In Windows the settings are saved in the registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs\de\pala\updater). If you are losing your settings, it would indicate that something is reverting/deleting your registry keys after running the program.


The updater cannot find its basic settings while starting up. That can be because of two things:

1.
It cannot access services/settings.zip anymore or it was deleted.

2.
On launch files are copied to %temp%/.jpf-shadow and startup continues from there. Something might prevent it from writing to %temp%


I would guess your malware solutions are blocking access to the locations after they identify the updater as malware.


I would also strongly recommend to scan your system with a boot disk from one of the better known AV companies (e.g. http://support.kaspersky.com/en/4162 )
If malware is found consider a fresh install of your system.

Ok now I know what is going on.

I would seem that possibly the temp folder in not a good place to keep .jpf-shadow. My securty and mantinance programs regularly clear out the temp folder of all trash and garbage. I am guessing that (.jpf-shadow) looks questionable and thus gets deleted.

Since .jpf-shadow is important and needed for the updater to work. Can it be put somplace less temporary, like the temp folder is ment to be. Since the temp folder is basicly a garbage can and should be regularly cleared out, the system temp folder might not be the best place to keep .jpf-shadow.

Oh and I did a full boot level scan and my systme is clean, no virus, no mallware, but when I did that the temp folder was once again cleared and the updater promptly stopped working again.... :(

It is only used at runtime. Actually it (most of the times) cleans itself up after program execution has terminated.

One of the amazingly stupid things that Java does is park executables in temporary folders (what it calls its 'deployment cache'). I run CCleaner on a regular basis and I had to tell not to include Sun Java in its sweeps or it would break things like the ProfiUI updater.

-= Therendil =-

Well it is not Javas fault that CCleaner thinks those files are temporary ;) They are clearly marked as (nonroaming) application data.

The temp folder there should be considered temporary. Nothing a program puts there should get trashed while the program's running, but nothing put there should be assumed to still be there the next time the program runs (if it still is you can take advantage of it, but you shouldn't assume it). If you need permanent storage, you should use the LOCALAPPDATA environment variable or the "Local Settings" (Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData in C#/.Net) location. Follow those paths by a program-specific folder name to avoid conflicts with other programs. Drop the "local" to get the generic appdata location (usually in the Roaming profile, it doesn't really matter unless the computer's part of a domain which most home machines aren't).

NB: the Java application cache is stored in the LocalLow profile underneath the Sun\Java folder, not in a temp folder.

Yes I also use CCleaner but I will not tell it to leave Java crap in the temp folder since Java is an open back door to my system, it all goes. Instead fix the updater.


Yay!! There are inteligent poeple on this fourm who understand how winstupid works after all. Somebody finaly read what I said instead of assuming that it was a virus / mallware!!

You're really the only one having problems.
Sorry to say, but you seem to be using a bit of software that you don't need to be/don't understand what it affects. No reason to get upset at others for this.

We can't find out what the issue is, because the issue doesn't appear to be in the Profit updater. The issue appears to be either in your AV software being overly aggressive and deleting parts of the updater that aren't a virus or malware, or you have a "download accelerator" or "download assistant" or some other bit of software that you installed (even unintentionally) that's inserting bits of itself into the updater download triggering your AV software, or you have active malware that isn't being detected that's infecting the updater and triggering your AV software. We'd have to have an exact copy of your system to diagnose the problem, and we don't. The standard starting point is to get the "rescue disk" from a major AV vendor (eg. Kaspersky's Rescue Disk 10, http://support.kaspersky.com/us/4162), burn it to a disc or USB drive and boot from that and do a scan (this insures malware already in your system won't be active to interfere with the scan). If the scan comes up clean but your usual AV software still triggers on the Profit updater, add the Profit updater to your AV software's ignore list since it's a false positive.

For us, the updater's working just fine. I'm running current Kaspersky AV 2014 with everything turned on and not having any problems with the updater. Going back to the old web-deployment-based updater isn't a viable option, Oracle has flipped the flag that makes the Java plugin not run those anymore so a standalone application is the only way Kaldran can go with it.

I gve up!!!
 

Does anybody read the post in this fourm? I am not the only one that has had a problem with a system cleaners breaking the updater. Read post #44 Therendil has also had a system cleaner break the updater so its not just my system.

Ok fine you don't think its the updater. But I never had a problem till you changed the updater to this new one. I have used Kaspersky's Rescue Disk 10 to do a boot level scan and found NOTHING!!!

But when I run CCleaner or Iobit Advanced SystemCare which both have a registry cleaning function then Profit updater will not work and I must move the install location to get it to work again. Then the next time I clean my system I again have to move the instlation location. I am having to move it at least once a week or every time I use a system cleaner.

It is NOT a virus....

It is NOT mallware....

