This is one of those good news - bad news articles. We have good news and bad news regarding software.

The bad news: There are cretins, misfits, and miscreants who would love to hack into your computer and steal all of your personal data. Just ask Equifax. These malefactors are referred to in the industry as 'black hat' hackers. This is because, in old westerns, you could always tell the good guys from the bad guys by the color of their cowboy hats. Good guys like Gene Autry and Gary Cooper always wore white hats. Thievin', varmints were easily identified by their black hats. Today's black hat villains have gone from rustling cattle to rustling personal data. They're very good at it and they're persistent. Cheer up pardner, there's good news.

The good news: There's an army of white hat hackers working to stymie the black hat hackers. They're on your side. They work tirelessly to thwart the black hat hackers by closing backdoors that the bad guys want to exploit. When the white hat team finds and closes a door, they have to update their products so that their customers are protected. That's you. This is why you should always, always, always keep your software up to date. The best practice for software security to allow automatic updates. When your computer's OS and other applications are updated automatically, those backdoor vulnerabilities get closed and all is right with the world. What's all this got to do with LXi and FlexiSign software? Sometimes in old westerns, during fights between the white hat heroes and the black hat baddies, things got broken. Chairs got knocked over. And sometimes, in the digital brawls between white hat and black hat hackers, things get broken. Virtual chairs get knocked over. The automatic updates that protect your data can change your computer just enough to break the connection between your PC and your SAI software license. When certain chairs get knocked over, you'll the error message below (Fig 1). It tells you that your software isn't designed to run on Windows. This is, of course, nonsense.

App.exe - Bad Image Error Message

Fig 1. The app.exe BadImage error message means a .DLL file has gone missing. But it may be a false Windows report.
If you see this message on your computer, it usually means that a Windows update has occurred and the registry has changed enough to break the connection between your computer and your LXi or FlexiSign license. Somebody knocked over your chair. You can take some comfort in the knowledge that you're not alone. Customers using a variety of top-tier products including Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW, and even Microsoft's own Office 365 are having similar problems. Chairs falling over left and right. It's quite a ruckus.

How to Fix the app.exe - Bad Image Error Message

Now for some more good news. There is an easy fix. All you have to do is reset the connection by reinstalling your software. This is a fairly painless process that can be done in less than 30 minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection. Please click here for step-by-step instructions on re-installing your LXi software. To make the fix even simpler in the future, once you have completed the reinstallation, open Windows File Explorer and find the SAiCloud.dll file in the Program folder the location is usually in the location in the above screenshot. (c:\ProgramFiles (x86)\SignWarehouse\VinylExpress LXi 123\SAiCloud.dll). Copy and paste it into another location on your PC to use as a backup. Should the problem recur, just restore it to the Program folder and keep to keep on cuttin'. Here's another quick tip. When you download FlexiSIGN or LXI, the installation files are normally stored in a folder on your desktop called SAI Installer. If you already have this folder on your PC, you can save a step by not having to download them again. Keep this folder on hand for future reference. That way, the next time a digital bar fight breaks out and somebody knocks over your chair, it will be easier to put it back in place.