Sage 100

Sage 100 2019 Premium
User is coming from Sage 100 2018

They are in a VDI environment that gives network admins significant control over the desktops and me very little ( none ).

The ultimate issue:

Some users can get into Sage just fine - zero errors ( same VDI environment )

Others get the Cannot Open Activation Key File - No Valid Activation Found" when starting Sage 100


On those who cannot get into Sage - if I go to their local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys and rename activate.pvx to activate.old. Then rename that same file back. The problem goes away.

Any guesses on what this renaming is doing? IT is stumped. I'm stumped.

And, yes, I suggested full permissions, etc but IT is adamant that's not the issue ( seen this movie before? ) 

UPDATE May 22, 2020: Ultimately this appeared to be an issue where some of the people who used VDI were not having the setup scripts running fully ( or at all ). It appears that they had to copy the activate.pvx to the c:\sage\... And possibly some users were either not having that happen or it only partially completed. Throughout the process IT maintained that "Once VDI runs for one it runs for all" which I think was true except they did not take into consideration that of the 20 or so people using Sage 100 that 5 had one VDI "App Stack", another 5 had a different VDI App Stack, another 5 had a different App stack...  

So IT was technically correct that once VDI runs it should run for all. The "missed" issue was that groups of users were in different VDI "app stacks". Which meant we'd have several who could get in ( all on same VDI ) while several couldn't ( these had different VDI ).


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

If permissions are ruled out (see below), in the old days there was sporadic use of NTFS file encryption and compression. In Windows Explorer, in the Folder Options, you can check a box to "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" making encrypted files appear in green and compressed in blue. Encrypted was a problem. So activate.pvx would appear in green once option is enabled then normal color after renaming.

In today's world you can have Full Disk Encryption (FDE) enabled with products like BitLocker but it shouldn't cause this issue. Modern 3rd party file encryption could cause it. I doubt either is in play but it is a talking point.

** To check actual permissions in play, in File Explorer, click on Activate.pvx before renaming, then when getting to Properties / Security / tab / Advanced button, choose option to check Effective Permissions. Specify the domain\user of any Windows user getting the error. Now you know w/o a doubt if any permissions are lacking.

*** To avoid all troubleshooting and head scratching, ask them to let you login to their Master Image for the VDI and do the renaming trick there, then logout. Now the next time a user starts up their VDI they shouldn't error out.

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------

Thanks Alnoor, I’ll check this Monday. They claim it’s the same VDI image for everyone. Some never get this error and others do until I rename the file.

My first suggestion was environmental and user rights to which they fire back “we need to know exactly how activate.pvx works”. I run into this often with sophisticated IT refusing to make security changes and then countering with a request that will be difficult to fulfill.

Last I heard their IT was going to open a case with Sage.

---------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
---------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 04-25-2020
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: RE: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If permissions are ruled out (see below), in the old days there was sporadic use of NTFS file encryption and compression. In Windows Explorer, in the Folder Options, you can check a box to "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" making encrypted files appear in green and compressed in blue. Encrypted was a problem. So activate.pvx would appear in green once option is enabled then normal color after renaming.

In today's world you can have Full Disk Encryption (FDE) enabled with products like BitLocker but it shouldn't cause this issue. Modern 3rd party file encryption could cause it. I doubt either is in play but it is a talking point.

** To check actual permissions in play, in File Explorer, click on Activate.pvx before renaming, then when getting to Properties / Security / tab / Advanced button, choose option to check Effective Permissions. Specify the domain\user of any Windows user getting the error. Now you know w/o a doubt if any permissions are lacking.

*** To avoid all troubleshooting and head scratching, ask them to let you login to their Master Image for the VDI and do the renaming trick there, then logout. Now the next time a user starts up their VDI they shouldn't error out.

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

We haven't fully tested this - though part of the ghost processes may be due to the customer automatically terminating VDI nightly and stranding users.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.



------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

So far the only thing I've found which works is renaming and then renaming activate.pvx. And it's not every user who has the issue except that once they get it then it seems to stay with them.  Running as administrator doesn't work.

This group is pretty sophisticated with VDI configuration so I also suspected a user rights issue immediately. 

The filename color doesn't change but I don't know if they have a way to encrypt especially for VDI where maybe it wouldn't


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:43
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

The customer panicked internally and reverted to 2018. There's a good chance they'll start calling around for other partners. So if this sounds familiar from an incoming orphan -- you've been warned...

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:50
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

So far the only thing I've found which works is renaming and then renaming activate.pvx. And it's not every user who has the issue except that once they get it then it seems to stay with them.  Running as administrator doesn't work.

This group is pretty sophisticated with VDI configuration so I also suspected a user rights issue immediately.

The filename color doesn't change but I don't know if they have a way to encrypt especially for VDI where maybe it wouldn't


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:43
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

Did you try renaming their local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx and then copying activate.pvx from the server \mas90\home\lib\keys to the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys?  This is probably too late and is a shot in the dark.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 10:29
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer panicked internally and reverted to 2018. There's a good chance they'll start calling around for other partners. So if this sounds familiar from an incoming orphan -- you've been warned...

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:50
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

So far the only thing I've found which works is renaming and then renaming activate.pvx. And it's not every user who has the issue except that once they get it then it seems to stay with them.  Running as administrator doesn't work.

