Transferring Agent install to new computer - corruption won't go away
kapla...@example.com
entire agent folder and seeing if it would run. Of course not. That
was dumb - but worse yet seems to have led to ongoing issues. I
deleted the folder, and did a new install (it asked for the reg key
this time), and it ran fine. Then I closed it and when I went to
reopen it locked up on a full screen window whose heading was that of
a newsgroup that was present on the old install, but was not present
on the new install when I closed the window. I uninstalled and
reinstalled it, but same results. I also did a complete search for
any instances of "agent" to see where it might be picking up this
corrupt data. Nohing. This process has been repeated many times. I
am presently resigned that the best I can do is each time I want to
run the program if it was not left open, I have to do a new install
(Upgrade does not work). Oh and when I do that all the groups and
messages that were there before the new install are still there, and
it does not ask for a reg key.
I guess I can live with that, but I'd love to know if anyone has any
idea what to do to allow it to close and then reopen successfully the
next time without reinstalling it.
I'm using v3.3 and it has all the bells and whistles I want. Yet iIf I
were 100% sure it would cure the problem, which I am not, I would pay
to upgrade.
Jim
kapla...@example.com
>kapla...@example.com wrote:
>
>> I replaced my XP machine with Vista. First I tried just moving the
>> entire agent folder and seeing if it would run. Of course not. That
>> was dumb - but worse yet seems to have led to ongoing issues. I
>
> I agree that was dumb <bg>
>
>> deleted the folder, and did a new install (it asked for the reg key
>> this time), and it ran fine. Then I closed it and when I went to
>> reopen it locked up on a full screen window whose heading was that of
>> a newsgroup that was present on the old install, but was not present
>> on the new install when I closed the window. I uninstalled and
>> reinstalled it, but same results. I also did a complete search for
>> any instances of "agent" to see where it might be picking up this
>> corrupt data. Nohing. This process has been repeated many times. I
>> am presently resigned that the best I can do is each time I want to
>> run the program if it was not left open, I have to do a new install
>> (Upgrade does not work). Oh and when I do that all the groups and
>> messages that were there before the new install are still there, and
>> it does not ask for a reg key.
>>
>> I guess I can live with that, but I'd love to know if anyone has any
>> idea what to do to allow it to close and then reopen successfully the
>> next time without reinstalling it.
>>
>> I'm using v3.3 and it has all the bells and whistles I want. Yet iIf I
>> were 100% sure it would cure the problem, which I am not, I would pay
>> to upgrade.
>>
>> Jim
>
> How about giving some detail of what you do (step-by-step) instead of
>"this won't work", "that won't work" etc. which don't give any clue what you
>do wrong.
>
>- Example, copying the whole Agent folder from one system to other. Do you
>copy to the *exact* save DRIVE and FOLDER or *different* drive and folder?
>
>- Corruption won't go away? do you mean it's corrupted *before* copying to
>other system?
Agent is working fine on the old machine so, no the corruption was not
there. The first time I tried, yes I copied the entire AGENT folder to
Program Files (x86) folder. After deleteing that folder for this
non-working version on the new machine I reinstalled it as a new
install. (Required the reg key this one time) It is in Program Files
(x86) folder, as it should be. It ran o.k. the first time, but I
wanted to save the old messages I had saved in folders. So, while
agent was not running, I replaced the entire DATA sub folder with
that from the working version on the old machine. As near as I can
tell the other files inb the Agent folder are either static, or not
critical (backup folder) to correct operation. The ones in the main
folder have matching modify date and times on the two machines. This
has all led to the current situation where it runs fine immediately
after a "new" install (which isn't really new) but not after closing
and restarting. (If I try a "reinstall" Agent won't run at all. I had
done several uninstalls and reinstalls earlier (after the initial
copied Agent folder was deleted and a new install was done for the
first time). At one point in that sequence I ran Glary Utilities
which identified a couple left over registry keys from a prior install
and deleted them, but that didn't help either.
Jim
Carroll Robbins
<bj2ct4pjsjsg08jvf...@4ax.com>
>The first time I tried, yes I copied the entire AGENT folder to
>Program Files (x86) folder. After deleteing that folder for this
>non-working version on the new machine I reinstalled it as a new
>install. (Required the reg key this one time) It is in Program Files
>(x86) folder, as it should be.
No. The Data Directory cannot be in Program Files (X86) for Vista. That is
causing your problems. Remove Agent from Vista. Then copy the Agent
Directory including the Agent Data subdirectory to C:\. This will keep the
Data Directory out of the special Vista directories.
--
Carroll B. Robbins, Jr.
Ralph Fox
> X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 3.3/32.846
>>> I replaced my XP machine with Vista. First I tried just moving the
>>> entire agent folder and seeing if it would run. Of course not.
I would very strongly suggest that you go to the Agent
Newsreader FAQ at http://www.forteinc.com/agent/faq.php
and read the entry titled "Does Agent work with Windows Vista?"
>>> Then I closed it and when I went to
>>> reopen it locked up on a full screen window whose heading was that of
>>> a newsgroup that was present on the old install, but was not present
>>> on the new install when I closed the window. I uninstalled and
>>> reinstalled it, but same results.
