[R-sig-ME] allFit fails after removing object with starting values for model parameters from workspace

[Gerrit Eichner]

I forgot to mention that I use lme4_1.1-21.9001
and
R version 3.6.1 (2019-07-05)
Platform: x86_64-w64-mingw32/x64 (64-bit)
Running under: Windows 10 x64 (build 18362)

  --  Gerrit

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Gerrit Eichner                   Mathematical Institute, Room 212
gerrit.eichner using math.uni-giessen.de   Justus-Liebig-University Giessen
Tel: +49-(0)641-99-32104          Arndtstr. 2, 35392 Giessen, Germany
http://www.uni-giessen.de/eichner
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Am 08.08.2019 um 15:06 schrieb Gerrit Eichner:
> Dear lmer-experts,
> 
> if I refit a fitted model with all available optimizers AFTER
> removing the object which contains the starting values for the
> parameters of the model as in
> 
> theta <- c(1, 0.01, 0.2)
> fm <- lmer(Reaction ~ Days + (Days | Subject), data = sleepstudy,
>             start = theta)
> rm(theta)
> allFit(fm, verbose = FALSE)
> 
> none of the optimizers succeeds:
> 
> original model:
> Reaction ~ Days + (Days | Subject)
> optimizers (7): bobyqa, Nelder_Mead, nlminbwrap, nmkbw, optimx.L-BFGS-B, 
> nloptwrap.NLOPT_LN_N...
> 7 optimizer(s) failed
> differences in negative log-likelihoods:
> max= -Inf ; std dev= NA
> Warning messages:
> 1: In min(nllvec) : no non-missing arguments to min; returning Inf
> 2: In max(nllvec - min(nllvec)) :
>    no non-missing arguments to max; returning -Inf
> 
> 
> If I don't remove theta from my workspace everything works fine.
> Is there a workaround for this - from my perspective - unwanted
> behaviour? (I have situations where allFit is used in a different
> environment from the one wherein the model was fit, e.g., after
> fitting the model the object which contains the fit is saved and
> later loaded in another R-session to be processed by allFit.)
> I could, of course, save theta everytime as well ... Any ideas?
> 
>   Best regards  --  Gerrit
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Gerrit Eichner                   Mathematical Institute, Room 212
> gerrit.eichner using math.uni-giessen.de   Justus-Liebig-University Giessen
> Tel: +49-(0)641-99-32104          Arndtstr. 2, 35392 Giessen, Germany
> http://www.uni-giessen.de/eichner
> 
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