Ugh... Seriously?!? Piss Poor Memory Management in New MFT | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Ugh... Seriously?!? Piss Poor Memory Management in New MFT

jrmexplorer

Explorer Addict
Joined
April 19, 2011
Messages
1,109
Reaction score
7
Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 Limited
I love my Explorer and I love MFT - so again, this pains me to do this... but this is so beyond pathetic.:thumbdwn:

So, I tried loading some wallpaper and playing around with it and it appears that the MFT coders have no idea how to properly implement a proper list or manage memory. How nobody caught this in "BETA" testing is beyond me, but it's pretty pathetic and it really makes me doubt this product.

Sorry for the poor video quality, but I'm using a cellphone.

Not only did the wallpaper functionality exhibit extremely bizarre behavior, but my buttons all turned red AGAIN!

I'd say that I'd just pull fuse 29, reset my settings, whatever- but then it'd be the third time in two weeks since getting the new software.

I'm growing tired of the amateur hour here Ford.

Rebecca, please forward this to someone in the MFT team.

 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





My buttons all turned red yesterday and I was not and do not have any wallpapers loaded. I switched from the entertainment screen to the home screen when it happened.
 












It's not even flash IMHO. I used to be a professional programmer and it appears from the symptoms to be a classic case of poor linked list management. For those who don't know, a linked list is a specific type of data structure in computer science. It basically is a structure that stores your information and a memory pointer to the next data structure (and in some cases the previous data structure).

Failure to properly update the memory pointers upon insertion or deletion of items in the list as well as failure to properly allocate and de-allocate the memory for the items in the list are common mistakes and would produce the kind of symptoms I saw.

However, the linked list is an ELEMENTARY structure in computer programming. One that is taught in INTRO courses in computer science. It's not hard to do, and anyone with a modicum of programming skill can properly implement one. Granted, mistakes in implemeting a linked list are easy to make, but when you program anything you generally go through multiple testing phases (unit test, system test, field or beta testing, etc....) - how this slipped through is ridiculous.
 






My buttons all turned red yesterday and I was not and do not have any wallpapers loaded. I switched from the entertainment screen to the home screen when it happened.

That's the same thing that happened to me the first time my buttons turned red. Luckily when I went back out to the car after working for 8 hours it was back to normal.

This time, I didn't wanna wait until I got bit by the shady memory managmenet practices and just did a master reset.

As w1kedz said though, I definitely noticed MFT slowing down over time. Now that I did the master reset - its back to warp speed.
 






Perhaps you have a hardware issue or a corrupt install...guessing here. I just did this yesterday, I added a bunch of wall papers without issue and without the symptoms you are seeing. I have never had to pull fuse 29, even before the upgrade. I would take it to the dealer, show them the video...and tell them you are not happy and to make it right. Also...I know its a stretch but maybe you introduced a virus into your system...it is Microsoft after all :eek:
 






Perhaps you have a hardware issue or a corrupt install...guessing here. I just did this yesterday, I added a bunch of wall papers without issue and without the symptoms you are seeing. I have never had to pull fuse 29, even before the upgrade. I would take it to the dealer, show them the video...and tell them you are not happy and to make it right. Also...I know its a stretch but maybe you introduced a virus into your system...it is Microsoft after all :eek:

Try deleting some wallpapers. Adding works fine, deleting is when the problems crop up.

I should add that you might be right as well, or something else somewhere is causing problems with the wallpaper portion (e.g., in version 2.11 sending/receiving texts sometimes caused problems - perhaps that is true this time as well).

The thing is a big mystery, but I haven't had the best luck with the new upgrade. For instance, I've had problems with my USB stick.

Let me know if you're able to reproduce the problem.
 






It's not even flash IMHO. I used to be a professional programmer and it appears from the symptoms to be a classic case of poor linked list management. For those who don't know, a linked list is a specific type of data structure in computer science. It basically is a structure that stores your information and a memory pointer to the next data structure (and in some cases the previous data structure).

Failure to properly update the memory pointers upon insertion or deletion of items in the list as well as failure to properly allocate and de-allocate the memory for the items in the list are common mistakes and would produce the kind of symptoms I saw.

However, the linked list is an ELEMENTARY structure in computer programming. One that is taught in INTRO courses in computer science. It's not hard to do, and anyone with a modicum of programming skill can properly implement one. Granted, mistakes in implemeting a linked list are easy to make, but when you program anything you generally go through multiple testing phases (unit test, system test, field or beta testing, etc....) - how this slipped through is ridiculous.

