Error after Moving Portable Directory (panic: runtime error: invalid memory...)

Nimantha

I've been receiving an error after moving a portable instance of REI3 from a folder in C Drive (Downloads) to another folder (in a different Drive - D, root). Running on Windows 11 (version 26H1).

On the development version 3.12 dev1 pdftest (x64, portable):

I: 10:16:29 start embedded database at 'data/database/'
E: 10:16:41 failed to start embedded database, timeout reached
Shutting down...
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
[signal 0xc0000005 code=0x0 addr=0xa8 pc=0x7ff700f09ba7]

goroutine 12 [running]:
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).Acquire(0x0, {0x7ff7060824a8?, 0xc0000bc000?})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.8.0/pgxpool/pool.go:599 +0x47
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).BeginTx(0x56aa6ec21?, {0x7ff7060824a8, 0xc0000bc000}, {{0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, ...}, ...})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.8.0/pgxpool/pool.go:797 +0x2f
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).Begin(0x0?, {0x7ff7060824a8?, 0xc0000bc000?})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.8.0/pgxpool/pool.go:789 +0x3d
r3/login/login_session.LogsRemoveForNode({0x7ff7060824a8, 0xc0000bc000})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/login/login_session/login_session.go:179 +0x49
main.(*program).Stop(0xc0003c7d70, {0xc0002652d0?, 0xc000432a10?})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:637 +0x153
main.(*program).executeAborted(0xc0003c7d70, {0x7ff7060888c0, 0xc0003c7da0}, {0x7ff706077f40?, 0xc0002652c0?})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:605 +0xed
main.(*program).execute(0xc0003c7d70, {0x7ff7060888c0, 0xc0003c7da0})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:320 +0x23a
created by main.(*program).Start in goroutine 1
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:307 +0x105

I also face a similar issue and error message with the latest stable version, 3.11.9 (x64, portable) (I've downloaded all the other Repos in this instance):

I: 10:21:06 start embedded database at 'data/database/'
E: 10:21:17 failed to start embedded database, timeout reached
Shutting down...
panic: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
[signal 0xc0000005 code=0x0 addr=0x88 pc=0x7ff7dd1e7d10]

goroutine 21 [running]:
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).Acquire(0x0, {0x7ff7deed8dd8?, 0xc000524070?})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.7.5/pgxpool/pool.go:537 +0x50
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).BeginTx(0x4e8f6a2b1?, {0x7ff7deed8dd8, 0xc000524070}, {{0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, 0x0}, {0x0, ...}, ...})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.7.5/pgxpool/pool.go:708 +0x2f
github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgxpool.(*Pool).Begin(0x0?, {0x7ff7deed8dd8?, 0xc000524070?})
        C:/Users/venoran/go/pkg/mod/github.com/jackc/pgx/v5@v5.7.5/pgxpool/pool.go:700 +0x3d
r3/login/login_session.LogsRemoveForNode({0x7ff7deed8dd8, 0xc000524070})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/login/login_session/login_session.go:179 +0x49
main.(*program).Stop(0xc0003ee660, {0xc00040c280?, 0xc0003bb020?})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:626 +0x153
main.(*program).executeAborted(0xc0003ee660, {0x7ff7deedce60, 0xc0003ee690}, {0x7ff7deecf840?, 0xc00040c270?})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:594 +0xed
main.(*program).execute(0xc0003ee660, {0x7ff7deedce60, 0xc0003ee690})
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:318 +0x23a
created by main.(*program).Start in goroutine 1
        C:/Temp/r3/input/r3.go:305 +0x105

If I close the command prompt tab and run it again it works as expected on both versions (though the console seems to show an issue with a scheduler task):

I: 10:19:41 start embedded database at 'data/database/'
Starting web server for '0.0.0.0:0'...
2026-03-04 04:50:00 scheduler task 'Reload of updated HTTP certificate' failed to execute, open : The system cannot find the file specified.

Is REI3 is looking for a path / file? Do I need to redirect a path / folder location manually (or perhaps through the interface when I am able to access it)?

With a fresh extract of a portable instance it works as expected:

I: 10:54:22 start embedded database at 'data/database/'
Starting web server for '0.0.0.0:0'...

