There are several possible causes for STK starting slowly. Each cause is listed below, with an accompanying resolution.
Cause #1: If STK is taking approximately 90 seconds to start, this could be caused by a known issue where .NET is trying to verify the authenticode signatures of the .NET assemblies. This is a known Microsoft issue and only affects STK 10.
Resolution
Create an XML named "AgUiApplication.exe.config" in the STK bin directory with the generatePublisherEvidence option. Doing this will allow STK to start in the usual time. Here is the procedure:
- Create a file named AgUiApplication.exe.config.xml in the following directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\AGI\STK 10\bin. You will need admin privileges to do so.
- Please add the following to the body of the file and save it:
<configuration>
<runtime>
<generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false"/>
</runtime>
</configuration>
NOTE: "AgUiApplication.exe.config" is already included in STK 11 and STK 12 install directories, ensuring this issue does not occur in these versions. However, it is still possible to experience slow startup when running stand-alone STK 11 and STK 12 Engine applications. In that case, you still need to create this XML configuration file. However, you need to create the configuration file in your STK Engine application binary directory and have the name match to your executable file. For example, the configuration file name for the “Graphics How To” STK Engine example would be GraphicsHowTo.exe.config.
Cause #2: Ensure that the user directory is not overly full and is set on the local machine rather than a networked drive. Each time the STK start page is loaded, it searches the user directory for scenario files. If the user directory has a large amount of scenarios or is on a shared network location, this could cause delays. You can change the default user directory by running the “Reset Current User Settings” program that is installed with STK.
Cause #3: Keeping HTML browsers open in STK can cause a slowdown the next time you start up STK. Close HTML browsers before closing STK.
Cause #4: Verify that the auto-update preferences are set properly. If the updates are daily, then when you start STK, it will be polling the web for updates. This setting is in Edit – Preferences – Online.
Cause #5: If the license is on a network machine, the startup time can be slightly longer.
Cause #6: When STK starts up, it loads DLLs, which takes some time. You can run AgPluginReg.exe, located in C:\Program Files\AGI\STK 12\bin, before opening STK, which loads the DLL files into memory (RAM). If you do this first, then the STK GUI startup time will be shorter.
Cause #7: Turn off unused toolbars, because these, along with the Message Viewer, Status bar, etc., all consume RAM and hence affect startup time. You can do this by right-clicking the top toolbar section of STK and selecting which toolbars to appear.
In general, the more RAM the machine has, and the faster the processor, the less time it takes for STK to start up. You can also direct more system resources to STK by closing other applications that aren't necessary.
Archived Microsoft Issue: FIX: A .NET Framework 2.0 managed application that has an Authenticode signature takes longer than usual to start.
