I started up my Flex 6700, SSDR v2.7.6 , and WSJT-X as usual this morning. Just a few minutes after decoding started it suddenly stopped on all slices. Normally I have to restart DAX several times a day but never when I first start using the radio in the morning.

I stopped and restarted DAX and the decode started up again but would stop after just a minute or 2. This continued for a while so I checked to see if any windows updates took place that may be causing the issue. The only update that took place early this morning was for the Windows Edge browser which I never use. This app has no uninstall or rollback option available. It took a few minutes to find a way to get rid of Edge completely.

If you're having the same problems and you've gotten a recent update to Edge (check Control Panel>Programs and Features) then the Edge update is probably causing it.

Here's the link on how to completely remove the Edge browser from Windows 10 or 11. Be sure to have another browser set as the default browser before you remove Edge.I use Firefox as my default and I also have Chrome as well.

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/uninstall-microsoft-edge-windows-11

Since I removed Edge I've been decoding FT8 on 5 slices for over 9 hours without any issues.

I have found Windows Edge Browser to be a train wreck and have also disabled it.

--
73,
David, N4IW

When you say disabled do you mean you completely removed it or just changed the settings?

23 hours after removing Edge and running 8 panadapters and slices in SSDR v2.7.6 and 5 instances of WSJT-X 2.5.4 and 5 instances of JTAlert 2.51.4 DAX finally failed. That is by far the longest that DAX operated without an issue for me in years.

When DAX failed i checked Control Panel>Programs and Features and I now see an entry called Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime with a new update that was not there yesterday. I don't know if this new entry caused DAX to fail after 23 hours but I suspect it did. I tried to execute the uninstall procedure but this time the second command failed so I cannot remove it.

It does seem that Edge is having an adverse impact on DAX.

I did a screen capture of the WSJT-X waterfall right after DAX failed and I can see how the decoded signals went from normal to faded and distorted while DAX wasn't working properly and returned to their normal appearance after restarting DAX. Perhaps this may provide a clue.

I would include the image of the waterfall but I don't see an option to add it to this post. I'll be happy to email the image to the folks at Flex if they want it

What is DAX?

Pietro I2OIM

Il giorno dom 3 lug 2022 alle ore 16:37 Pat N6PAT via groups.io <n6pat=
yahoo.com@groups.io> ha scritto:

23 hours after removing Edge and running 8 panadapters and slices in SSDR
v2.7.6 and 5 instances of WSJT-X 2.5.4 and 5 instances of JTAlert 2.51.4
DAX finally failed. That is by far the longest that DAX operated without an
issue for me in years.

When DAX failed i checked Control Panel>Programs and Features and I now
see an entry called Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime with a new update that
was not there yesterday. I don't know if this new entry caused DAX to fail
after 23 hours but I suspect it did. I tried to execute the uninstall
procedure but this time the second command failed so I cannot remove it.

It does seem that Edge is having an adverse impact on DAX.

I did a screen capture of the WSJT-X waterfall right after DAX failed and
I can see how the decoded signals went from normal to faded and distorted
while DAX wasn't working properly and returned to their normal appearance
after restarting DAX. Perhaps this may provide a clue.

I would include the image of the waterfall but I don't see an option to
add it to this post. I'll be happy to email the image to the folks at Flex
if they want it

DAX is Digital Audio eXchange. It’s a virtual sound card driver for Flex radios allowing application programs like WSJT-X to send and receive audio to the radio without having to use audio cables.

Ria
N2RJ

Tnx

Il giorno dom 3 lug 2022 alle ore 16:42 Ria, N2RJ <rjairam@...> ha
scritto:

While I'm more that willing to believe that Edge broke DAX, I'm also certain you'll get a more useful response form the folks who wrote DAX than by complaining to M$. I'd have to bet you aren't the only one having this issue. [If you are, pealse scan for malware.]

