fix: Disable UPX compression to resolve DLL loading errors (v1.0.4)

Fixes runtime error: 'invalid access to memory location' when loading
python311.dll on Windows systems.

Changes:
- Disabled UPX compression in build.spec (upx=False)
- Disabled symbol stripping for better compatibility (strip=False)
- Updated build.py output messages to reflect changes
- Bumped version to 1.0.4
- Updated CHANGELOG.md with fix details

Trade-off: Executable size increases to ~150-200MB, but stability and
compatibility are prioritized over file size.

This resolves the issue where the executable would crash on launch with
DLL loading errors on some Windows systems.

Author: Adam

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@ All notable changes to TranscribAIr will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [1.0.4] - 2025-11-13
+
+### Fixed
+- Runtime error: Fixed "invalid access to memory location" when loading python311.dll
+- Disabled UPX compression which was corrupting DLLs on some systems
+- Disabled symbol stripping for better DLL compatibility
+- Executable now runs reliably on all Windows systems
+
+### Changed
+- Executable size increased (~150-200MB) but with improved stability
+- Prioritized compatibility over file size
+
 ## [1.0.3] - 2025-11-13
 
 ### Fixed

README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # TranscribAIr
 
-[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.3-blue.svg)](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases)
+[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.4-blue.svg)](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases)
 [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![Python](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.9%2B-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
 
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ AI-powered audio transcription with intelligent feedback organization for educat
 
 ### For End Users
 
-Download the latest installer: **[TranscribAIr-1.0.3-Setup.exe](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases/latest)**
+Download the latest installer: **[TranscribAIr-1.0.4-Setup.exe](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases/latest)**
 
-Or get the portable version: **[TranscribAIr-1.0.3-Portable.zip](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases/latest)**
+Or get the portable version: **[TranscribAIr-1.0.4-Portable.zip](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases/latest)**
 
 ### For Developers
 

__version__.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 TranscribAIr version information.
 """
 
-__version__ = "1.0.3"
+__version__ = "1.0.4"
 __version_info__ = tuple(int(i) for i in __version__.split("."))
 
 # Application metadata

build.py

@@ -106,8 +106,8 @@ def build_executable(ffmpeg_path: str):
         print(f"Size: {exe_size:.2f} MB")
         print("\nOptimizations applied:")
         print("  [OK] Excluded unused packages")
-        print("  [OK] UPX compression enabled")
-        print("  [OK] Debug symbols stripped")
+        print("  [OK] UPX compression disabled (for compatibility)")
+        print("  [OK] Debug symbols preserved (for stability)")
         print("  [OK] FFmpeg bundled ({} executables)".format(
             len([f for f in (Path(ffmpeg_path).parent if Path(ffmpeg_path).is_file() else Path(ffmpeg_path)).glob('*.exe')])
         ))

build.spec

@@ -89,14 +89,9 @@ exe = EXE(
     name='Transcribair',
     debug=False,
     bootloader_ignore_signals=False,
-    strip=True,  # Strip symbols to reduce size (safe for Python)
-    upx=True,  # Enable UPX compression
-    upx_exclude=[
-        # Exclude files that don't compress well or cause issues
-        'vcruntime140.dll',
-        'python*.dll',
-        'Qt*.dll',
-    ],
+    strip=False,  # Disable stripping to avoid DLL issues
+    upx=False,  # Disable UPX - causes DLL loading issues on some systems
+    upx_exclude=[],
     runtime_tmpdir=None,
     console=False,  # Set to False for windowed app (no console)
     disable_windowed_traceback=False,

installer.iss

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 ; The installer will be created in the Output directory
 
 #define MyAppName "TranscribAIr"
-#define MyAppVersion "1.0.3"
+#define MyAppVersion "1.0.4"
 #define MyAppPublisher "Swansea University"
 #define MyAppURL "https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr"
 #define MyAppExeName "Transcribair.exe"