever at fault

In the final version of my fix, I'll have to set the "File Modification Date/Time" to match my new creation date. That way it should all look consistent.

I should note that EXIFTOOL does seem to add some extra tags when writing out the file and I can't be sure that they or the rewrite are not what is actually fixing the issue. However; having a creation date is always a good idea.