Quark Forums

Quark was the first program I installed on my brand new MacBook Pro (after updating to 10.6.2) -- and it crashes at launch. I have no other programs installed other than what came in the box from Apple and their recommended software updates. I have the crash report saved if needed... I've searched the posts and have not found any solutions that work. Any help would be appreciated. I also have the crash report saved, if needed.

Hello Maria,

Could you please posts following information so that we can help you further:

1. QuarkXPress Version:

2. Machine in Use (Processor):

3. RAM:

4. An external Device attached via Firewire.

5. Crashlog:

You may also mail the system profile to sarbjit@quark.com

You aren't alone. This is apparently starting to become an issue.

Exactly the same problem here on a brand new MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo 13-inches 2.26GHz 4GB memory. QuarkXpress 8.1 was also the first program installed on the machine after updating to 10.6.2. Reformatted the MacBook and tried to install QuarkXpress prior to updating the OS... same problem. Can you guys let us know that you're at least working on the problem.

Quark 8.1 will work if you avoid activating it -- download the QuarkXpress 8.1 "test drive" and install it as the test drive -- don't enter your actual license or validation code -- and it will be fully functional for 60 days -- which will at least give you a working copy until they figure out what the glitch is in the activation sequence on these machines. This has to be done on a machine with no trace of quark installed. What I did was erased my hard drive, reinstalled OS 10.6.2 and then installed Quark 8.12 and have been working successfully in test drive mode since yesterday. Now, just waiting and hoping for a solution within 60 days!

Yes this started happening to me even before the Snow Leopard update. Fortunately I was still using 7.5 but experimenting with 8.12. Now crash on startup everytime.

I've re-installed 8.12 three times and it still doesn't work and I would like my money back Quark please. Not happy.

So what is Quark going to do about this? I am getting the exact same crash (the Problem Report details look nearly identical -- kernel fault in the activation manager trying to create a hardware profile). I've tried all the suggested solutions: I've deactivated my license on my old machine, reactivated it on my new machine (getting the exact same activation code, so that was a pointless exercise), I've deleted all versions of Quark, all Quark preference files, reinstalled, reactivated, etc. As soon as I try to launch an activated copy -- BOOM! It sure looks like a bug in the Quark activation manager. `GetScsiIdeIdentifier`? Welcome to the future. There is no SCSI and there is no IDE on this machine. So, probably if you try to find one you are going to get an error.

Hi, all,

please see here:

http://forums.quark.com/t/22450.aspx

As Sarbjit has asked before, please help us analyzing what causes this (bad RAM? New hardware? Software issues?) by sending us information about your environment. As soon as we found the culprit, we will start solving this.

Thanks
Matthias

In my case, I get exactly the same backtrace as recorded in "Unable to launch any version of Quark - Quark Forums" (http://bit.ly/6L7siJ). I have a brand new MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard 10.6.2. I have a pretty strong theory that the fault lies in the activation manager trying to compute a hardware signature by probing for SCSI/IDE devices on a platform that does not have a SCSI/IDE interface. My MBP has _no_ devices attached. Quark 7.31-8.12 all run fine in demo mode, all crash reliably with a kernel fault as here:

0   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00ba24cb IORegistryReaderX::itoa(long long, char*) + 85
1   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00ba2829 IORegistryReaderX::AppendToString(void const*, std::string&) + 201
2   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00ba2aed IORegistryReaderX::GetHwParameter(char const*, __CFString const*, std::string&) + 137
3   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b6a83b HardwareDetailsMacX::GetScsiIdeIdentifier(std::string&) + 53
4   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b260d7 HardwareDetailsBridge::GetScsiIdeIdentifier(std::string&) + 27
5   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b2097b NodelockImpl::GetScsiIdeIdentifier(std::string&) + 27
6   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b25ab0 NodelockWrapper::GetScsiIdeIdentifier(std::string&) + 24
7   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b1f9f5 HardwareHash::GetScsiIdeIdentifierHash(std::string&) + 37
8   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b2003d HardwareHash::UpdateParamHash(long long*, short) + 757
9   com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00b20161 HardwareHash::GenerateHardwareHash() + 151
10  com.quark.QuarkXPress         0x00ac4f32 Activation::GetInstallationKey() + 156

I think the common thread is the MacBook Pro.

Actually, the call GetScsiIdeIdentifier is a misnomer. XPress is not looking for a SCSI/IDE device at this point. May have done years ago, but not now. So this is nothing to do with SCSI/IDE. More likely to be something like a math function in Snow Leopard has changed and returns unexpected results which cause a buffer overwrite.

I wonder if all these issues are the result of setting up the latest hardware, and perhaps migrating a previously-activated installation from another Mac? That would require a new activation process, right?

I have a 27-inch iMac Core i7 with 8GB RAM and the special version of 10.6.2 that ships with this model (Build 10C2344).

Yes, I've emailed the requested information to Quark, with System Profiler info and crash log.

Hope it helps.

Peace,
Gene Steinberg

Hello All,

Please be rest assured that we are working hard to find a fix for this issue. After reading all the guesses being made about the reason for crash, I would like to clarify a few points:

1. The crash has nothing to do with your old license. You do not need worry as long as you have a legitimate copy.

2. It is not related to RAM, though changing the machine worked for some people.

3. It is not related to presence / absence of SCSI or IDE bus in the system.

4. It is not specific to QuarkXPress 8. All versions are affected. Moreover QuarkXPress 8 is fully compatible with Snow Leopard OS, the issue is limited to some specific mahines with some specific peace of hardware.

The most probable reason for the crash is the result returned by the OS on the new MAC hardware, while generating a unique profile for the machine. We are trying to find out the exact cause, please be patient.

The best workaround is to use the test drive version for 60 days that has all the features. You may skip the activation step for now.

You may mail me the crash log and system profile at sarbjit@quark.com

I would like to thank you all for your patience while we find a resolution.

The Quark version is: 8.12 My OS is: 10.6.2 Quark starts up and is workable. When I try and access my Quark preferences it quits. When I double click on an image box to make modifications, Quark quits. I have thrown away my Quark Pref. folder (in library/preferences/Quark) and restarted my computer, but the same thing happens. And there is no preference folder in my applications/Quark location. Can someone help me with this issue...it's been going on since November 23rd.

Can you fish out the crash log and send them to me via private message here? Quark is closed for the holidays but I am still paying attention to these forums and if I have the log I might be able to help.

Hi Mathias, I am wondering if there is any update for this. We use Quark in our business and have resisted switching to Indesign but we are approaching several deadlines and I fear if this is not resolved we will have to make the switch.

 -Edmund LeStrange

edmundlestrange@waterloorecords.com