Posting this as I also want to clarify what to do in the event that I face an issue like this in the future... which config file to have a look at, how to diagnose REI3 issues by myself by looking at the error messages, the general / recommended steps to take in diagnosing issues step-by-step in REI3...

Update

A related post - My local R3 setup has stopped working, and the advice by lsw-fabian:

Unfortunally i cant provide you a technical solution atm - but on my private win11 machine, i get that error from time to time, too. For me a reboot or another try after a few minutes does fix the problem. On other OS i was never facing this issue.

and by gabriel:

The error occurs if the integrated database (Postgres) fails to start. Some possible reasons:

You have other Postgres instances running. Because by default you can only run 1 Postgres database system on the same system, another cannot start. Maybe you have used the REI3 installer in the past to try it out and forgot about it. You can check for the REI3 platform service - if its running you cannot start another REI3 instance.

Your computer might be running slow - if the Postgres database does not start fast enough, REI3 stops as well.

Your database might be broken. If that is the case, the Postgres database might fail to start. To test this theory, you can download a fresh REI3 portable version and run it. If it runs than your original REI3 portable version should also run and something might be broken with your database.

Its also possible that your operating system blocks the execution (after an update) - in this case we would have to look at system logs.

Were there any changes to REI3 / the issue since that (June 2023) post or should I follow the above... though in my case the issue seems to be around changing the directory post installation, as I haven't faced an issue like that when it was in the same directory.

gabriel

The version you are running is a development version (dev1), which can be buggy in any case. Just as a note beforehand.

The error you are posting is normal, if the embedded database (Postgres) cannot start. This can happen for many reasons, like if you have another app running on the same port (by default 5432) - most often this happens, if you try to run multiple r3 instances on the same machine, without sharing a database (like installing r3 normally and then also running a portable version). To confirm this, please check if you have anything else running on port 5432.

You can also try moving the portable folder back to C drive. If it starts then, the issue is not with starting the embedded database, but more likely with Windows treating the postgres or r3 binary differently when starting from D drive. In this case you can look at your windows logs (either under security or application).

To answer your other question: Everything is defined in the config.json file in the r3 portable directory (docs). By default, it uses relative paths - so if you move the entire portable directory and have not made any changes to config.json, it should "just" work, given the operating system allows it.

Nimantha

gabriel
Noted! Also to clarify, tested the above with both the Stable and Development releases and also a fresh extract on the the other drive

Still have the same error - I was just testing a few things.
So, the freshly extracted portable instance in the same drive works as expected - I just looked through the files and noticed that the fresh install had a file inside \data\temp:
{Temp File Generated}

The REI3 portable instances that I had moved did not have a file:
{No Temp File}

When I removed that file, the same error was also shown in that version as well:
{Error Without Temp File}

What is the temp file?
Is there a way to regenerate it? I have a hunch (from looking at the error message and this test) that if there was a temp file, it would open as expected. I haven't had issues trying out multiple different copies of REI3 portable till this issue and it mainly seems to happen on fresh start (turning the laptop off and on) - after that it loads fine (for a few times before the error repeats from time-to-time) and perhaps creates a temp file to remember the setting(s), although that file is not in the folder - where would that created temp file be?

Nimantha

gabriel

The instances created in C Drive seem to work fine when back in the original location.
The moved instances also work fine in the new directory after reopening after the error (although it seems to have errors from time-to-time, which a close and open fix)

Thanks; will have a look in future (at the logs - looked at it briefly in Event Viewer and Resource Monitor); I'll use the fresh extracts in each of locations for now to avoid any potential issues for the moment. Looking to get up and running with REI3 at the moment so will avoid issues that can be rectified easily without the need to fix an issue created (i.e. use a fresh install vs move the directory and figure out how to fix that issue). If there is a step-by-step guide (on the event logs and what to look out for) for future reference, that would be great.

gabriel

Luckily, r3 does not rely on temp files to start. They are temporary files - ie. they are needed temporarily during file uploads or app installations, not for general operation.

Please, as mentioned in my previous post, view your windows logs as well as your open ports when r3 does not start. There is always a reason, why something does not boot.