73, Willie N1JBJ

I am still trying to understand how a web browser affects audio input and
output


Dave Garber
VE3WEJ / VE3IE


On Sun, Jul 3, 2022 at 12:59 PM William Smith <w_smith@...>
wrote:

While I'm more that willing to believe that Edge broke DAX, I'm also
certain you'll get a more useful response form the folks who wrote DAX than
by complaining to M$. I'd have to bet you aren't the only one having this
issue. [If you are, pealse scan for malware.]

73, Willie N1JBJ

On Jul 3, 2022, at 10:37 AM, Pat N6PAT via groups.io <n6pat=

yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

It does seem that Edge is having an adverse impact on DAX.

By capturing the audio device?

It is Windows, after all . . . it really wasn't designed to make sense . . . :-)

Even the high end digital audio multitrack audio devices only support one open of a device at a time, so if a second program spins up that wants an audio device, it can rip it out from under another that is already using it.

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

I cannot answer that but I can tell you that since I removed Edge decoding is now much more reliable than it used to be. Before I would have to restart DAX many times a day. Now I don't have to. It ran for 23 hours after removing Edge before DAX failed and after a DAX restart it's been running fine.

I can deal with having to restart DAX once a day if it comes to that. It's a lot better than having to restart it every few hours or sometimes even every few minutes.

Pat

It was so long ago I don’t remember the details. I’ll check later today and let you know.

--
73,
David, N4IW

Last night I tried to get DAX to fail by using up a lot of system resources. With 8 panadapters and slices running in SSDR and 5 instances of WSJT-X and JTAlert active, I started streaming HBO Max Game of Thrones for hours while also having a number of concurrent Firefox sessions open (reading email, Youtube, news sites, clusters, etc.) . DAX didn't fail once.

At 3am I stopped watching GOT but kept the radio and the rest going thru the night. This morning everything (WSJT-X, JTAlert, etc.) is still running without any issues.

Dumping Edge has really made a difference. Hopefully Flex can find out why Edge seems to mess DAX up.

Hi Pat,

I did some checking and have found that I did not completely remove Edge from my computer. I changed settings so it no longer runs after reading somewhere that might be a better option. I have no problems with DAX ever!

--
Thanks,
David, N4IW

What settings did you change?
Mike W9MDB

DAX should have been designed to provide an appropriate error message when it fails. If it was then the cause of the failures might have been identified years ago. When it fails there are no messages, alerts or notices of any kind. It just sits there doing nothing. You would think that after years of reported DAX issues some type of diagnostic messages would have been added in various SSDR releases.

I've been designing, coding and testing software systems for well over 30 years and always build in modules to trap and identify errors and provide as much information about such errors as possible.

You assume the problem is in DAX and not an inherent defect/behaviour/"feature" in Whinders . . .

I don't

Windows might be allowing the sound device to be torn out from under the app without it being aware.

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

The key here is *could be*. More relevant, why would an app designer code for stuff the OS is expected to not screw up?

The opposite could then happen, and it app would error out on low signal events.

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Mike,

I followed the advice of Fred Langa who I have been reading for many, many years. I don’t know if this link will work for you unless you are a subscriber: https://www.askwoody.com/newsletter/a-single-registry-line-enables-windows-11-without-tpm-2-0/#langalist

--
Thanks,
David, N4IW

I don’t think that link will work so I copied and am pasting the article.

--
Thanks,
David, N4IW

LANGALIST

Can you fully delete the Edge browser? Should you?
Fred Langa
By Fred Langa

The answer is yes, no, and maybe, depending on exactly what you’re trying to do and what risks you’re willing to take. You’ll find the how-to information below.

However, because Fred thinks removing Edge is a bad idea, this column also suggests a better, safer way to suppress Edge — a way guaranteed not to cause new problems with other Windows apps and services.

But if you understand the risks and still want to remove Edge, here are the background and links you need!

Subscriber wants to wipe Edge off his PC
After reading Share browsers without sharing their stored passwords (AskWoody Plus 2021-09-27), a subscriber wrote:

◼ Hi Fred. Thanks for your advice on managing passwords in Edge. I have something Edge-related.

I am sick and tired of Edge sticking its nose in where it has not been asked.

