winIDEA behaves differently with same or another seemingly identical workspace

When working with winIDEA, a specific workspace can suddenly stop working as it used to. You could also have multiple seemingly identical workspaces that behave differently.

Possible reasons

• Workspace is created in one version of winIDEA and opened in a different one, e.g. when migrating from 9.12 or 9.17 to 9.21. Refer also to Migrating winIDEA workspace - transition guide.
• Testing some modified hardware, the workspace hardware options were slightly modified and then reused with the original hardware, after which this workspace stopped working correctly.
• Identifies all configurations under the Hardware menu 

Possible solution

The option Diff Config to Clipboard can help you identify all configurations under the Hardware menu.

1. In each winIDEA workspace, select Hardware | Diff Config to Clipboard.

2. Paste the content to a text editor.

3. Compare the two files.

Example:

{"URL": "MC.Cores[0].Common.DebugEntry.Type", "Val": "Catch"},

{"URL": "MC.Cores[0].Common.DebugEntry.PresetPCAfterStoppedInInit", "Val": "EntryPoint"},

This shows which hardware options could be the reason for the difference in observed winIDEA behavior. These URL and Val pairs represent any Hardware menu options that differ from the default values set when creating a new workspace. This information can show which hardware options could be the reason for the difference in observed winIDEA behavior.