System:
CPU: Intel Celeron 366Mhz (*2)
RAM: 512K PC133
OS: Win XP Pro
TWGS (working) 1.01.55
TW2002 (Working) 3.11.55
-=-=NOT AS SERVICE=-=-

Explaination of my problem:
When I upgrade my TWGS and TW2002, installed as a service, there are many of my programs that will not come up. I can shut down TWGS and load these programs, but that defeats the purpose of running TWGS.
One of these programs that hangs is my mIRC chat client.
::My solution:: Rolled back to previously installed
versions 1.01.55 & 3.11.55

Any other solutions or if you need any more information, please ask.

I'm not sure I follow the description of the problem. Was it running as a service under .55 but not under the latest release? Your description seems to say that it ran under .55, but not as a service.

Are you certain that the problems with v3.13 exist only when it's running as a service? Do the problems exist even if running TWGS as a normal program?

The only thing that has changed related specifically to TWGS as a service is the code used to determine if the user account has administrative access. You seem to suggest that TWGS will still run as a service, but that it interferes with other programs that are running. This should not be effected by the changes that have been made since .55. Other than that, there have been only very minor changes to TWGS since .55. Mostly TW changes have been made since then.

It might be useful if you could test each upgrade incrementally to see at what point this becomes a problem. If you're interested in doing that, I can send you the revisions between .55 and the latest.

quote:
I'm not sure I follow the description of the problem. Was it running as a service under .55 but not under the latest release? Your description seems to say that it ran under .55, but not as a service.


The new release will run as a service, but it prevents various other software packages of mine from running.
Most noticed are these:
(1) mIRC
(2) Norton Speeddisk

quote:
Are you certain that the problems with v3.13 exist only when it's running as a service? Do the problems exist even if running TWGS as a normal program?


This problem only occurs after installing TWGS as a service. Even when I uninstall, the problem still exist. I had to completely re-install the .55 version to get the problem to go away. I then copied the TWGS.EXE to a temp. location, re-installed the newest version, then copied the .55 TWGS back over the new one. Problem solved.

quote:
The only thing that has changed related specifically to TWGS as a service is the code used to determine if the user account has administrative access. You seem to suggest that TWGS will still run as a service, but that it interferes with other programs that are running. This should not be effected by the changes that have been made since .55. Other than that, there have been only very minor changes to TWGS since .55. Mostly TW changes have been made since then.

It might be useful if you could test each upgrade incrementally to see at what point this becomes a problem. If you're interested in doing that, I can send you the revisions between .55 and the latest.


If you would like for me to go through the trouble-shooting in that method, I will gladly help out. As for now, though, I have the problem fixed. Everything is working again, and I'm happy with the new TW version and the .55 version of TWGS. I've been with TW, off and on, since before the 1.03 version; and, if there is the slightest fear that others may run into the same problem, I will gladly help out. [:)]

Note: I honestly think it has something to do with the way TWGS is installed as a service into my registry. I uninstalled it, but the entry still remains intact. Which is odd, because when I uninstall others, they are completely deleted from the services section. I am no longer running TWGS as a service, either version, until I can get the registry entries under services & legacy removed.
(I am on the System Admin account.)

John, this is the same kind of problem I've been having with the TWGS for years - ever since the ability to run the TWGS as a service has been around. I've never been able to run it as a service because other things simply won't run until it is turned off. The server and workstation versions of Diskeeper are one example as well as the NovaNet backup software versions 7 and 8. And it doesn't matter what version of Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 you try it on or what hardware. The systems tend to be a bit on the unresponsive side also. It is actually quite heartening to hear that someone else is having this problem because ever since I first reported it way back when I've never heared of anyone else having these kinds of issues.

What's strange about this report is that the problem doesn't seem to exist for .55, but only for more recent versions. The problem you've had goes back to before .55, doesn't it?

quote:Originally posted by Thistledown

John, this is the same kind of problem I've been having with the TWGS for years - ever since the ability to run the TWGS as a service has been around. I've never been able to run it as a service because other things simply won't run until it is turned off. The server and workstation versions of Diskeeper are one example as well as the NovaNet backup software versions 7 and 8. And it doesn't matter what version of Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 you try it on or what hardware. The systems tend to be a bit on the unresponsive side also. It is actually quite heartening to hear that someone else is having this problem because ever since I first reported it way back when I've never heared of anyone else having these kinds of issues.