This sounds like the effects of Vista's "virtual store".
Vista will have copied some or all of C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
to C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
NOTE: To see this folder, you must configure Vista to show hidden
files and folders.
Sometimes Agent will be reading read from C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data,
and sometimes Vista will divert Agent so Agent actually accesses
C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
This means that Agent does not always see the same data. One of the
effects is that a newsgroup may be deleted, and next time you start
Agent it will re-appear.
>>> I also did a complete search for
>>> any instances of "agent" to see where it might be picking up this
>>> corrupt data. Nohing.
If you did not search hidden and system files and folders, you would not have
found C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
Did you tell Windows Search to search hidden and system files and folders?
This is a separate setting to telling Windows to show hidden files and folders.
> Agent is working fine on the old machine so, no the corruption was not
> there. The first time I tried, yes I copied the entire AGENT folder to
> Program Files (x86) folder.
That is the problem. Although the Agent *program* can go into the
Program Files (x86) folder, Vista does not like Agent's Data folder
to be in the Program Files (x86) folder.
If you look, I think you will find that Vista has copied some or all
of your Agent Data folder to
C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
> After deleteing that folder for this
> non-working version on the new machine I reinstalled it as a new
> install. (Required the reg key this one time) It is in Program Files
> (x86) folder, as it should be.
On Vista, Agent's data folder should *not* be in the Program Files
(x86) folder.
Agent 3.3 does not know about Vista's new restrictions. Agent 3.3
was released long before Vista.
If your Agent is in C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent,
then Agent 3.3 will expect its data to be in
C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data. Vista does not like this.
> It ran o.k. the first time, but I
> wanted to save the old messages I had saved in folders. So, while
> agent was not running, I replaced the entire DATA sub folder with
> that from the working version on the old machine. As near as I can
> tell the other files inb the Agent folder are either static, or not
> critical (backup folder) to correct operation.
On Vista *only* static files go in Program Files (x86).
> The ones in the main
> folder have matching modify date and times on the two machines. This
> has all led to the current situation where it runs fine immediately
> after a "new" install (which isn't really new) but not after closing
> and restarting. (If I try a "reinstall" Agent won't run at all. I had
> done several uninstalls and reinstalls earlier (after the initial
> copied Agent folder was deleted and a new install was done for the
> first time). At one point in that sequence I ran Glary Utilities
> which identified a couple left over registry keys from a prior install
> and deleted them, but that didn't help either.
To run Agent 3.3 on Vista, you should put the Agent\Data folder outside
Program Files.
To do this,
1. Move the Agent\Data folder to somewhere like C:\Agentdata
2. In the shortcut which you use to start Agent, set the
shortcut's 'Start In' property to "C:\Agentdata", the
location of Agent's data files.
After you start Agent from the modified shortcut, you should
unset/save/restore/save any options which you have set at
Tools » Options » URL and MIME Settings » URLs » Make Agent the web browser service for
--
Regards
Ralph
kapla...@example.com
wrote:
>On 2009-04-04 02:23, kapla...@example.com wrote:
>
>> X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 3.3/32.846
>
>>>> I replaced my XP machine with Vista. First I tried just moving the
>>>> entire agent folder and seeing if it would run. Of course not.
>
>I would very strongly suggest that you go to the Agent
>Newsreader FAQ at http://www.forteinc.com/agent/faq.php
>and read the entry titled "Does Agent work with Windows Vista?"
>
thanks for this good reference. I had missed it on the forte site.
>
>>>> Then I closed it and when I went to
>>>> reopen it locked up on a full screen window whose heading was that of
>>>> a newsgroup that was present on the old install, but was not present
>>>> on the new install when I closed the window. I uninstalled and
>>>> reinstalled it, but same results.
>
>This sounds like the effects of Vista's "virtual store".
>
>Vista will have copied some or all of C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
>to C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
>
> NOTE: To see this folder, you must configure Vista to show hidden
> files and folders.
>
>Sometimes Agent will be reading read from C:\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data,
>and sometimes Vista will divert Agent so Agent actually accesses
>C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
>
>This means that Agent does not always see the same data. One of the
>effects is that a newsgroup may be deleted, and next time you start
>Agent it will re-appear.
>
>
>>>> I also did a complete search for
>>>> any instances of "agent" to see where it might be picking up this
>>>> corrupt data. Nohing.
>
>If you did not search hidden and system files and folders, you would not have
>found C:\Users\<*win logon*>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Agent\Data
>
>Did you tell Windows Search to search hidden and system files and folders?
>This is a separate setting to telling Windows to show hidden files and folders.
(I had done a hidden file search, but perhaps it was a time during the
seuqence of multiple un/reinstalls when there user data location
hadn't been created or had been deleted?)
Aha!
