Microsoft Vista Installation and Operations With Hirtle Software Products

 

 

Vista x86 (32-Bit)

All Hirtle Software products install and run perfectly fine under the new Microsoft Vista x86 operating system. Microsoft Vista x86 incorporates many new changes especially in the security arena. As you may have discovered with other 3rd party software products Vista can present challenges in regards to how you install, configure and use many products.

 

Vista 64-Bit

Random Test Generator-PRO and Random Password Generator-PRO both operate in  all Vista operating systems to include x86 and 64-Bit. Microsoft Vista incorporates many new changes especially in the security arena. As you may have discovered with other 3rd party software products Vista can present challenges in regards to how you install, configure and use many products.

 

Home (single) users without multiple login accounts setup will typically not incur these issues as their computer configuration would be setup to allow them full rights to their machine. These issues tend to pertain to just those users who are part of an organization operating on a network which they must login to.

 

Here are our suggestions as to best handle installation and/or operating software on the Vista platform:

 

 

 

Installing Hirtle Software Products onto Microsoft Vista

 

Random Test Generator- Pro / Random Password Generator-Pro (x86/64-Bit)

1.    Log into the computer with a user account with Administrator Rights or a user account with the ability to provide an administrator password when prompted by Vista

2.    If you downloaded the zip file, unzip it into a folder of your choice

3.    For Random Test Generator-Pro and Random Password Generator-Pro users either select RUN when downloading or Download to your machine and execute the exe file to start the installation.

4.    Typically you will select all the default options prompted by the installation folder. Make sure that you select "Anyone who uses this computer (all users)" when you are asked to "Install the application for" dialog  window if you intend for multiple users to operate this software.

5.   Follow the installation instruction on the screen and the software will be installed

 

 

Other Software (x86 only)

1.    Log into the computer with a user account with Administrator Rights or a user account with the ability to provide an administrator password when prompted by Vista

2.    If you downloaded the zip file, unzip it into a folder of your choice

3.    Right-Click on the exe file and select the “Run as Administrator” option. This will start the installation. It’s necessary to install this way even if you are logged in as an administrator.

4.    Follow the installation instruction on the screen and the software will be installed

 

Note: You may receive an error at the end of the installation in regards to an “INF Install Failure” message. This error does not affect the install so simply select OK.

 

 

Running Hirtle Software Products on Microsoft Vista

 

You may have already discovered the acronym UAC in regards to Vista. This feature comes enabled with Vista as a default. When you have multiple users on the same computer this feature controls file changes based on the user who made them. You may have noticed that files a user changes may not appear for a different user or the file isn’t even visible to them. This is a UAC feature of Vista which Hirtle Software products or any other product running on Vista cannot control. We have found that turning off UAC is a much more traditional method for file access between users. However, you should consult with your network administrator before doing so.

 

We have found that the 1st time we run a product that right-clicking it’s icon and selecting “Run as Administrator” provides 100% functionality where Vista doesn’t intercept the products operations. It seems after we run it this why the 1st time we are then able to run it normally from that point on.

 

If you have multiple users running the software under their own logins and you are licensed then the first time each user logs in you may receive the “unregistered” window. This occurs because each user has their own system settings. Simply add the registration code for each user this 1st time and you should not be asked to do so again.

 

For multiple users who do not have admin rights to the computer you may see error messages when you try to open up a testbank file about the file may not be a testbank file. This error occurs typically because the user’s account doesn’t have access rights to the file or folder they are trying to access. The sample testbank files which get installed may be like this for non admin users. The best way around the problem is to create a file share folder on the system or network using an admin account and then set up the folder to allow standard users with read/write permissions. This way all users whether they are admins or standard users will be able to view and edit the testbank files.

 

Our testing was conducted using the 32 bit Microsoft Vista x86 Service Pack 1 operating system and Vista 64-Bit operating system. All information we provide in this document pertains to this setup. Suggestions we provide may or may not work using any other configuration. Any changes you may make to your system you should consult with your organizations IT department or a computer expert. Hirtle Software is not responsible to any damage to your computer hardware or software including lost or damaged files.

 

 

 

Software Specific Considerations

 

Probably the easiest way to make sure a user has rights to run software and use all the available functionality of that software is to grant the user to have admin rights to the machine they are working on and install the software using their own login account. This method is very often used to make sure a user can operate without running into the many security limits the operating system can impose on standard users. The issues below typically occur when the user is a standard user who does not have admin rights on their machine.

