Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it. When I ran bitcoin core and then installed armory and launched it, armory ran for a length of time then way the logs are describing. After a number of hours, I launched task manager to look things over. The armory process stopped at that point, and I got an error message to that effect. Resolution: back to square 1 with a clean Windows installation. I plan to install armory first, then use that to install and run bitcoin core, instead of trying the  bitcoin core installation first. That way, armory will download the database with block chain files, not bitcoin core.
Also, I have the watch-only wallet from my previous armory installation - from 2014 - and I plan to restore the wallet.dat file from that system once armory and bitcoin core are running together on the new system. Any advice? Will the offline system work exactly the same way in terms of signing any transactions from the old, restored watching-only wallet?

Would it matter that I did not install armory first, then download and install bitcoin after launching armory? The way I did it was to download, install, and sync up bitcoin core first. Afterward, I installed armory. I am thinking of completely wiping the hard drive and external HD, then coin the installation the other way - install armory first, then download and install bitcoin core through armory.

What are the next steps to be taken? I can't get a completely new system to successfully run bitcoin core and Armory together. They might no be in communication with each other. Are there further tests that can be performed? If I change to a Linux system, will that help me? I still want to import my BTC into a new wallet on a fresh install, regardless of the OS.

I didn't change any config files. What I did was to launch both bitcoin core and armory from cli using the parameters that were already listed. My intention was to feed the default directory settings for Armory back in at the time of launch. I did, as you are aware, change the datadir path for bitcoin core to an external HD. That appears to function normally.

I don't have dblog.txt
I have armorylog.txt, ArmorySettings.txt and armorycpplog.txt in \username\AppData\Roaming\Armory

It's at about 20% processor utilization.

Now there is an error message: ArmoryQt.exe is not responding.
-close the program
-wait for the program to respond
I don't know whether task manager could have triggered that result in the ArmoryQt process or if it was already in a hung state and reported a 19.nnnn% processor utilization

My search of the c: drive didn't return a result for dblog.txt. Where would the log be located, if I have one?

I should have explained that this is an ongoing effort to create a completely new armory installation on a new system. After that has been completed, I want to import the watch-only wallet from my old system in order to gain access to the bitcoins on the new system with new Armory installation.
The newly-installed armory is running. It ran all night, apparently with no changes.
I did create a new wallet for the new bitcoin core installation. It's called 'new empty.' Maybe the log file is showing two different instances of startup. After each one, I shut down the system completely, relaunch the executables from the cli using the same commands, and try to monitor the result for any changes or improvements.

Uninstalled bitcoin core and armory, deleted all blockchain database files in d:\bitcoin\databases, then installed
bitcoin core v0.21.1
armory 0.96.5

bitcoin core:
no wallet has been loaded
go to File>Open wallet ...

armory:
stuck at splashscreen with "loading 100%"

armorylog.txt
https://pastebin.com/a2Da3VGu

to get this result, I had launched executables from cli with these commands

c:\Program Files\Bitcoin>bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=d:\bitcoin
C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>armoryqt.exe --satoshi-datadir=d:\bitcoin\blocks --dbdir=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Armory\databases --datadir=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Armory

Is it still pathing?

I like Armory. I know it's secure. If possible, I will continue to use it. Keeping an amount of bitcoin in cold storage is a perfect idea.
"Trust no one." - Benjamin Franklin

The issue that I have been up against in the past is a debilitating shortage of viable hardware. That appears to have resolved itself. I really appreciate all the information.   When I get time to return to the Armory issues, I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

I was still working on old Windows systems that were first installed in 2014. I had to upgrade the watch-only wallet to Windows 10. I also  tried to upgrade to:
watch-only bitcoin core to 0.20.0 and Armory to 0.96-beta-a3d01aa722
offline Armory to 0.92.3 on a Win32 system.

================================

new hardware obtained running Windows 10 on 03-21-2021. Previous March 2021 posts were from the 2014 system. I apologize for the confusion.

Installed Bitcoin Core 0.21.0 and Armory 0.96.
Added an external HD. Moved bitcoin core to d:\bitcoin. Left Armory installed on the c: drive. That's why I left the pathing to both drives, depending on whether it was for bitcoin core or for Armory. If it's the best approach, I will uninstall Armory 0.96 and reinstall 0.96.5 to run with the new version of bitcoin core.

