[Q] All Widgets display "Problem Loading Widget" - G Tablet Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm running Vegan 1.5.1 with VTL Launcher.
Twice now, on boot, I've had all the widgets come up as "Problem Loading Widget". Once this happens, nothing I've tried gets them to automatically load, including restarting VTL, rebooting, restoring, etc. I ended up having to delete and recreate all the widgets, which is very annoying.
Any ideas why this is happening, how to prevent and/or fix it after it does?

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A clue? I recreated the Widgets, one by one. I noticed that after adding some of them, one of the old "problem" ones would duplicate the new widget I just created. Hrm...

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TarheelGrad1998 said:
Twice now, on boot, I've had all the widgets come up as "Problem Loading Widget". Once this happens, nothing I've tried gets them to automatically load, including restarting VTL, rebooting, restoring, etc. I ended up having to delete and recreate all the widgets, which is very annoying.
Any ideas why this is happening, how to prevent and/or fix it after it does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no, and, yes--I think I know how to fix it.
I get the same problem, sometimes, after I "Wipe Dalvik Cache"/"wipe cache partition" in ClockworkMod. After looking around, I found out that the widget list is stored in /data/system/appwidgets.xml, and that this file, occasionally, for some reason, gets reset to defaults.
Just copy your /data/system/appwidgets.xml elsewhere for safekeeping, then restore it when you have problems.
TarheelGrad1998 said:
A clue? I recreated the Widgets, one by one. I noticed that after adding some of them, one of the old "problem" ones would duplicate the new widget I just created. Hrm...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like the Google backup/restore magic in progress. It surprised me too. I upgraded from CyanogenMod 7.0.2 to 7.0.3 and I'd fully expected to re-install all my old apps and widgets after I'd upgraded. I left the gTab on for a few hours and my apps (which I'd moved onto the SD card) started automagically installing themselves one by one.
I'm happy, but, also mildly disturbed that this sort of thing happens behind my back.

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Thanks a lot for the reply.
I could save/restore that file, but...I can't find that file at that path. Is it somewhere else under VTL?

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TarheelGrad1998 said:
I could save/restore that file, but...I can't find that file at that path. Is it somewhere else under VTL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That, in fact, might be the cause of your problem. As far as I can tell, the appwidgets.xml file is created by Android--ie. it's not Launcher specific. (I'm using ADWLauncher EX, btw.)
Try these steps:
1. Do a "Fix permissions" using ClockworkMod or by typing the following commands in a Terminal:
Code:
$ su
# /system/bin/fix_permissions
2. Reboot the gTab and add all your widgets back to desktop. This should create a /data/system/appwidgets.xml file.
3. Copy the file safely away somewhere.
4. Reboot the gTab and see if the widgets still load.

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I get this randomly as well, it appears to be a crap shoot for me everytime i turn my GTAB on. Its usually all are not working and get "Problem loading widget" or all is fine..I too will give this a try soon as i can and update.
My ROM is CM7 stable

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rajeevvp said:
That, in fact, might be the cause of your problem. As far as I can tell, the appwidgets.xml file is created by Android--ie. it's not Launcher specific. (I'm using ADWLauncher EX, btw.)
Try these steps:
1. Do a "Fix permissions" using ClockworkMod or by typing the following commands in a Terminal:
Code:
$ su
# /system/bin/fix_permissions
2. Reboot the gTab and add all your widgets back to desktop. This should create a /data/system/appwidgets.xml file.
3. Copy the file safely away somewhere.
4. Reboot the gTab and see if the widgets still load.
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Click to collapse
I tried those steps. It happened again today, so I did "Fix permissions" in CWM, rebooted, removed and added the Widgets again...but I still don't see that file.
Do you need something like Root Explorer to see it?

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I moved VTL to system apps with root explorer and fixed permissions. Once I did that I have not experienced this problem again.
Also, does anyone experience this while only having one launcher installed? It might not have been just moving VTL to system apps it could have been deletion of the stock launcher as well. Could be that multiple launchers are causing the .XML file to be reset.
Just a thought.

