FIX: “The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly”

The Problem

Someone reported the other day that their phone was coming up with an error saying:

Sorry!
The Application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly. Please Try Again.

The only option available was Force Close, and soon as that was pressed the message would appear again.

The Cause

In this particular instance the problem was caused by the user deleting some old homescreens.  However, it can be caused by any other action related to HTC Sense.  If the HTC Launcher app detects problems it becomes stuck in this loop and makes your phone unusable by constantly springing up that error message.

The Solution

NOTE: by doing this you will lose all your custom homescreens and will have to customise them again.
These are the instructions I provided which seemed to solve the problem:

1. Press the Search button on your phone
2. Type in Settings and select it from the results
3. Select Applications > Manage Applications > HTC Sense > Clear Data
4. Press the Home button
5. You should now see the default wallpaper and widgets
6. Try adding a widget. Either:
   • Press the +icon in the bottom-right > Widget
   • Press Menu > Add to Home > Widget
   • Long-press an empty space on your homescreen > Widget
7. If you find that the HTC widgets are missing from the Add Widgets list go to Settings and repeat steps 3 and 4

Final Word

This fix applies to problems caused by performing an action related to HTC Sense.  In some cases it can be caused by incompatible applications, in which case the general solution would be to go to Settings using the method described above, then Applications > Manage Applications > Select the app you think is causing the problem and uninstall it.

In the worst case scenario, you would need to backup all your data and applications (MyBackupPro is great for this) and then perform a factory reset of your phone.

Suggestions

This was the fix I suggested and it worked well for the user.  If anyone has experienced this problem and found an alternate solution please feel free to post in the comments or email me and I’ll get it added into this post.  Thanks!