Should Armory be installed on the d: drive or the c: drive for the upgrade?

After the system is running, it sounds like I could either take the signed transaction and convert it to RAW HEX, then broadcast it to the network or import the wallet from the 2014 system with the BTC and go on with business as normal. Will the second option work? Are there any known issues with wallets or with anything else in between versions that I have been running since 2014?

I have both watch-only and offline systems, including both wallets, so apparently I have private keys available.

Here's the other armory log file

https://pastebin.com/2zALnFsr

Maybe the command line parameters for satoshi path were accepted by Armory, but there's something else wrong.

Versions

Bitcoin Core version v0.21.0

Armory Version        : 0.96

Using new Windows 10 system, got bitcoin core running and synced up. Launched from cli using
"C:\Program Files\Bitcoin\bitcoin-qt.exe" -datadir=d:\bitcoin

Armory failed.
https://pastebin.com/6aqBvtLR

attempted to launch armory from cli using

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory
armoryqt.exe -datadir="d:\bitcoin\blocks"

no errors are returned on the command line.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>armoryqt.exe -datadir="d:\bitcoin\blocks"

C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory>

The log file is in pastebin: https://pastebin.com/2zALnFsr

From March 18 2021

From March 19 2021

Armory still connected to bitcoin core on my old system at that time. That isn't really being online, but I had forgotten about that. I didn't sync up to the network first, the way it looks. There were no network connections from Armory to the btc network. I created a transaction to send the balance remaining in the wallet to another address. I signed the transaction using the offline system. When I tried to broadcast it to the network, it failed. There were no connections. I have the file for the signed transaction.

I will try to go back to the new system and external HD to work on resolving Windows permissions issues. Another approach would be to simplify that part of it by using a large enough HD for the blockchain from the beginning, install bitcoin core and Armory on it, then import the wallet to the new system. The current wallet, still containing the balance, can be imported without issues -- ?

The old system stops syncing headers. I have restarted the PC, restarted bitcoin-qt and armory, re-established connections to the BTC network. The process stops. I have repeated that attempt dozens of times. Let me get those log files from pastebin.

I have both offline and watching-only wallets.
I signed a transaction last time my Armory wallet was online, so I have that transaction file. It sent the balance of the Armory wallet to a different address. It was not broadcast because I had no network connections at that moment. If I can get my Armory running again, then apparently there will be a way to broadcast that transaction to the network.
The file is not in HEX. The data is in a different number system. If there is a way to use that file by itself, and not use the Armory wallets again, I would prefer that method. It would be the fastest.
Let me look through my previous posts for more information re: the transaction file. I know that there were some helpful responses. Also, I will try to locate and repost the errors and log files from my original Windows PCs (from 2014) that I posted in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021.

Wallet version was 1.35c at that time.

Are there any known issues with importing an Armory watching-only wallet to Android BTC wallets?
This would use the paper backup. I hope to be able to scan in the QRC. Any thoughts? Any recommendations on which Android wallet works the best?

There is a lengthy history behind this. Mostly Windows-related problems, the way it looks. I am not sure how much relevancy the details would have.
I have tried to upgrade Armory and bitcoin core on my old Windows systems - unsuccessfully. Syncing headers does not complete after launching bitcoin-qt

I also tried loading current versions of bitcoin core and Armory on a new Windows machine, used an external HD for the data directory. I ran into Windows permissions-related errors when trying to use the external drive to run bitcoin core on the PC and launch Armory to access the datadir.

In addition, I have a signed transaction from the last time I had Armory online. I was not connected to the network, though, so it was never broadcast. The file format is something besides HEX, although it does appear similar to HEX.

I don't have Armory online. There is probably a pathing issue, the way it looks. The new versions of bitcoin core and armory didn't come up together and work normally after the upgrade. I have been running the same installation since early 2014, upgrading when needed.

I apologize for my confusion. This is the format that the file name takes:

armory_nnnnnnnn_.SENT.tx

Due to the fact that the contents include a lot of additional chars besides HEX numbers, I don't know what I have. I don't know for sure that it's raw HEX.