 

Why when I use a different login Account I get the registration Popup Window?

Because in Vista under their UAC security mechanism, registering the software under one user's login account will not apply to any other user account. Vista user separation in this area causes the software to not find that a user is registered unless they apply the registration code while they are logged in. Any other user who applies the registration code will only apply to that user, so a different user is unable to know that this has occurred. Therefore, all user accounts on a computer that use the Random Test Generator- PRO software will need to plug in the registration code for their account. The same code can be used, it just needs to be applied while logged in. This only needs to be done once per account.

 

 

 

Random Password Generator-PRO

When the installation folder is created admin users of course have full control to it but standard users have much more limited access. When you attempt to create a wordlist for passwords the .DCT files are needed to pull the appropriate language you have selected. You will get an error in regards to the files may be “corrupted”. In reality it’s because the user isn’t allowed access to the files. The Random Password Generator-PRO folder is typically found at; “C:\Program Files\Hirtle Software\Random Password Generator-PRO”. This folder should be given “Full Control” permissions for standard users. An Admin should set this after the software is installed. This will then allow all users the ability to use dictionary files.

 

 

 

Random Test Generator-PRO

The samples folder when installed does not allow standard users access to open the sample files contained within. Admin users have full rights to open these sample files. Therefore, after an Admin installs the software they should set this samples folder typically found at; “C:\Program Files\Hirtle Software\Random Test Generator-PRO\Samples” to “Full Control” for standard users.

 

If you attempt to open a TestBank file and you receive an error in regards to the file may not be a TestBank file and this error occurs 100% of the time for multiple TestBank files then it is probably due to a required file not existing and/or not registered on your computer. Typically this file would be gif89.dll. Other applications can share this file and if you uninstalled that application it could remove the file from your machine or just unregister it. The first method you should use to attempt to solve this problem is simply re-install the Random Test Generator software again. You should not need to uninstall it first, just re-install it on "top" of the current installation. This will typically fix the problem.

 

However, if the problem still exists after re-installing it, it is probably due to a permissions issue to get the gif89.dll file registered. Your next step should be to re-install it once again but this time as an administrator. Therefore, select the installing exe file to install Random Test Generator and right click it and choose "Run as Administrator". Continue to install like normal. This method has more privileges on your machine and may be enough to register the gif89.dll file. The "Run as Administrator" option is for Windows Vista users. If you have XP or lower, you just need to be logged into that machine as an administrator and then performing the installation.

 

Finally, if neither option seems to have corrected the problem the final attempt would be to try to do this manually. Follow these steps (also see below where we have recorded a transcript of these steps where the gif89.dll file resides in C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on our machine. Your machine may vary so use whichever folder the gif89.dll is located on your machine):

 

1. Find/search for the file gif89.dll (should be in a sub directory of your windows folder)

2. Choose START >> PROGRAMS >> ASSESSORIES >> COMMAND PROMPT -- Right click it and select "Run As Administrator" if you are a Vista user otherwise just left click the command prompt selection.

3. When the command prompt window opens navigate to the folder that the gif89.dll file resides in

4. type; "regsvr32 /u /s gif89.dll" and then press the enter key. Must be typed exactly as shown (no quotes)

5. type; "regsvr32 gif89.dll" and then press the enter key. Must be typed exactly as shown. You should see a "succeeded" message

 

That's it. If you received a "succeeded" message in the final step then this should have fixed the problem.

 

If you are in a network environment where you do not have admin access to your machine then you may need to contact a person in your organization who does to attempt any of these methods above.

 

Why when I modify a TestBank file other users cannot see these changes when they login to the same computer?

Vista under their UAC security mechanism essentially separates user accounts and their local system including disk drives. When a user modifies a TestBank file that they have stored on their 'C' drive. the drive is a snapshot for that user. A second user account has their own 'C' drive snapshot. This is done by Vista behind the scenes. So, users who edit files on their 'C' drive are editing their own 'C' drive that other accounts are not accessing. This is why one user's changes are not seen by the other user even though it appears it's the same file in the same folder on the same computer. To get around this issue you should use a network drive folder that all the accounts have access to rather than storing files on the 'C' drive. This could be a file server location, a USB flash drive or some other location other than the 'C' Drive or your own My Documents folder. These locations are not personalized like Vista performs with the local 'C' Drive and you should then be able to see changes made by other users. Alternatively you might try giving all users full access control to the folder/files on the 'C' drive you wish to share if you wish to use the 'C' drive.