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TarheelGrad1998 said:
I tried those steps. It happened again today, so I did "Fix permissions" in CWM, rebooted, removed and added the Widgets again...but I still don't see that file.
Do you need something like Root Explorer to see it?
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it might be a File Manager thing. I rarely use any of them so I can't say if it's case here for sure. Try this:
Code:
$ /system/xbin/ls -ld /data/system
drwxrwxr-x 8 1000 1000 1024 Jun 14 22:28 /data/system
$ /system/xbin/ls -l /data/system
total 203
-rw-rw---- 1 1000 1000 24576 Jun 14 08:47 accounts.db
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 1071 Jun 14 05:42 appwidgets.xml
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 11504 Jun 14 22:28 batterystats.bin
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 291 May 17 15:51 called_pre_boots.dat
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 191 May 17 15:51 device_policies.xml
drwx------ 2 1000 1000 12288 Jun 14 22:43 dropbox
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 4096 Jun 14 20:28 entropy.dat
-rw-rw-r-- 1 1000 1000 6261 Jun 14 05:42 packages.list
-rw-rw-r-- 1 1000 1000 121707 Jun 14 05:42 packages.xml
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 11737 Jun 12 20:00 profiles.xml
drwxrwx--x 2 1000 1000 1024 Jun 14 04:41 registered_services
drwxrwx--x 2 1000 1000 1024 Jun 13 00:33 shared_prefs
drwx------ 2 1000 1000 1024 Jun 14 05:11 sync
drwx------ 2 1000 1000 1024 May 17 15:51 throttle
-rw-rw-r-- 1 1000 1000 143 Jun 13 07:43 uiderrors.txt
drwx------ 2 1000 1000 1024 Jun 14 22:10 usagestats
-rw------- 1 1000 1000 173 Jun 14 06:43 wallpaper_info.xml
That is (roughly) how the output should look. Verify that /data/system has the same owner and group and the same permissions. The same for the files inside /data/system. If you ran the fix_permissions command in my previous post (or used CWM to do it), it would have set the permissions to what you see above (roughly that is--it sets some idiotic permissions to a lot of the files for no good reason).
If you don't want/like to use the command line, then Root Explorer is what's usually suggested.

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Ah, I downloaded Terminal Emulator, and I can see the file there. Though, I can't copy it, due to permissions.
Shame that it appears Titanium Media sync can't see the file.
Anyway, thanks for the help. I'm still a newb.

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TarheelGrad1998 said:
Ah, I downloaded Terminal Emulator, and I can see the file there. Though, I can't copy it, due to permissions.
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Click to collapse
You will need the Superuser app from Market, too, if you don't already have it.
Code:
$ su [I] Become superuser[/I].
# cat /data/system/appwidgets.xml [I]Check the file first.[/I]
# cp /data/system/appwidgets.xml /mnt/sdcard/.
Check the size of the appwidgets.xml file and its contents first before you save it. If the file is a lot smaller than ~1000 bytes, or, if its contents, as displayed by the cat command, seems suspiciously thin, or, look like binary junk, then you have a problem file and you shouldn't copy it. To restore the file (you must have busybox installed--use something like Busybox Installer from Market):
Code:
$ su
# install -o 1000 -g 1000 -m 600 /mnt/sdcard/tmp/appwidgets.xml /data/system/appwidgets.xml
Here's my appwidgets.xml file:
Code:
$ su
# cat /data/system/appwidgets.xml
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<gs>
<p pkg="com.google.android.apps.genie.geniewidget" cl="com.google.android.apps.genie.geniewidget.miniwidget.MiniWidgetProvider" />
<p pkg="com.android.music" cl="com.android.music.MediaAppWidgetProvider4x2" />
<p pkg="com.cyanogenmod.cmparts" cl="com.cyanogenmod.cmparts.provider.RenderFXWidgetProvider" />
<p pkg="com.curvefish.widgets.bluetoothonoff" cl="com.curvefish.widgets.bluetoothonoff.Bluetooth" />
<p pkg="org.zooper.acw" cl="org.zooper.acwlib.ACWProvider" />
<p pkg="com.jasoncalhoun.android.systeminfowidget" cl="com.jasoncalhoun.android.systeminfowidget.SystemInfoWidget" />
<p pkg="com.curvefish.widgets.wifionoff.donate" cl="com.curvefish.widgets.wifionoff.donate.Widget" />
<h pkg="org.adwfreak.launcher" id="400" />
<g id="1" h="0" p="3" />
<g id="2" h="0" p="6" />
<g id="3" h="0" p="0" />
<g id="4" h="0" p="4" />
<g id="5" h="0" p="4" />
<g id="6" h="0" p="0" />
<g id="7" h="0" p="5" />
<g id="8" h="0" p="1" />
<g id="b" h="0" p="2" />
<g id="f" h="0" p="2" />
<g id="11" h="0" />
</gs>

