Couldn't find main entry point for "insert plugin here"..

[JohnGardner]

Hi,

I have had this issue ever since the dreaded splash screen of 2020. Plugin's just randmomly stop working when I try to open an older project. For example:

After Effects error: Couldn't find main entry point for Stardust_Controls_emitter.aex

This happens with a number of plugins. Not just Stardust.

The solution in the past was to replace the OpenCL.dll file in the System32 folder. But now I fear the dreaded splashscreen dude (who has nothing related to AE) is now making this bug more of an issue, as I can't open up any older project now, even after I replace the OpenCL.dll file.

Adobe, please provide a solution. And time permitting, for the love of God, get rid of that stupid splash screen. By far, the worst splash screen ever.

Thanks,

John

[Mylenium]

Without any system information nobody can tell you much. If it occurs with multiple plug-ins then something is fundamentally wonky with your system. chances in fact are that your system restore is to blame as it may falsely think a driver is broken or an update, reinstating wrong older versions of DLLs and such... Impossible to know. Much more specific info would be required.

Mylenium

[JohnGardner]

Thanks for the follow up! For specifics, this issue never happened until I installed AE 2020. It was so riddled with problems, that I uninstalled it. Then when the patch came out for it, I reinstalled it. Then I found other issues that made it impossible to use for actual production, so I uninstalled it again. Then I installed it again when another update was availble, and that version actaully stayed on my system. Then the "Couldn't find main entry point for" started to show up. So I removed all Adobe products from my systems. Reinstalled them all again, and the problem still persists. None of this was a problem, until I installed AE 2020.

[ShiveringCactus]

While I chuckled at your comments on the splashscreen, if memory serves there have been worse, (The 3D one you couldn't actually achieve in AE at the time springs to mind).

When I saw that the error was related to stardust, I beleive that plugin uses your graphics card.  Are your drivers up to date.  The error message you're seeing has been related to that in the past.  Might be worth trying to update them and see if that resolves the issue.

[JohnGardner]

Yes, drivers are up-to-date, but I will double check this again. Thanks for the follow up!

[Mylenium]

Have you considered manually reinstalling the MSVC runtimes? Again, such broad and widespread errors often boil down to DLL compatibility issues. I would just download the compound installer directly from Microsoft and have it force-brush-over any wrong versions the Adobe software may have introduced. You can also run an integrity check on your system install cache and see if an old DLL version lingers there and gets reinstalled every time.

Mylenium

[JohnGardner]

Thanks, will check into this option!