Modern high level programming languages don't require you to manually deal w/ pointers, etc. for lists. This is written for flash lite, which mean it's *likely* using actionscript... actionscript has "dictionaries" and "collections", there is no referencing and dereferencing pointers. How the flash framework *******izes the management of the collections is not manageable by the developer. This IS a case of Flash striking again.

The developer could have instructed it to refresh the entire collection (which is probably what should have happened here) during an addition or deletion, but I think that's an inefficient way to write software. They should have moved away from flash as a platform and didn't... It will bite them in the ass. MFT is rearing more ugly bugs than it had before the magical fix.
 






Modern high level programming languages don't require you to manually deal w/ pointers, etc. for lists. This is written for flash lite, which mean it's *likely* using actionscript... actionscript has "dictionaries" and "collections", there is no referencing and dereferencing pointers. How the flash framework *******izes the management of the collections is not manageable by the developer. This IS a case of Flash striking again.

The developer could have instructed it to refresh the entire collection (which is probably what should have happened here) during an addition or deletion, but I think that's an inefficient way to write software. They should have moved away from flash as a platform and didn't... It will bite them in the ass. MFT is rearing more ugly bugs than it had before the magical fix.

I stand corrected - the Flash implementation and Flash itself sucks then. Just showing my age then I guess. I always developed in C. I learned Java but never really liked it much.

The behavior it exhibited had all the classic signs of improper linked list management though!

-J
 






Modern high level programming languages don't require you to manually deal w/ pointers, etc. for lists. This is written for flash lite, which mean it's *likely* using actionscript... actionscript has "dictionaries" and "collections", there is no referencing and dereferencing pointers. How the flash framework *******izes the management of the collections is not manageable by the developer. This IS a case of Flash striking again.

The developer could have instructed it to refresh the entire collection (which is probably what should have happened here) during an addition or deletion, but I think that's an inefficient way to write software. They should have moved away from flash as a platform and didn't... It will bite them in the ass. MFT is rearing more ugly bugs than it had before the magical fix.

Oh and your post from before was right on -- as the system continues to operate - because it doesn't shut down completely it gets slower. After I did a master reset to clear out all the crap from this little episode I noticed that it was much peppier.
 






Problem number one just now. The whole MFT really slowed down when I got in the driveway. I went to shut off the radio and it would not shut off using the round dial under the screen. I pushed it several times, NADA. So I just shut the car off and the screen came on with the FORD logo and shut down. The radio continued to play AFTER the screen had shut down even with the door open, everything else was OFF.

I closed the doors and restarted the car and tried again after MFT came on and finally it shut down. All systems were bogged down and the touch screen was very slow to respond to any buttons, just like V2.11.

So, it took 10 days for flash to screw up the system yet again. So the question is how long did Ford say it's employees tested this thing??

By the way, I had nothing on but the radio. I do not use USB devices or IPODS, just had my cell phone paired which was on standby.

Rebecca, how do you explain this??? Ideas?
 






OK went to this site;

http://outofmytouch.com/

Downloaded and installed Reboot Software on a spare flash drive, you will find it under "MFT acting up"? Worked like a charm but I am still pissed I have to do this after 8000 Ford Employees tested this system, all they would have needed was a dozen or so from here to show it will still crash!!

It will work as well as a fuse pull or battery cable pull and better to do if you are stuck on side of road, etc. Takes about 2 min to do install and reboot

Reboot your Sync system

--PREPARING THE REBOOT:

When the download is complete, unzip the patch to a flash drive.

[NOTE: Be sure to unzip the patch directly onto the flash drive, not into an existing folder.]


--INSTALLING THE REBOOT SOFTWARE IN YOUR VEHICLE:



1. Start your vehicle and turn on the audio system.

2. Insert your flash drive (containing the patch) into your vehicle's USB port.

3. The installation process will begin automatically, and should take about 10 seconds to complete. A dialog box will let you know when the patch has been successfully installed. When the installation is complete, remove your flash drive from the USB port.

4. Turn off your vehicle's ignition for at least 30 seconds so that the system can reboot.

5. After at least 30 seconds have passed, start your vehicle again. Your vehicle's screen may be black for up to a minute. Then the "Performing scheduled system maintenance" screen will appear, and will last for a few minutes.
--

I left this flash drive in the compartment so it is always there when things act up I can reinstall and reboot this still broken software.

