ERROR: Experiments run on Windows 10 May Update (1903) or Windows 10 November Update (1909) freeze or receive a display is too busy error [30679]

This article applies to:

E-Prime 3.0

E-Prime 2.0

Symptoms

Experiment run on Windows 10 May 2019 Update (Version 1903) or Windows 10 November 2019 Update (Version 1909) cause E-Prime to either report the "Display is too busy" runtime error or freeze.

Detail

What are Windows 10 May 2019 and November 2019 Updates?

Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909, build 18363) is the second major update to Windows 10 released in 2019.  The initial version of this build (complete build number 10.0.18363.476) was released on November 12, 2019 and the most recent version (10.0.18363.592) was released on January 14, 2020.

Windows 10 May Update (version 1903, build 18362) is the first major update to Windows 10 released in 2019. The initial version of this build (complete build number is 10.0.18362.116) was released on May 21st, 2019 and the most recent version (10.0.18362.592) was released on on January 14, 2020.

What is the impact on E-Prime?
One of E-Prime’s most important features is its ability to achieve and maintain millisecond accuracy. E-Prime takes numerous precautions to both ensure that your experiment’s timing is accurate and to monitor and flag when timing inaccuracies may be present.

With each Windows release, Psychology Software Tools performs a large battery of tests across a variety of configurations to confirm E-Prime's timing integrity. Our preliminary testing suggests has shown that experiments may freeze or produce the "Display Too Busy" error when run on systems that have NVIDIA or ATI chipsets. Even users who do not experience a runtime error under Windows 10 May Update cannot assume that their timing is accurate (see workaround to verify timing). At this time, Psychology Software Tools has not approved Windows 10 May 2019 Update or Windows 10 November 2019 Update as a compatible operating system for E-Prime 3.0 or E-Prime 2.0.  

NOTE: The "Display is too busy" error message can occur for other reasons, primarily when other external programs attempt to update the display during an experiment. The "Display is too busy" error is therefore not specific to the Windows 10 May 2019 Update issue.

Workaround

The following workarounds are possible:

1) Refrain from upgrading your machine to Windows 10 May Update (1903). Currently, this issue has not been reported on previous versions of Windows 10 (e.g., Windows 10 October Update (1809)).

2) Disable the Fullscreen Optimizations setting for E-Prime. This setting needs to be edited per user account.

Follow these steps to disable this setting:

1. Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\PST\E-Prime 3.0\Program.
2. Find the E-Studio application.
3. Right-click on the E-Studio application and select Properties.
4. Navigate to the Compatibility tab in the E-Studio Properties.
5. Check "Disable full screen optimizations."
6. Click OK to confirm the changes.

NOTE: If using E-Run, perform steps 2-6 on the E-Run application.

NOTE: If disabling the Fullscreen Optimizations setting, please take special caution when performing timing critical experiments. We cannot guarantee that timing is accurate and therefore the machine should be verified by external hardware to ensure millisecond accuracy. For example, users can verify timing by using Chronos and a photosensor to ensure that Stimulus onset and monitor refresh rates are accurate.

See Also:

RELEASE INFO: Known Issues in E-Prime 3.0 Update 2 (3.0.3.80) [27789]

RELEASE INFO: Operating system (Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, and XP) support in E-Prime [18652]