Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Installer Shows Unknown Publisher

The current alpha installer is unsigned. Windows SmartScreen can show an unknown-publisher warning until code signing is added.

Recommended checks:

• Download only from the official GitHub Release.
• Compare the file hash with SHA256SUMS.txt.
• Scan the installer or portable zip with your antivirus.

App Starts Slowly

Expected startup should stay lightweight. If startup feels slow:

• confirm AI is off unless actively testing AI
• reduce watched roots temporarily
• clear/rebuild the catalog if the local database is damaged
• check whether antivirus is scanning the app folder on launch

Recovery scripts:

.\scripts\Clear-ThumbnailCache.ps1
.\scripts\Rebuild-Catalog.ps1

HEIC Does Not Preview

PICAZHU tries HEIC support in this order:

1. Native Windows WIC/HEIF decoder if available and working.
2. Bundled libheif fallback.
3. Unsupported placeholder with diagnostics.

If HEIC still fails:

• open Diagnostics for the selected file
• verify the file is not an iCloud placeholder or corrupt partial copy
• rebuild thumbnail cache if stale placeholders remain
• test another HEIC from a known working iPhone sample set

iPhone Import Does Not Scan

Check:

• iPhone is connected by USB
• iPhone is unlocked
• Trust This Computer was accepted
• cable supports data, not charge-only
• Windows can see the phone in File Explorer

PICAZHU scans camera media exposed through Windows portable-device access. Some devices expose Internal Storage\DCIM; others expose camera-month folders directly under Internal Storage.

AI Says Failed or Pending

Check:

• AI toggle is on
• selected provider is correct
• selected model is vision-capable
• connection test succeeds in Settings
• LM Studio or Ollama server is running
• API key is present for cloud providers
• model context size is large enough for image requests

For LM Studio context errors, reduce request size or increase model context in LM Studio.

Thumbnails Missing Until Scroll

This usually indicates thumbnail work is still catching up or cached state is stale.

Actions:

• watch thumbnail progress in the bottom status strip
• wait for background thumbnail processing to complete
• rebuild thumbnail cache if old placeholders remain