STM32CubeProgrammer crash on files selection

[LMenc.1]

Hi everyone,
I’m experiencing a new issue with STM32CubeProgrammer and I’m wondering if anyone else has run into the same problem.

Starting today, every time I try to select a file (for example, when choosing a .bin or .hex to flash), the program freezes as soon as the Windows File Explorer window opens. After a few seconds, the whole application closes without any error message.

This has never happened before — the tool was working perfectly yesterday. The only thing that changed is that Windows installed an update overnight. Since then, STM32CubeProgrammer consistently crashes whenever it tries to open the file picker dialog.

Has anyone seen this behavior after a recent Windows update?
Any ideas on how to fix or work around it?

Thanks in advance!

[Pavel A.]

Which exactly update do you suspect? The recently installed updates can be seen in the Settings app:

If your computer is managed by a company's IT, please ask them what have they changed recently.

[LMenc.1]

Those are the last 2 updates that were installed:

[Pavel A.]

Hi @LMenc.1 , search shows that the problem likely is caused by KB5074105:

"KB5074105 is an optional Windows 11 preview update .... Multiple sources confirm .....  that it is connected to Explorer.exe instability and shell hangs, which can look like app freezes.

Recommended next steps
- Uninstall KB5074105 and reboot.
- Check whether freezes persist. "

"What About KB5074828?
There are no published reports ... indicating that KB5074828 causes app freezes or system instability."

[LMenc.1]

Hi @Pavel A.,

I tried uninstalling both updates, one at a time, and rebooted the PC after each removal, but nothing changed.
I also tried reinstalling STM32CubeProgrammer, just to be sure, but unfortunately the situation remains the same.

Any other idea? Is there any setting or cache I should clear?

Thank you for your help,
Luca

[SConner9]

I am also having this issue. Have you figured out how to fix it?

[Pavel A.]

Do you have a company-issued PC with some "management" or "security" software? It can cause similar effects.

[florian.morsch · Accepted solution]

This is a problem related to a few .dll files which came out of date or corrupted lately.
Cause:
The crash is caused by an incompatible local Visual C++ DLL loaded by STM32CubeProgrammer.

Solution:
Close STM32CubeProgrammer.

Go to 
C:\Program Files\STMicroelectronics\STM32Cube\STM32CubeProgrammer\bin\jre\bin
or whereever you have Cube Programmer installed.

Here, delete or rename the following .dlls:

msvcp140.dll
msvcp140_1.dll
msvcp140_2.dll
vcruntime140.dll
vcruntime140_1.dll

(eg
bakmsvcp140.dll
bakmsvcp140_1.dll
bakmsvcp140_2.dll
bakvcruntime140.dll
bakvcruntime140_1.dll
)

Start STM32CubeProgrammer. It should now work again so that you can select files again.

(For safety, but not needed) Install or repair Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015–2022 (x86 and x64)