It is a problem with where and how Profit updater stores its keys and other configuration info that is either being put in a volital location or not tied to a program so that when I run a system cleaner there is nothing that can be associated with the updater thus it is being deleted. Only guessing here, I do not know what is being deleted or from where.

If you can give me the locations of all the configuration variables and their registry keys then I may be able to find what and where things are going wrong. Since I do not know the names or location of registry keys or other configuration variables it is hard for me to do my own investigation. I have searched but I am hunting blind. I would rather not DUMP Profit and goto somthing else but since I am getting very little help here I may be forced to do just that.

I am angry because first of all I do not like trying to trouble shoot via fourms. Then when I do the answers I get are not only way off the mark they make assumptions that are in no way correct.

Stop assuming that my systme is infected with a virus.
Download CCleaner and / or Iobit Advanced SystemCare they are both free and run the tests yourself then you wont need to know my system. Do this and see if you can duplicate the error, if not then please supply me with the info I requested so I can do my own investigation.

Sorry for the rant.... :o

I actually do not feel like investing much more time into this as you already got all information needed.

As per post #41 settings are stored in the registry (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs\de\pala\updater) via Javas Preferences implementation for Windows.

The application uses %temp% at runtime to extract and launch itself. This is because of the classloader is keeping up a file lock on accessed files which would make self updating not work.

I will certainly not install any system cleaning software, as they tend to break things badly (as shown). Windows is capable of cleaning up temporary files itself and on modern systems with Gigs and Gigs of RAM there is absolutely no need to clean up the registry. Also the cleaner cannot know which keys belong to which software as there simply is no hard link between software and registry keys and no way to find abandoned data.

And to quote myself:

Easy fix really just add the updaters file paths to the exceptions list in the cleaners you are using and your AV software. Mind you I don't understand the need for someone to be using cleaning software so aggressively unless you download pirate software all the time in which case thats the root of all the problems you will ever have with your PC.

Just to check, I tried the expedient of manually deleting .jpf-shadow from AppData/Local/Temp. The updater runs fine, it just restores .jpf-shadow and it's contents. So deleting .jpf-shadow won't break anything as long as you don't delete it while the updater's actually running.

I run CCleaner on a regular basis simply because it simplifies and speeds up the task of removing accumulated junk by scanning system temp folders, browser caches, and other transient dumps in one operation. It is certainly a *lot* faster than Disk Cleanup in Windows, especially under WinXP.

FWIW, I also use the registry cleaner and I have never had that break anything.

I've been running CCleaner with Java excluded for over a year now. It's possible that current versions of Java store things differently and would not be bothered by CCleaner. It's equally possible that current versions of CCleaner are better behaved.

I also could not tell you right offhand if the problem happened under Win7, WinXP, or both. It's been long enough that I don't remember.

In any case, the new updater works fine. Other than having to reset some preferences once, I haven't had any issues. It seems a bit faster than the old one and runs reliably without throwing exceptions.

-= Therendil =-

eror log
 

With the new updater I always get a notification that he can't update several files. this is the log:

d.p.u.s.core.model.Downloader - Exception on file manipulation
java.nio.file.AccessDeniedException: C:\Program Files (x86)\EVERQUEST 2\UI\ProfitUI\eq2ui_journals_quest.xml
at sun.nio.fs.WindowsException.translateToIOException(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at sun.nio.fs.WindowsException.rethrowAsIOException(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at sun.nio.fs.WindowsException.rethrowAsIOException(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at sun.nio.fs.WindowsFileCopy.move(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at sun.nio.fs.WindowsFileSystemProvider.move(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at java.nio.file.Files.move(Unknown Source) ~[na:1.7.0_51]
at de.pala.updater.services.core.model.Downloader.run(Downloader.java:102) ~[na:na]
at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Unknown Source) [na:1.7.0_51]
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(Unknown Source) [na:1.7.0_51]
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(Unknown Source) [na:1.7.0_51]
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(Unknown Source) [na:1.7.0_51]
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source) [na:1.7.0_51]

Anyone an idea how I can solve this?


Regards

That's system protection in Windows 7. It blocks anything but signed installers from changing things in the "C:\Program Files" and "C:\Program Files (x86)" folders. The solution is to move your game somewhere else, eg. under "C:\ProgramData" (where the EQ2 installer puts it by default now) or C:\Games or the like.

Alternatively launch the updater with administrator rights. This should not be a permanent solution though.

(Will catch the exception and show a popup in the next version)

I have to give kudos to Kaldran, Therendil, and tknarr for continuing to look into Denavin's problem after this post because I certainly wouldn't have.

Denavin, you did not pay for anything ProfitUI related. These people do not get paid to do what they are doing. They volunteer their time from their busy schedules and do it for free. You appear to be the only one that is having this problem and it cannot be replicated. So in my mind, and my mind alone, you don't like the program? Don't use it!

thx for the advice! I changed preference to run permanently as administrator and it immediately updated everything.