Did Signal just uninstall itself?

[szmarczak]

Using a supported version?

• [X] I have searched searched open and closed issues for duplicates.
• [X] I am using Signal-Desktop as provided by the Signal team, not a 3rd-party package.

Overall summary

I tried to open Signal, Windows said the Signal.exe did not exist anymore. I opened the Local/Programs/signal-desktop directory and it was empty.

After opening the Signal installer, it booted up normally, with all the conversations etc.

Steps to reproduce

N/A

Expected result

Signal runtime should be present.

Actual result

Not a single file in the Programs/signal-desktop directory.

Screenshots

N/A

Signal version

N/A

Operating system

Windows 11

Version of Signal on your phone

N/A

Link to debug log

https://debuglogs.org/desktop/7.26.0/81a7e20dd2aa28b0f27174c1cfa984c91c66d41bef9c65f84a86c58c268babf0.gz

[vinitkesh]

Idk how anyone would possibly reproduce this bug. Maybe you yourself can try and attach screenshots.

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

@szmarczak In your log I see four starts, three on 7.25.0 and then an auto-upgrade, then a startup of 7.26.0:

INFO  2024-09-25T17:22:57.001Z starting version 7.25.0
INFO  2024-09-25T17:32:14.883Z starting version 7.25.0
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:34.842Z starting version 7.25.0

INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.191Z checkForUpdatesMaybeInstall: checking for update...
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.317Z checkForUpdates: found newer version 7.26.0 forceUpdate=false
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.318Z checkForUpdates: Found local installer [REDACTED]\update-cache\signal-desktop-win-7.25.0.exe
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.457Z downloadUpdate: Downloading signature https://updates2.signal.org/desktop/signal-desktop-win-7.26.0.exe.sig
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.528Z downloadUpdate: Saving blockmap https://updates2.signal.org/desktop/signal-desktop-win-7.26.0.exe.blockmap
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:39.529Z downloadUpdate: Downloading differential update https://updates2.signal.org/desktop/signal-desktop-win-7.26.0.exe
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:42.593Z downloadAndInstall: running immediately...
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:42.593Z downloadAndInstall: installing...
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:42.593Z windows/install: installing package...
INFO  2024-09-26T11:58:43.549Z downloadAndInstall: restarting...
INFO  2024-09-27T10:37:32.548Z starting version 7.26.0

Everything seems to be working as expected. Maybe you clicked on a Signal shortcut in the middle of the update process? I think we can close this.

[szmarczak]

Actually I know what happened. I just reviewed Event Viewer logs (thanks @scottnonnenberg-signal, if you hadn't attached the timestamps I would've never opened Event Viewer). I shut down the PC at 2024-09-26T11:58:52Z, so Signal probably removed the files but didn't have the time to extract the new ones... So this is probably why Facebook Messenger had the same issue (I gave up after it happening a few times), the process termiated via shut down before it had the chance to properly update.

I believe the update mechanism needs a rework.

[TheRealSheldore]

I've been experiencing a recurring issue where Signal disappears from my system now and then after a restart. It seems like Windows uninstalls it, and the only way to get it back is to reinstall the app. I am wondering if this has to do with Signal updates?

However, when I try to reinstall Signal by double-clicking the installer, nothing happens—no installation prompt appears. Strangely, when I open Task Manager, I notice that Signal's "Communications Service" is still running in the background, even though the app itself isn't available.

Since I recently reinstalled it, I can’t see the process running right now, but when the issue happens again, I'll check and post more details before attempting another reinstall.

[TheRealSheldore]

It's done it several times since I last posted. Right now the "Private messaging from your desktop (32bit)" is still running, preventing the Signal installer from doing it's thing. Once I End the task, Signal allows installation. Irritating...

[jamiebuilds-signal]

@TheRealSheldore Are you able to get debuglogs from the app data directory? https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318591-Debug-Logs-and-Crash-Reports#:~:text=Steps%20to%20share%20a%20debug%20log%20if%20Signal%20Desktop%20does%20not%20open

[TheRealSheldore]

Yes, I sure can:

https://debuglogs.org/desktop/7.29.0/8089ddb5f04f8012c37e6129d6c807f8e7e20098a668cd1b1cb1edb4e6fb84f2.gz