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Mantara said:
I moved VTL to system apps with root explorer and fixed permissions. Once I did that I have not experienced this problem again.
Also, does anyone experience this while only having one launcher installed? It might not have been just moving VTL to system apps it could have been deletion of the stock launcher as well. Could be that multiple launchers are causing the .XML file to be reset.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on ADW Ex and I uninstalled the free ADW that comes with CM7, so I only have one launcher and I'm still getting the problem occasionally, so I don't think it's caused by having multiple launchers installed. That could be causing it too, but if so, it's not the only cause. I'll try moving it to /system/app, then fix permissions and see if that fixes it. It might take a while to find out, though, since the problem occurs so sporadically. Thanks for the tip!
Just in case people would like to try this, but don't know how to do it:
1) Get Root Explorer, it's well worth the money; you need a file manager that can browse all the root folders and change permissions. I use it all the time to do this sort of thing. (You can also do this using ADB, but that's more complicated)
2) Open Root Explorer and navigate to /data/app and locate the apk of the launcher you're using (I'm on ADW Ex, so mine was "org.adwfreak.launcher-1.apk"). Long press the file and select "Move".
3) Navigate to /system/app. Press the "Mount R/W" button in the upper left corner then hit "Paste".
4) Fix Permissions. You can do this in a terminal app (I used Terminal Emulator, which comes with CM7) or you can reboot into clockwork mod and do it from there. If you're doing it with a terminal app, the code is:
$ su
# /system/bin/fix_permissions
(the $ and # are added automatically)
You're done and this problem is hopefully fixed (fingers crossed). Thanks Mantara!

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I just booted up my gtab and all the widgets said "Problem Loading Widget", so I guess moving the launcher to /system/app doesn't fix the problem (at least for me on ADW Ex). Oh well, it was a good idea.

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Sorry to hear that. I have not had it happen with vtl launcher since I did this. I was actually wondering the other day if you had got this sorted out.

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Mantara said:
Sorry to hear that. I have not had it happen with vtl launcher since I did this. I was actually wondering the other day if you had got this sorted out.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! It's not a big deal. It only happens once in a while and it only takes a minute or two to remove and replace all the widgets, so it's really only a minor inconvenience. I'm sure the issue will be resolved when I flash a newer version of CM7 or switch to one of the HC ROMs.

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raphenucleus said:
I just booted up my gtab and all the widgets said "Problem Loading Widget", so I guess moving the launcher to /system/app doesn't fix the problem (at least for me on ADW Ex). Oh well, it was a good idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of doing that, but it sounds not worth it.
I haven't had it happen again since doing the fix permissions. But like you, I'm not convinced yet. Sometimes it goes weeks. I had it happen every couple of days when I started this thread.

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"Fix permissions" fixed it for some of my widgets. A couple of them though, still showed "Problem loading gadget".
Here's what I did:
I rebooted in recovery, cleared cache and dalvik cache, I ran "Fix permissions", then rebooted, re-created widgets on the workspaces, and then rebooted again to test. It was ok. I'll re-create the couple of widgets that did not load, and go over it again.
---------- Post added at 10:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 AM ----------
I did it again. One of the two widgets that were still not loading loaded this time. So did the ones that loaded successfully the previous time. The other one though, disappeared completely.
I guess I have no choice but to go over it again...