:(
 






Just heard back from Regional Cust Serv Manager- their response to me was "Very few people are having problems, if you are still concerned contact the BBB"
 












OK went to this site;

http://outofmytouch.com/

Downloaded and installed Reboot Software on a spare flash drive, you will find it under "MFT acting up"? Worked like a charm but I am still pissed I have to do this after 8000 Ford Employees tested this system, all they would have needed was a dozen or so from here to show it will still crash!!

It will work as well as a fuse pull or battery cable pull and better to do if you are stuck on side of road, etc. Takes about 2 min to do install and reboot

Reboot your Sync system

--PREPARING THE REBOOT:

When the download is complete, unzip the patch to a flash drive.

[NOTE: Be sure to unzip the patch directly onto the flash drive, not into an existing folder.]


--INSTALLING THE REBOOT SOFTWARE IN YOUR VEHICLE:



1. Start your vehicle and turn on the audio system.

2. Insert your flash drive (containing the patch) into your vehicle's USB port.

3. The installation process will begin automatically, and should take about 10 seconds to complete. A dialog box will let you know when the patch has been successfully installed. When the installation is complete, remove your flash drive from the USB port.

4. Turn off your vehicle's ignition for at least 30 seconds so that the system can reboot.

5. After at least 30 seconds have passed, start your vehicle again. Your vehicle's screen may be black for up to a minute. Then the "Performing scheduled system maintenance" screen will appear, and will last for a few minutes.
--

I left this flash drive in the compartment so it is always there when things act up I can reinstall and reboot this still broken software.

:(

Nice find. I'm going to report this bug to that site.

Ford is screwing this up in a major way.
 












Just heard back from Regional Cust Serv Manager- their response to me was "Very few people are having problems, if you are still concerned contact the BBB"

Wow, that's a major blow off. You should point him/her to this site and tell 'em that if they believe that, you've got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell 'em.

Perhaps they feel that this update is good enough.

If that's their attitude, then they are setting themselves up for a class action lawsuit and another black eye in the auto mags.

Oh, and take video of your issues and post it. If youtube is littered with bug videos they will have no choice.
 






Oh my. I hope this doesn't happen to me. I have had it for over 2 weeks and no bugs or slow down to report. Just to stir the pot some.... I see its the same people on here posting problems. Jrmexplorer, Wickedz, gdecamp etc.... maybe you guys have bad units and it's not the update. Sometimes its the actual computer and not the software. I'll be put my helmet on now, as I have seen the results of asking questions on here result in witty retorts, rants and verbal barrage. Just kidding. Lol
 






Just to stir the pot some.... I see its the same people on here posting problems. Jrmexplorer, Wickedz, gdecamp etc.... maybe you guys have bad units and it's not the update. Sometimes its the actual computer and not the software.

A logical conclusion! I can only speak for myself. My dealer said, a while back, it was software releted and that was my problem not hardware. They said they could not fix my issues until the new software came out. Well now that I got it and had high hopes maybe I am back to square one but I will even give it one more shot before I go back and suggest they change the APIM. Watch this space! LOL
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Problem number one just now. The whole MFT really slowed down when I got in the driveway. I went to shut off the radio and it would not shut off using the round dial under the screen. I pushed it several times, NADA. So I just shut the car off and the screen came on with the FORD logo and shut down. The radio continued to play AFTER the screen had shut down even with the door open, everything else was OFF.

I closed the doors and restarted the car and tried again after MFT came on and finally it shut down. All systems were bogged down and the touch screen was very slow to respond to any buttons, just like V2.11.

So, it took 10 days for flash to screw up the system yet again. So the question is how long did Ford say it's employees tested this thing??

By the way, I had nothing on but the radio. I do not use USB devices or IPODS, just had my cell phone paired which was on standby.

Rebecca, how do you explain this??? Ideas?

I am having this same problem with my radio not shutting off on my 2012 Explorer (my touch with Nav) that I just purchased. I have the latest update too and so far the only real glitch I'm running into is the radio not wanting to turn off from time to time. I called the IVT phone number and they suggested I do a master reset. I did this but the issue still continues. I'm also having some issues with my phone disconnecting too but I think that has more to do with my phone (much older motorola) than the system. But I have wondered if the two issues are connected somehow. The IVT team is now recommending I bring it in to the dealer but this seems like a software issue to me as the radio will also not shut down with voice command. All other functions work fine.
 






Back
Top