X61 Access Connections opens install dialog upon invocation

[finalfenix]

Problem Description: I set Access Connections so that the system tray icon would show and the toolbar would not when I first installed the program months ago. It had worked fine until a few weeks ago when I invoked TVSU and installed an update for Access Connections. Since then when I attempt to invoke the main Access Connections dialog by left-clicking on the system tray icon and selecting Launch Access Connections, an install dialog appears, runs through the install process, then asks to restart. The symptom also appears if I enable the Access Connections Toolbar by right-clicking on the Windows taskbar, pointing to Toolbars, and selecting Access Connections. This symptom is persistent even after reboot. 

Attempts to correct:

1) Attempted reinstall from installer found on the web. No change.

2) Uninstalled and reinstalled. Upon first reboot, the same install dialog, that's in the Problem Description, appears and the system is restarted automatically. This presumably happens because, by default, the Access Connections Toolbar is added to the Windows taskbar on install.

[Herik]

Hi,

yes, I have seen such situaiton in the past.

Here is what you could test:

- uninstall Access Connection using Add/Remove programs

- go to registry and make sure, that there is no such registry key as: HKLM\Software\Lenovo\Access Connection

In case there is such key, please delete the whole "Access Conneciton" string

- go to %Program Files%\ThinkPad\ and make sure, that there is no "ConnectUtilities". If yes, then completely delete it.

- go to %ProgramFiles%\InstallShield Installation Information\ and open one after another all the folders, that you can see here and make sure, that none of then belongs to Access Connection. If there is such, delete the whole folder

NOTE: you can detect, that that particular installation package belongs to Access Connection by opening the "Setup.ini" and there is the description of the product

IMPORTANT:

Please make the steps, that I described above in the exact order, as I wrote it. Don't start with  the last or change th order, as this will screw up the AC installation/uninstall.

Explanation:

this ususally happens, when there is still one, or more .dll files, that could not be registered propperly, or the WIndows installer was confused , or has a problem.

Let me know your results.

Cheers

[finalfenix]

What if I wish to preserve the profiles?

Can I still back them up? and how do I restore the profiles after reinstallation?

[Herik]

Hi,

in this case if you want to save your profiles, then BEFORE you perform the steps, that I described in previous update, do following:

- go to registry and save/Export following registry key with all the subkeys

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Access Connections\Locations

Everything, that you can see under the above mentioned key are your profiles. So save them and once Access Connection will work agaain, just import this keys back.

Let me know, how it will work fo you.

Cheer

[finalfenix]

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lenovo\Access Connections doesn't seem to exist, but HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lenovo\Access Connections does. There isn't a folder/key with the name Locations though.

I apologize. I forgot to mention this and it may or may not make a difference, but I'm running the x64 version of the Win7RC.

[Herik]

Hi,
If you are using x64 Os, then my locaiton iwll not be there , as you have noticed

do it then follwing way:
Start registry and pres CTRL+F and type there the full name of one of your location profiles.
This should find the corect reg path.

Sorry I don't have any Win7 next to me, where I could test.

Cheers

[finalfenix]

It didn't work. I still have the same symptoms after the reinstall.

These were the steps taken:

1. Exported key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lenovo\Access Connections\Locations. I have no clue why I didn't see it before.
2. Uninstalled ThinkVantage Access Connections.
3. Deleted key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Lenovo\Access Connections.
4. Searched C:\Program Files\ThinkPad for ConnectUtilities. Not found.
5. Searched C:\Program Files (x86)\ThinkPad for ConnectUtilities. Not found.
6. Searched C:\Program Files for InstallShield Installation Information. Not found.
7. Searched C:\Program Files (x86)\InstallShield Installation Information for folders containing setup.ini files that describe Access Connections. None found.
8. Reinstalled Access Connections via ThinkVantage System Update.
9. Rebooted computer. Symptom reappeared.

[Herik]

Hi,

ok so in this situation it looks, like this is not a pure AC issue. There might be something wrong with the installer, or it might be also just an issue of AV where it blockt the registration of some components.
Have you tried to install also some other application? Just to test, if that one will not make any issues?

Try to start debugview and try to reproduce the situation. You might find there something usefull, or paste the part with AC to this forum. I would like to see it.
And is there any output in Event log about this situaiton?

Cheers