[BUG] Winhance quits/closes automatically after launch

[hacsdm]

Please confirm these before moving forward

• I have searched for my issue and have not found a similiar in the Open or Closed issues.
• I have tested that this issue has not been fixed in the latest (beta or stable) release.
• I have checked the Discussions section for solutions.
• This issue is about a bug (if it is not, please use the correct template).

Winhance Version

26.03.06

Windows version, edition, and architecture

Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200 Build 26200

Describe your issue

I have this issue after updating to the latest version v26.03.06

When I open the application (from start menu or winhance.exe), it launches and after a few seconds of trying to load, the app windows just closes/disappears.

Also I am unable to install winhance app from my machine (tried Add or Remove programs and Winhance.Uninstaller.exe).

Steps to reproduce the issue

1. Go to Start menu
2. Click on Winhance app
3. Click Yes for UAC permission
4. Application open up briefly trying to load
5. Application disappears (window goes away)

Expected behavior

After launching, the opens to the normal window/GUI

Actual behavior

app closes/quits and the window disappears

Screenshots or Logs (if applicable)

Here is the output from the startup logfile:

[11:19:21.963] [Program] === Application Starting ===
[11:19:21.984] [Program] Args:
[11:19:21.985] [Program] CurrentDirectory: C:\Program Files\Winhance
[11:19:21.985] [Program] BaseDirectory: C:\Program Files\Winhance
[11:19:21.986] [Program] Checking single instance...
[11:19:22.049] [Program] Single instance check passed
[11:19:22.049] [Program] Initializing COM wrappers...
[11:19:22.050] [Program] COM wrappers initialized
[11:19:22.051] [Program] Starting WinUI 3 Application.Start...
[11:19:22.081] [Program] Inside Application.Start callback
[11:19:22.084] [Program] Creating App instance...
[11:19:22.086] [App] App constructor starting
[11:19:22.089] [App] Exception handlers registered
[11:19:22.093] [App] InitializeComponent completed
[11:19:22.093] [Program] App instance created
[11:19:22.220] [App] OnLaunched starting
[11:19:22.221] [App] Building DI host...
[11:19:22.313] [App] DI host built successfully
[11:19:22.314] [App] LogService obtained
[11:19:22.486] [App] LogService.StartLog() called - file logging initialized
[11:19:22.487] [App] Log file path: C:\ProgramData\Winhance\Logs\Winhance_Log_20260307_111922.log
[11:19:22.489] [App] Initializing localization...
[11:19:22.526] [App] Localization initialized
[11:19:22.528] [App] Creating MainWindow...
[11:19:22.560] [MainWindow] Constructor starting...
[11:19:22.667] [MainWindow] InitializeComponent completed
[11:19:22.725] [App] MainWindow created, activating...
[11:19:22.761] [App] MainWindow activated
[11:19:22.761] [App] Initializing theme...
[11:19:22.779] [App] Theme initialized
[11:19:22.780] [App] Starting startup operations...
[11:19:22.781] [MainWindow] StartStartupOperations called
[11:19:22.821] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 1: Initializing settings registry...
[11:19:22.854] [App] Startup operations kicked off - OnLaunched complete
[11:19:23.041] [MainWindow] NavSidebar_Loaded
[11:19:23.042] [MainWindow] Startup loading in progress, deferring navigation
[11:19:23.249] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 1: Settings registry initialized
[11:19:23.266] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 2: User backup config already completed
[11:19:23.269] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 3: Checking system protection...
[11:19:23.335] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 3: System protection check done
[11:19:23.336] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 4: Migrating scripts...
[11:19:23.340] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 4: Script migration done
[11:19:23.340] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 5: Checking for script updates...
[11:19:23.353] [StartupOrchestrator] Phase 5: Script update check done
[11:19:23.353] [StartupOrchestrator] All phases complete
[11:19:23.396] [StartupUiCoordinator] CompleteStartupAsync starting
[11:19:23.492] [StartupUiCoordinator] Awaiting SoftwareApps initialization...

Additional context

No response

[memstechtips]

Hey, thanks for reporting this! We've been looking into it and we can see from your startup log that the app crashes during the Software Apps initialization phase.

To help us pinpoint exactly what's going wrong, could you please share the Winhance log file (not the startup log)? You can find it here:

C:\ProgramData\Winhance\Logs\

The file will be named something like Winhance_Log_20260307_111922.log. If there are multiple files, the one with the most recent date/time matching when the crash happened would be the most helpful.

This log contains more detailed information about each step during initialization and will help us identify exactly which component is failing on your system.

Thanks in advance!

[hacsdm]

Hi! Thanks for the response.

I was poking around trying to uninstall winhance from my machine since un-installation attempts were failing from both the installation directory and windows add/remove programs feature.

Based on the error messages reported when attempting the uninstall, I changed filenames in the installation directory to unins000 ( .exe and .dat). After making these changes, windows was able to successfully remove winhance from my machine.

All this to say, I don't have winhance on my machine currently and therefore I'm unable to produce or share the Winhance log file.

I'm waiting for the next version release to install Winhance with the bugfixes.

PS: Can you add the "Winhance log file" instruction to the Documentation? I was checking the troubleshooting section of the documentation prior to submitting a bug report and found the information for the startup log but didn't see any notes about a winhance log file. That could come in super handy for reporting/submitting future bug reports.

Thanks for all your hard work!

[hacsdm]

I noticed there's a newer version available - v26.3.12.

I downloaded from winhance.net and installed on my machine. Installation was successful, however, the issue persists. As soon as I launch the application, a window opens up briefly for a few seconds and then it disappears/quits.

I'm attaching the latest logfiles (Winhance log and Startup log) for your review. Hope this helps, please let me know if you need anything else and any insights on what might be going wrong with the winhance application for my machine.

Winhance_Log_20260313_111402.log

WinhanceStartupLog.txt