Uninstalling ST3 breaks ST4

[razvan]

Hi Greg,

Something that happened today. I had ST3 Pro (the most recent version) installed on the same Windows 10 laptop on which I installed ST4 (both in the default directories). Being happy with ST4, I uninstalled ST3. A bit later, when I started ST4, I got the error below ("Skytools cannot find the database files") after which the program closed.

   

After some debugging with FileMon (which showed no failed file access) then RegMon, I traced the problem to the disappearance of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound from the registry. So instead of deleting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\Skytools\3, the deletion happens two levels up. I presume this is because at the time ST3 was written, there was no ST4 so the uninstaller deletes everything related to Skyhound. 

I was able to restore the installation by exporting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\Skytools\4 from my desktop and merging into the laptop's registry. Reinstalling should fix it as well, but this was much quicker.

Hope this helps,
Razvan

[theskyhound]

Hello,

I have to admit that when I got to the last sentence in your second paragraph there was a major outbreak of forehead smacking.

Thank you for the thorough explanation. Yes, re-installing will solve the problem. I will make sure to release an update to SkyTools 3 that fixes the uninstaller.

[PMSchu]

Hi Greg,

If you'll be releasing an update to ST3 Pro, would it be possible to use the graphics package from ST4i that plays nicely with the 4k monitors? Just wondering if it is an easy fix or opening a can of worms that you don't need.

I have installed updated video drivers for the RTX 2070 twice since the new video card and 4k monitor broke the display of ST3 Pro in Windows 10. The new drivers didn't fix the issue.

Thanks,

Phil S.

[theskyhound]

Sorry, no. I spent well over a year redoing the graphics for ST4. It makes no sense to give all that work away or to put any more effort into ST3 with ST4 so close.

[PMSchu]

Hi Greg,

It was worth asking. I'm glad to hear that ST4 Visual is coming soon. Will it be possible to move my old ST3 Pro data to the new ST4v easily? I hope so. I miss some of the functionality of ST3 Pro like Current Events and Ephimerides. I haven't found a way to accomplish those in ST4i although the Trails and Trace functions in the Atlas come close to the Ephemeris functionality without the ability to create a printable table of positions.

I keep forgetting to ask EVGA about the graphics driver bug. I seem to have gotten out of the habit of using ST3 Pro. Too bad, really; I really like ST3 Pro.

Looking forward to ST4v,

Phil S.

[theskyhound]

Hi Greg,

Something that happened today. I had ST3 Pro (the most recent version) installed on the same Windows 10 laptop on which I installed ST4 (both in the default directories). Being happy with ST4, I uninstalled ST3. A bit later, when I started ST4, I got the error below ("Skytools cannot find the database files") after which the program closed.



After some debugging with FileMon (which showed no failed file access) then RegMon, I traced the problem to the disappearance of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound from the registry. So instead of deleting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\Skytools\3, the deletion happens two levels up. I presume this is because at the time ST3 was written, there was no ST4 so the uninstaller deletes everything related to Skyhound. 

I was able to restore the installation by exporting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\Skytools\4 from my desktop and merging into the laptop's registry. Reinstalling should fix it as well, but this was much quicker.

Hope this helps,
Razvan

Hello,

I did some checking and I am not able to find an obvious error in the ST3 uninstaller.

It deletes the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\Skytools\3" entry.

After that it should only delete the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound\SkyTools" and "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Skyhound" registry entries of they are empty. With ST4 installed there should be a \4 after SkyTools, so it should not be deleted.

A few questions then:

1. Was ST3 installed from the CD/DVD or via download?
2. Was ST3 up to date with the latest version (3.2k)?
3. What procedure did you use to uninstall ST3?

Thanks!

[razvan]

A few questions then:

1. Was ST3 installed from the CD/DVD or via download?
2. Was ST3 up to date with the latest version (3.2k)?
3. What procedure did you use to uninstall ST3?

Thanks!

1. I didn't use the CD/DVD media for the setup file I already had on my home NAS (my laptop doesn't have an optical drive). I cannot remember, however, whether that executable was copied from the original CD or whether it was downloaded. I typically prefer to simply download a file rather than deal with disks, but cannot be 100% sure. I did follow the same procedure on both computers where I had the problem. 

2. Almost surely yes. I don't remember and I tried to see when 3.2k was released but the update page doesn't have dates. If it was released within the last few months, yes, I must have had the update because upon starting it and getting the notification about the new release, I normally upgrade.

3. Launched the uninstaller via the Add/Remove Programs from Control Panel. Both computers have Windows 10 Home, if it makes a difference.

[theskyhound]

Thanks. I'll keep looking into it.