Here's we go... Lemme see if I can make meself clear. [B)]
I'm not sure if the problem existed in a previous version. I didn't try running it as a service. However, when I upgraded, I did try. It throughly screwed things up to where I could not run certain programs at all while the service was running. (Even if TWGS wasn't running at that perticular moment, ie, between service checks.) When I uninstalled TWGS as a service, the problems were still there. So, I:

1) Uninstalled TWGS completely.
2) Re-installed .55.
3) ~Copied~ all the files over to a temp directory.
4) Ran TWGS (not as service) things worked great.
5) re-installed the new version.
6) Re-ran TWGS, ERROR... File has changed in size, possible tampering or virus?
7) Totally uninstalled everything AGAIN...
rebooted 3 times.
9) Searched registry, TWGS IS STILL IN THERE... Tried to manually remove... Locked, cannot edit registry key...
10) re-re-installed the new version.
11) re-re-ran it, success! Everything works...
12) Looked through registry... Yup, still in there as a service, can't manually remove it either... TWGS uninstall, TWGS.EXE uninstall, TWGSSERV uninstall, TWGSSERV.EXE uninstall cannot seem to find it in any way to remove it... Says it's not there... Looked again, yup, still there, I wasn't imagining it...
13) started up TWGS to go live with it again. mIRC & Norton wouldn't work...
14) Shut down TWGS, copied .55 over top.
15) Brought it back up.
16) Everything works but Norton Speeddisk... TWGS is still hogging that slot in the services sections (services and legacy) of the registry also...

Geesh, I didn't really realize that I went through all the trouble for TWGS... Guess I am a big fan still... LOL Loved 1.03d, even with it's bugs. I'm afraid to try .55 as a service since the new version is still crammed in there and not wanting to come out...

Ok, so the problem you're experiencing is very likely the same problem that has been reported since service functionality was added, a conflict with certain applications. I suspect it has something to do with Delphi, but I'm not certain. The code for processing it as a service is pretty much standard. It's all handled through OS calls.

As for the problem with it sticking in your registry... I wonder if it was installed as a service when you uninstalled the game? If that's the case, it might have stranded the service registry entry. I'll have to test that, but most likely I assumed that the game would be removed as a service before being uninstalled. I'm not sure it's even possible for me to force it off of the service list during an uninstall...

Another possible problem is the fact that I changed installers between .55 and the most recent revision. The older install and the new install are not compatible. So it's recommended that you uninstall the older version before starting fresh with a newer one. This is caused by InstallShield choosing not to recognize installations made with the older version of the product.

I can't believe there isn't a way to manually remove the TWGS service from within the registry. When I try to reproduce this problem, maybe I'll come up with a solution for you and post it here.

Just for the record, I have not had any problems with mine running as a service on a win2k machine. All my other apps still work fine, but, what I have noticed is that when installing some programs, their install programs will not run at all, will not run completely, or will hang if I dont shut down the TWGS server before installing. I have gotten in the habit of shutting the server down when installing anything else and everything works. Maybe this has something to do with his problem. If he installed something with TWGS running and maybe it isnt fully installed the way it should be. Just a thaught.

quote:Originally posted by Boss

Just for the record, I have not had any problems with mine running as a service on a win2k machine. All my other apps still work fine, but, what I have noticed is that when installing some programs, their install programs will not run at all, will not run completely, or will hang if I dont shut down the TWGS server before installing. I have gotten in the habit of shutting the server down when installing anything else and everything works. Maybe this has something to do with his problem. If he installed something with TWGS running and maybe it isnt fully installed the way it should be. Just a thaught.


Boss, I've experience this specific problem my self, on my Win2KAS. And I too have gotten into the habit of shutting down the service. Before I install any other program on this system. So, I do not know if this problem still happens.

I had originally reported this problem to JP, by email, years ago. Roughly around .52-.53, as that is when I first experienced the problem.