Precaution when installing OpenInsight 9.1

Version 9.1 of OpenInsight has seen some fairly major changes with regards to .NET support, the new OIPI.NET print engine and more. However, these enhancements have found it necessary to include a separate client install, as detailed within the OpenInsight installation and upgrade instructions. Special attention must be made to these documents when installing (or upgrading) OpenInsight to ensure a smooth upgrade and installation process.

An unforeseen scenario has come up a couple of times recently for people upgrading to version 9.x. Whilst this will be documented for 9.2, I thought it best to blog the issue here for anyone working with 9.x versions prior to the 9.2 release.

Although the upgrade instructions are being followed, the activation code is not being accepted and OpenInsight presents the user with an error reading ‘Invalid authorization code entered. Please re-enter’.

This is a generic error message that is presented whenever the authorisation code fails to register on the system. This could be due to the code being typed incorrectly, an additional (usually trailing) space being included during a copy and paste and if the code has already expired. In addition, this error is produced if the installer does not have sufficient rights to create the temporary file that is required for the upgrade.

During a review of this issue by Bill Caisley, he found that the error was occurring before you navigate to the OpenInsight directory where you wish to apply the upgrade. During the installation the setup routine creates a temporary file with information necessary to validate and update the engine with unique license information, etc. Further investigation proved that, even though he was logged as a member of the administrator group, a rights (permission) issue meant that the temporary file could not be created and the installation failed with the resulting error message.

Rather than running the SETUP.EXE file over the network from the OpenInsight directory on the server itself, the resolution was to simply move the SETUP.EXE file onto the C:drive on the server and run it from there as he had full permissions to do so. It could just as easily have been moved to his workstation so long as the installer has sufficient permissions to complete the installation (create the temporary file).

If something goes wrong with any of your OpenInsight installations, please check for sufficient permissions as a first port of call. Insufficient permissions is becoming a likely cause of failure for installations and upgrades on some of the later operating systems.