With Windows, it’s quite possible that something has happened to change paths. Could be anything from a security update to a recent install of something unrelated.

Reinstall in the default location and reboot. If that doesn’t do it, delete the Preferences and reboot. If you still have a problem, we need more info.

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/215729367-General-Discussion-House-Rules

Thank you for responding, Mike.

I'm searching unsuccessfully for the "default ovation" you mentioned, having not heard that term before.   If this refers to the "DEFAULT DOCUMENT" which can be opened at startup, i did create my own default document.   It has functioned fine up til now.

The only thing unusual about the current specific document (a descendant of my default document) is that it does have several meter changes (from 6/4 to 3/4 and back again).

I did locate the "PREFERENCES" option (under the EDIT menu) but do not see how to delete them.

I tried to paste in the document in question for your inspection, but that option can no longer be found in this forum.

Can anyone weigh in on this question?   

It was a typo — should have read default location.

Did you reinstall Finale? Quite often, that's the easiest way to resolve "just started crashing..." and "worked fine till now..." issues — especially in Windows where system updates and installation of seemingly unrelated apps can sometimes wreak havoc with pathways. It can happen with Macs, too.