I have tried to uninstall Edge, but all I seem to be able to accomplish is stuff like removing its icon from the desktop.

Can I just get rid of Edge entirely? I have heard it can’t be done.

Well, it can be done, kinda-sorta, with varying degrees of risk and efficacy. But before we go there, let’s look at the reasons why you want to remove it.

Like you, I’m not a big fan of Edge. But I’m not aware of any independent, third-party assessments that conclude that Edge poses extra or unusual security or privacy risks.

Consider: Microsoft Edge is based on exactly the same open-source Chromium project code as Chrome, Opera, and about two dozen other browsers. (See Figures 1 and 2.)

Edge is Chromium-based
Figure 1. Microsoft Edge is based on open-source code from the Chromium Project.

Chrome is Chromium-based
Figure 2. Chrome, Opera, and about 24 other browsers are also based on the same open-source code.

This common, shared codebase is one of the reasons why Edge, Chrome, Opera, and the others are all pretty good browsers. It’s also why it’s hard for me to accept that Edge carries some unique or fundamental security or privacy risks that are absent from all the other Chromium-based browsers.

But as I said, I’m not a big fan of Edge. It’s not that I think it’s evil or poor-performing (I don’t; it’s not), but Edge doesn’t offer me enough that’s different or better to make it worthwhile to churn my entire browsing setup. It’s the same reason why I don’t switch to Opera or Firefox or any of the dozens of other perfectly good browsers out there. Minor, incremental differences just don’t justify the hassle of switching, for me.

Here’s why you’re not supposed to remove Edge
Although I don’t use Edge much, I don’t uninstall it because — although there’s some dispute on this — Microsoft explicitly says not to:

Because Windows supports applications that rely on the web platform, our default web browser is an essential component of our operating system and can’t be uninstalled.

See the MS support article Why can’t I uninstall Microsoft Edge?.

Maybe that’s overstated a bit, but there’s truth to it as well. For example, Edge’s main HTML rendering engine, MSHTML.DLL, is part of the core OS (it’s installed at C:\Windows\System32). That DLL can be called upon by a number of apps, including Office. Those apps may malfunction if, in trying to remove Edge, you also strip out MSHTML and its related OS-level components.

Microsoft reinforces this by graying out the Uninstall option in Settings, Apps, Apps & features, Microsoft Edge (Figure 3). All that’s offered there is a Modify button, which simply launches an Edge repair tool. There is no uninstall and no official way to meaningfully alter Edge’s fundamentals.

No Edge uninstall
Figure 3. Officially, Windows does not allow Edge to be uninstalled, only Modified (i.e., repaired).

Yet you’ll see many sites claiming various manual methods of successful Edge removal. What’s going on?

Waitaminit — it can be removed?
Part of the confusion about Edge’s uninstall-ability lies in its origins. Recall that Edge began life in 2015 as a completely proprietary browser, designed to replace the fragile house of cards known as Internet Explorer (IE). Like IE, the original Edge was a mix of OS-level Web access, HTML, scripting, and graphics-display functions; plus higher-level browser functions; all written in-house, and all proprietary.

This version of Edge was originally made available as an optional, stand-alone package that you could download and install separately from the OS. As such, it could be uninstalled — much like other non-OS-level apps. Some sites (too many, actually) that talk about “how easy Edge is to remove” are still referring to this old, now discontinued version.

In 2020, Microsoft moved some of the deeply enmeshed components of the previous Edge into the OS itself and released the new, Chromium-based Edge to handle most of the high-level browsing functions. This latter, current Edge is now bundled as part of the base Windows 10 operating system.

Today, the better “how to remove Edge” instructions focus on neutering, disabling, or removing those high-level elements, while trying to leave the shared code alone.

That’s not easy, because Edge’s components are scattered far and wide throughout the system. For example, even a brand-new Win10 setup, fresh from the box, will usually contain multiple copies of the current MSHTML engine and its related files — as well as multiple copies of the old EDGEHTML and its related files, distributed among the …\Windows\system32, …\Windows\Servicing, …\Windows\WinSxS, and …Windows\SysWOW64\ folders, and maybe elsewhere. (The old EDGEHTML components are included even in new setups, for backward compatibility.)

