Error message (Vista HP)

[Jennik]

I recently installed a software program. When I open it on Vista, it gives me a notice; Run-time error '339': Component 'RICHTX32.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid. The software people have a patch, Richtext Editor, which downloads and installs (it says) but has no effect. It appears in my programs list but will not allow me to uninstall it because it reckons I do not have administrator rights. (This is MY laptop--I am the sole user, so if I don't have the right to control it------ !) . I've uninstalled the software program and reinstalled it from scatch. I've even tried running it in compatibility mode for XP, and that didn't work either. . The software manufacturer says XP shipped with the files I need but Vista doesn't, and ended up saying that "some versions of Vista are tempremental". I have tried it on another computer that runs XP and it works perfectly, but I need to use it on my laptop as I don't have access to the other machine all the time. Have I wasted my money, or is there some way to get the wretched program to work????

[JoeP517]

Is your Vista installation up-to-date with patches? Did you run the installer as administrator? Is there an installation log to examine? BTW, whether or not your user has the rights or not is not dependent on how many users are configured on the PC. It is a matter of how YOUR userid is configured. Is it a member of the admin group? You may check yours by going to Control Panel User Accounts | Change account type. Select your userid, then Properties | Group Membership.

Joe

[Jennik]

I am the sole user of the computer. I am logged on as administrator. I can't find the properties| group membership option you describe.. Is this because there are no other users? The downloads from Microsoft are up to date. The software has provided an installation log, but I don't know enough to spot any errors. However, there are two lines that read
Could not Self-Register: C:WindowsSystem32SKCA32.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:WindowsSystem32KEYLIB32.dll
and another one that says
Self-Register: C:WindowsSystem32richtx32.ocx
I am assuming that that means that the rich text editor is there but the error messages when I run the program relate to 'its dependencies'.
I have also looked at the installation log of the same program in XP and these lines are the same. There are a lot of other variations, though, which I assume are at least in part due to the different operating systems.
Perhaps I am really out of my depth here; my programming skills stopped with Basic on the Vic 20 back in the 80's! I have, however, had so many problems with hardware and software over the years that I've got some idea of what's happening when something fails, but not enough to drop on the source of the problem and fix it.
The software guru advised reinstalling over the previous installation without doing an uninstall. That has also failed.
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

Do the two DLL files exist?

Joe

[Jennik]

Yes, they are both present in the C:WindowsSystem32 folder.
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

Try opening a command window as an administrator. Navigate to the system32 folder. Then for each dll run "revsvr32 name.dll" (without the quotation marks).

Joe

[Jennik]

That was an interesting excercise. I am a bit out of my depth, but unable to find revsvr32, I did a bit of research, wondered if it should be regsvr32, and used that to follow your instructions. The searches on SKCA32.dll and KEYLIB32.dll both returned a dialogue box saying they failed to load. It says to ' make sure the binary is stored at the specified path or debug it to check for problems with the binary on dependent .DLL files. Invalid access to memory location."
I did the same command with the RICHTX32.OCX file, and got 'This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the Set Associations control panel."
On the other computer running the software successfully on XP, the properties box for RICHTX32.OCX says it opens with 'unknown application' too. This seems really weird.
I have also been exploring the application itself and assessing precisely which actions are returning error messages. In the course of that I found that the help files have a differnt one, 'Error #31: Error opening file'
The guru at the software company identified this as a fault with Adobe software, and advised downloading the latest version of Adobe Reader, which I did this morning. Nothing has changed as a result.
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

It should have been regsvr32. Sorry about that. Are you sure that you had navigated to the c:windowssystem32 folder before you executed the regsvr32 command? Are you sure that you were running an elevated command window?

Joe

[Jennik]

I had to look up how to get to the command prompt in the help system, and it came up with a black box showing DOS script already at the c:Windowssystem32 prompt. so I just typed in regsvr etc. as instructed. I have disabled UAC on the computer so it is letting me in without any passwords or checks, so i presume I have an elevated command window? This is where the advanced programming is losing me a bit.
The 2 books I have on Vista both studiously avoid any mention whatever of the registry, I presume because it's too sensitive to be left to anybody and everybody to mess around with. However, am I right in thinking that this command line prompt and the replies generated from it indicate that the problems I am having are due to something amiss in the registry itself?
Am I going to have to format the drive and start again from scratch with a clean install of Windows Vista? The thought fills me with trepidation, but if I have to do it, it won't be the first time I've had to take such a drastic step with a recalcitrant computer.
The software co. guru has recommended (not for the first time) that I run the installation again without removing the previous one, but I have done that several times already with no result. I've installed it from the original download on my XP machine across the network, from a copy on CD and by downloading it directly to the laptop running vista and they all return exactly the same error messages in exactly the same places.
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

Unless you are logged in as the builtin Administrator, by default you are not running an elevated command window. Go to Start | All Programs | Accessories. Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as administrator". Even if you disable UAC that does not change the privileges your user account has. Setting up a user account as an adminstrator in Vista really means a limited administrator not with anywhere near the privilieges that the builtin Administrator account has but more powerful than a normal user.

Before taking the drastic step of reinstalling Vista, if you try to reinstall the software again right click on the name of the files is to start the installation and select "Run as administrator". That should make sure the installation routines have enough privileges to do whatever is needed.

Joe

[Jennik]

I have checked everything and the menu items showing 'Run as Administrator' all have a multi-coloured shield at the LHS of the line. I have reinstalled the software making sure that the Run as Administrator line has a shield on that as well, and there is no difference; the software still will not run correctly.
Is there any point in running a registry checker? I tried a free download one from Antispyware LLC and that said I have about 300 errors, of which it could clean about 3 for free, and the rest if I subscribed and paid about $30US. Something I read said that the registry gets cluttered as you work with the programs installed on your computer and the clean-up will render anything suspicious harmless and knock out left-over bits of temp files and uninstalled programs etc.
Have I now reached the end of the road on this problem or is there still more I could do to resolve it?
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

Did you select "Run as administrator" when you installed the software? Did you try running regsvr32 from an elevated command prompt?

Joe

[Jennik]

Yes,as far as I can tell, I have done both those things just as you instructed. But is there any way to tell for sure if I am running the command prompt as an elevated one or as an ordinary administrator a/c? So far the term 'elevated' has not come up on the actual computer, only in the references you have made to it in your e-mails. I have tried to explain what response I have had from the computer as I have taken each step in hope that you can pick up if I am doing something wrong here.
Regards
Jenni

[JoeP517]

I would not bother with any registry cleaner. Unless you are very sure of what it is trying to do you can end up doing much harm to your system. The second sentence at Tim Sneath : Windows Vista Secret #10: Open an Elevated Command Prompt in Six Keystrokes is an explanation of what 'elevated' means. Have you verified that the two DLLs that fail to register in fact do exist in C:windowssystem32?

Joe

[Jennik]

Hi Joe!
I have done the command prompt procedure again with the instructions given on the blog you sent the link for, and it was exactly the same result as when I did it originally from your own instructions. The files generate error messages (as previously reported) telling me to check binary codes.
Your comments on registry checkers confirm the feeling I had on the subject.
Regards
Jenni