>
>> The ones in the main
>> folder have matching modify date and times on the two machines. This
>> has all led to the current situation where it runs fine immediately
>> after a "new" install (which isn't really new) but not after closing
>> and restarting. (If I try a "reinstall" Agent won't run at all. I had
>> done several uninstalls and reinstalls earlier (after the initial
>> copied Agent folder was deleted and a new install was done for the
>> first time). At one point in that sequence I ran Glary Utilities
>> which identified a couple left over registry keys from a prior install
>> and deleted them, but that didn't help either.
>
>
>To run Agent 3.3 on Vista, you should put the Agent\Data folder outside
>Program Files.
>
>To do this,
>
>1. Move the Agent\Data folder to somewhere like C:\Agentdata
>2. In the shortcut which you use to start Agent, set the
> shortcut's 'Start In' property to "C:\Agentdata", the
> location of Agent's data files.
>
>After you start Agent from the modified shortcut, you should
>unset/save/restore/save any options which you have set at
>Tools » Options » URL and MIME Settings » URLs » Make Agent the web browser service for
Thanks very much. It sounds like you have provided the solution to my
issues.
Jim
Oliver Costich
But if you Agent folder and data were on another drive, like D:,
copying it to the new system does seem to work on 32-bit systems, at
least up to XP SP3. I have done it several times. You may have to
adjust your shortcut properties if the partition on the new system is
different on the old one. This was always one of the appeals of Agent.
Where is doesn't work is on my new Vista 64-bit system, and I'm not
sure whether it is a Vista problem or a 64-bit problem. It's very
disappointing to face the likelihood of having to find a new
newreader. I've been using Agent since the fist beat about a decade
ago.
Carroll Robbins
01:34:36 -0700 in <0h6et4tukk1t5pigl...@4ax.com>
>Where is doesn't work is on my new Vista 64-bit system, and I'm not
>sure whether it is a Vista problem or a 64-bit problem. It's very
>disappointing to face the likelihood of having to find a new
>newreader. I've been using Agent since the fist beat about a decade
>ago.
Other people have no problem. It is not an Agent, Vista, or Vista 64
problem. You should follow the advice Ralph gave you.
kapla...@example.com
wrote:
>On 2009-04-04 02:23, kapla...@example.com wrote:
I haven't gotten to doing the above fix yet, so maybe that will solve
the problem: When I try to print this message I get a printer dialog
box and although both my installed printers are listed "find printer"
doesn't find them and I can't print. Related to the original problem
or a separate issue?
kapla...@example.com
>kapla...@example.com wrote:
>
><snip>
>> I haven't gotten to doing the above fix yet, so maybe that will solve
>> the problem: When I try to print this message I get a printer dialog
>> box and although both my installed printers are listed "find printer"
>> doesn't find them and I can't print. Related to the original problem
>> or a separate issue?
>
> I don't print directly from Agent (I don't like the way it prints the
>header info), so I would suggest to Copy & Paste to a text editor like
>NorePad, Wordpad or similar then go from there.
That's what I did in this case, It's pretty rare that I print
messages, so I can live with that.
Ralph Fox
> I haven't gotten to doing the above fix yet, so maybe that will solve
> the problem: When I try to print this message I get a printer dialog
> box and although both my installed printers are listed "find printer"
> doesn't find them and I can't print. Related to the original problem
> or a separate issue?
I would suspect that this is a separate issue.
BTW, how long are the printer names in Control Panel » Printers ?
kap...@example.com
wrote:
>On 2009-04-04 02:23, kapla...@example.com wrote:
Well I have it running but using all of the info above and on the
ref'd FAQ on Forte's it does appear impossible to import the data
file with 2-3 years worth of saved messages. I tried multiple times
with no traces left in the registry of the C drive from previous
installs, did a new install, imported the good data file from the
other machine before running it and it always locked up the first time
I ran it. I guess I will be satisfied with the situation as is.
JK
Ralph Fox
> Well I have it running but using all of the info above and on the
> ref'd FAQ on Forte's it does appear impossible to import the data
> file with 2-3 years worth of saved messages. I tried multiple times
> with no traces left in the registry of the C drive from previous
> installs, did a new install, imported the good data file from the
> other machine before running it and it always locked up the first time
> I ran it. I guess I will be satisfied with the situation as is.
Are you using this FAQ entry to import the data files?
http://www.forteinc.com/agent/faq.php
"How do I consolidate all my instances of Agent into one copy?"
If you get a lockup after using the above FAQ entry, then
try this different approach:
(1) In the 'old' instance, export each message folder to a Unix message file.
(2) In the 'new' instance,
• create the newsgroup/folder if needed
• then import the Unix message file into this folder.
To export a message folder to a Unix message file
1.1 Select all of the messages in the folder
1.2 Go to File » Save Messages As...
1.3 In the "Save as" dialog box, select
[ ] Append to Existing File <---- NOT checked
[x] Save raw (unformatted) message <---- CHECKED
---File Format---
(•) UNIX message file
---Header Fields to Include---
(•) All fields
To import the Unix message file into a folder
1.2 Go to File » Import and Export » Import Messages
1.3 In the "Import Messages" dialog box, select
[x] Put all messages in folder <---- CHECKED
[______________________________] <--- select folder here
[ ] If a message contains an X-Folder field... <---- NOT checked
--
Regards
Ralph