And I’m not talking about a few files. My fully current, well-maintained, daily driver Win10 PC contains, by actual manual count, 99 copies of the current MSHTML.DLL and its related files; and 30 copies of the old EDGEHTML.DLL and variants! Other PCs I’ve examined show similar counts.

I don’t see how anyone outside of Microsoft — and maybe not even them, anymore — can definitively say “removing this or that specific piece of Edge will have no effect on anything else.” And, in fact, as we saw earlier, Microsoft explicitly says just the opposite!

To me, trying to deeply mess with Edge is the kind of unauthorized alteration that might seem to work initially or on the surface but will come back to bite you at some future point when an app or update or upgrade mysteriously fails due to the absence of some expected component.

That’s why I don’t uninstall Edge, and I recommend that you don’t, either — who needs an extra, unknown variable in their system software mix?

The better, safer way to neuter Edge
OK, this will seem like a non sequitur but will become relevant in a sec. Recall that all current versions of Win10, including the one you’re using right now, still ship with a copy of Internet Explorer (IE) built in. (See Use Internet Explorer in Windows 10.)

I hope you don’t use IE — it’s notorious for its myriad security and privacy issues.

But despite that, odds are good IE has never caused your Win10 setup any trouble at all — because you likely never set it up or used it! (Only about 1% of users still use IE.)

And here’s the point: Inert, un-set up software can’t do you much harm. You don’t have to rip it out by the roots!

So, similarly, if you distrust or dislike Edge, the best andsafest approach is to treat it the same way you’re already treating your copy of Internet Explorer: don’t set it up (or, if it’s already set up, un-set it up — you’ll see how in a sec), and then just ignore it.

That way, any shared Edge components will still be there if some app or update ever needs or expects them, but the browser will otherwise be inert, unused, and harmless — just like your built-in copy of IE is right now!

Here’s one way to neuter your current copy of Edge in Win10:

Install the alternate browser of your choice and make it the system default for all browsing and Web-based activities. (See Change your default browser in Windows 10.)
In Edge, close all tabs. Uninstall all Edge extensions and add-ons.
Clear Edge’s browsing data (click to edge://settings/privacy; scroll down)
Click on your Edge avatar image, select Manage profile settings, sign out from and then delete all Edge profiles.
Reset all Edge settings to factory default (edge://settings/reset). Close Edge.
Open the Windows Start menu. If an Edge tile is visible, right-click it and select Unpin. If an Edge icon is on your taskbar, right-click it, and select Unpin. Delete any Edge shortcut icons on the desktop. Reboot.
At this point, Edge will still be on your system, but it’s now out of the way and can be accessed only by indirect means (e.g., typing Edge into the search box). It will remain inert unless you specifically go looking for it and click to run it.

And again, this is more or less how you’ve successfully lived for years with the copy of Internet Explorer built into Win10. It’s there if needed but is otherwise inert and harmless. No need to rip it out by the roots!

So, you feelin’ lucky …?
OK, my conscience is clear. I tried to talk you out of it. But if you still want more aggressive options, and are OK with rolling the dice in performing an operation that Microsoft explicitly says not to do, here you go:

General Google search for uninstall edge windows
Unofficial MS Answers item: How to uninstall Edge Chromium using Command Prompt and/or explorer.exe
SoftwareKeep.com: How to Disable Microsoft Edge on Windows 10
TomsGuide.com: How to uninstall Microsoft Edge
GetAdvantage.com: How to Remove Microsoft Edge from Windows 10
Wikipedia entry on Edge
If you prefer not to rely on luck …
If you don’t like Edge and also don’t want the potential problems caused by its removal, simply ignore it!

Following the steps outlined above, return Edge to its original, never-used state, remove its easy access links, and then simply forget about it, just as you already (successfully! harmlessly!) have been doing for years with Internet Explorer!