After a recent Windows 10 update, suddenly Paint Tool Sai (I use Sai 2 specifically) would not open any more.
No error message would come up in any form and nothing would even register in Task Manager. There was simply the "loading circle" beside the mouse for a moment after clicking on the software, then nothing.
Other fixes for Sai not running in Windows suggest to run the software in compatibility mode for different versions, and to try each of those both with and without running as administrator. These did not work in my case, and if you find yourself in a similar situation, below is the fix I finally found.
I must, however, give the warning that any customization you have done in the workspace, such as moving panels to the right side instead of the left, registering your own color palette, and
all brush settings will be reset to default with this method. Though it sounds devastating, it is better, in the end, to manually redo them than to not have access to Sai at all.
Create "backups" of your Sai workspace by saving screencaps of your brush settings and custom palettes every few months or so to avoid future headaches! The fix: In your Documents folder is a folder titled
SYSTEMAX Software Development, and inside it is a folder titled
SAI2 Demo.
The offending file in this folder is named
settings2.ssd. Delete it (or move it out of the folder if you'd like to try to restore your old settings from it in the future, although I could not find a way to do this), and upon the next attempt to open Sai again, I found that it started as normal and simply made a new settings2.ssd file for itself.
I had to spend some time manually recreating my color palette and brush settings based on some process pics & videos I've uploaded (lucky, huh?).
Again, I have to give the disclaimer that this works for Sai 2, and the file may be located elsewhere completely if you're using Sai 1. (Btw, did you know that, as long as you have a licence for Sai 1, you can upgrade to Sai 2 for free? It's on the official site!)
I thought I should share this in case anyone else encountered the same completely-not-opening-at-all error after a Windows update!! I hope it works for you, and may we all remember to save backup screencaps of our workspace forever onward. γ»Β°γ»(γΠο½)γ»Β°γ»