Workflow Says \Starting\" and Never Starts"

A
Badge +7

I have encountered this before, but cannot remember how I resolved it. I must delete and reimport the workflow, I will.

My start settings are set so that the workflow will run when an item is created. When I create an item, the workflow starts, but it just stalls and says "Starting" and never progresses. I left it overnight and checked the next morning and nothing. When I cancel and start the workflow manually, it starts.

Any ideas what is going on here? Like I said, I encountered this before, but it's been a long time and I can't remember why it happened, where it happened, or how it was resolved.

26 replies

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

What is the workflow doing?  Can you post a screen shot of the workflow?

B
Badge +6

Hi Andrea Pasutti‌

   Check whether you are using any "pause until" or " pause for "  WF actions .. This will stall your WF instance. Also check for any conditional start options. Your scenario seems strange, as ‌ , please post screen shots so as to have deep dive.,

Thanks 

Bashya Rajan A

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Thanks 

Bashya Rajan A

J
Userlevel 4
Badge +11

Hi Andrea,

are you on O365 or on-premises?

If on-premises, could you check if Workflow timer job is stuck? Could you restart timer service? If it gets hung, it could be a reason of a non starting workflow (automatic start is based on event handler and timer job I think..)

Giacomo

F
Badge +7

 Hi Andrea,

I also regularly get this.  I also have not yet pin pointed the cause of this to an exact cause.  I have noticed though that this happens often on a new site where the Nintex Workflow features have just been activated and all I do to fix this is to terminate the first workflow that goes into "starting" mode and then manually start the workflow on that item again.  This resolves it for me (Sharepoint 2010). 

A
Badge +7

Interesting. This is a new site, but canceling and restarting the workflow didn't help the situation. It still does it. I will keep an eye on it.

A
Badge +7

On prem. I will check with our admins, but other workflows in our test site are working fine.

A
Badge +7

I do have a pause action at the top of my workflow, but the workflow technically doesn't start, so I'm not sure what use the pause is doing in this scenario.

Screenshots coming up.

A
Badge +7

I added a document, no conditional start settings, this is the workflow history:

And when I click "Workflows" on the ribbon:

And when I click "Starting" in the screenshot above:

A
Badge +7

Let me clarify, when I manually start the workflow on an item, the workflow runs. When I go to upload another item, it stalls and says "Starting".

A
Badge +7

Timer service is working fine.

A
Badge +7

Screenshots posted.

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

Where?  I see your screen shots of the history page, but not the workflow itself.  I'm asking for a screen shot of the workflow itself.  It could be something in your workflow causing the issue.

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

Is the document you uploaded still open or checked out when the workflow starts?  Is your workflow attempting to update something related to that document?

A
Badge +7

I did click "Check In", but maybe the workflow is trying to start before SharePoint can get the document checked in. How interesting. How do I get around that? Like I said, I have a pause built in at the top of my workflow, but the workflow actually has to start before it gets to that pause.

A
Badge +7

Workflow Start Settings (more to come):

A
Badge +7

Workflow Structure. Again, the workflow doesn't start, so I'm not sure what value the pause is adding in this particular scenario. I know it's a best practice, so I'm going to leave it in, I just don't think it's helpful here.

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

Being checked out shouldn't be a problem.  You may need to investigate the ULS logs to determine what is going on.  https://community.nintex.com/community/support/blog/2014/10/13/troubleshooting-uls-logs

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

One other thought.  Create a single step workflow that starts your main workflow.  Make that the workflow that get's triggered to start when a new item is uploaded.  See if that will start, and then kickoff the other workflow.

A
Badge +7

That didn't work because that workflow fails to start.

A
Badge +7

Also, deleting and reimporting the workflow did not work.

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

In that case I'd recommend looking at the ULS logs to see if that might give you some more clues as to what is going on.  You could also open a ticket with support and see if they may be able to assist.

A
Badge +7

GOT IT!!

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/chaun/2013/05/16/if-your-sp2010-workflows-are-stuck-in-the-starting-state/

It's a SharePoint issue, not a Nintex issue.

M
Userlevel 3
Badge +9

The article mentions a couple potential issues.  Which one was it in your scenario?

A
Badge +7

I had required columns in my library. I set each column to "Optional" and applied validation rules in my Nintex form and it worked.

M
Badge

Hello friend thankyou so much 

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