Author Topic: Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI  (Read 4112 times)

CCH

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Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI
« on: January 28, 2009, 07:18:01 pm »
I have the following programs installed:
Ultra Hal Assistant 6.1
Ultra Hal Text-to-Speech Reader
TI Connect v1.6 (Texas Instruments)
TIme Span Creator (Texas Instruments)

For some reason, when either Ultra Hal Assistant or Ultra Hal TTS Reader starts, Windows Installer automatically appears and attempts to install TIme Span Creator, even though it's already installed.  Similarly, once Ultra Hal Assistant is running, if I try to open the General Options page, Windows Installer appears again, this time trying to install TI Connect, which is also already installed.
I've tried reinstalling all four programs after after rebooting the problem seemed to be fixed, but after the next reboot the problem came back again.

I'm assuming the two Zabaware products are trying to do something when the programs start (or when the General Options screen opens) that is launching the MSI setup files for the two TI programs.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can stop this from happening?  I need the two TI programs for my TI-84 calculator and I paid for the Zabaware products, so I don't want to have to get rid of those.
 

Medeksza

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Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2009, 07:40:08 pm »
Ultra Hal Assistant does not use an MSI installer so this has to be related to the TI program's MSI installer. I'm guessing the TI program and Hal share some common component (I don't know what) and the TI program thinks it needs "self-healing" and launches its installer. Have you let the installer do its job? If allowed to self-heal it may stop bothering you.

You can get more details on what it causing it to trip if you go to your windows event log (Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer) Look through the various logs there with a time stamp around the time you get the installer pop up. Copy and paste some of those log entries here and it may help me get some more insight into the problem.
Robert Medeksza

CCH

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Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2009, 08:50:17 pm »
I have allowed the installer to complete before, but it has not made any difference.  I will post the event log in a moment though.  I have to find the event first.
 

CCH

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Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2009, 09:15:03 pm »
According to the event log, it appears that the TI programs are attempting to "self-heal" as you said.  It seems the "damage" was that I moved the directory in the Start Menu that links to the TI programs.  When the Hal programs attempt to run certain processes, the TI program is somehow triggered and when it can't find those shortcuts in the expected location, it immediately attempts to repair it.  For some reason, it fails to recreate the shortcuts, although it acts like the install was successful if I let it run through.
I guess I either need to put the shortcuts back, or find the entry (probably in the registry) that is telling it to look for those shortcuts.
 

CCH

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Support needed - Conflicts between Zabaware and TI
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2009, 09:45:08 pm »
Ok, knowing that the TI products seem to require the Start Menu folder in order to run properly (not sure why TI would do that...), I reinstalled the problem programs and then made the folder hidden, so it no longer shows on the Start Menu, but still exists when the MSI attempts to check for it.  I restarted Ultra Hal Assistant and also checked the General Options page and no installer appeared.

Thanks for the tip about checking the event log.  It told me exactly what needed to be done.  Not what I'd consider the ideal fix, but it does the job.  Just in case, I did the same repair to the other TI products I have installed.

Thanks again.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2009, 11:04:00 pm by CCH »