This group is pretty sophisticated with VDI configuration so I also suspected a user rights issue immediately.

The filename color doesn't change but I don't know if they have a way to encrypt especially for VDI where maybe it wouldn't


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:43
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

They use a VDI environment which from my understanding means that every time you log in you get the same desktop back - no matter what changes you make.  It's not like typical remote access where you make changes and they stay. 

What I've been trying to figure out is what the renaming is doing so that we could fix it on VDI.

It doesn't appear that Activate.PVX is corrupt since renaming it works.

The customer IT is convinced this is occurring because they have too many people in Sage.  Yet they cleared their system yesterday and I was one of the first to log in and still got the message. Sage said it's because you have ghost processes ( so they ended a bunch of tasks). Problem persisted.

I'm pretty sure it is unique to their environment.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 11:09
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Did you try renaming their local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx and then copying activate.pvx from the server \mas90\home\lib\keys to the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys?  This is probably too late and is a shot in the dark.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 10:29
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer panicked internally and reverted to 2018. There's a good chance they'll start calling around for other partners. So if this sounds familiar from an incoming orphan -- you've been warned...

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:50
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

So far the only thing I've found which works is renaming and then renaming activate.pvx. And it's not every user who has the issue except that once they get it then it seems to stay with them.  Running as administrator doesn't work.

This group is pretty sophisticated with VDI configuration so I also suspected a user rights issue immediately.

The filename color doesn't change but I don't know if they have a way to encrypt especially for VDI where maybe it wouldn't


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:43
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

There is a warning in the documentation about installing Sage 100 workstation on Terminal Servers from a remote session (not the console).  I wonder how that applies to VDI.


------------------------------
Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
Toronto ON
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 11:09
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Did you try renaming their local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx and then copying activate.pvx from the server \mas90\home\lib\keys to the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys?  This is probably too late and is a shot in the dark.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 10:29
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer panicked internally and reverted to 2018. There's a good chance they'll start calling around for other partners. So if this sounds familiar from an incoming orphan -- you've been warned...

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:50
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

So far the only thing I've found which works is renaming and then renaming activate.pvx. And it's not every user who has the issue except that once they get it then it seems to stay with them.  Running as administrator doesn't work.

This group is pretty sophisticated with VDI configuration so I also suspected a user rights issue immediately.

The filename color doesn't change but I don't know if they have a way to encrypt especially for VDI where maybe it wouldn't


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 21:43
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If it was file encrypted before then renaming trick would have unencrypted it and activate.pvx is fully accessible (at least until enough time passed to where it got re-encrypted). That's why I mentioned to turn on the File Explorer option to  "Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color" . I think that's a stretch though. Still seems permissions related although I can't put my finger on it without taking a close look at both a VDI and the master image. Instead of renaming trick, if you rt-clicked Sage icon and Run as Admin does it work that way?

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 20:53
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I'm unsure what renaming activate.pvx to activate.old and then back to activate.pvx is doing that fixes this.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 18:34
From: Alnoor Cassim
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

This makes a lot more sense. Glad you checked the effective access for your user!  In the end, it's either permissions (likely) or file encryption (less likely) or 3rd party software config (even less likely).

------------------------------
Alnoor Cassim

Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Email: alnoor@asifocus.com
Orange County, CA


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:41
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Since I seem to lack Change Permissions as specified in the KB - I suggested to their IT department that they make the security changes prior to calling Sage back as the tech was likely to refer to the KB article at some point and check. 

To be continued

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 16:08
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The Sage suggestion of ghost processes does not seem to have worked. At least not on my session.

I did notice that Sage's KB suggests that local users need CHANGE permission to the local c:\sage\ which I had been advising from day one and which IT has been refusing since day one.

The jury is still out on what resolve this though I sent the Sage KB info and suggested before they re-engage with Sage that they check the local permissions since at some point one of the Sage techs is going to.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 11:27
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

The customer went direct to Sage who initially suggested ghost process on the server. They are working to shut and restart the service to see if that helps.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

I don't know much about the VDI environment other than it is used in the Azure environment.  Even though the user gets the same desktop profile are users sharing the Sage 100 workstation folders?  If so then it would be similar to remote desktop and the workstation needs to have a multi-user version of activate.pvx.  Also, if you haven't done so already, compare all of the Sage 100 local and server folder and file permissions to the 2018 version to ensure they are the same.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

Very odd. We have 20 people - maybe 10 can get in and the other 10 get this message.  Renaming the Activate.pvx to Activate.old and then back immediately fixes It but only for that session. Which kinda makes sense because everyone does get their own c:\sage\.. folder.  I'm just not sure what the renaming is doing except it seems to make the file so it's visible to the Sage client.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 12:03
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I don't know much about the VDI environment other than it is used in the Azure environment.  Even though the user gets the same desktop profile are users sharing the Sage 100 workstation folders?  If so then it would be similar to remote desktop and the workstation needs to have a multi-user version of activate.pvx.  Also, if you haven't done so already, compare all of the Sage 100 local and server folder and file permissions to the 2018 version to ensure they are the same.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

If that is all it takes, and the user has permission to do it, why not have their IT create a login script to do the renaming?  If it works, what does the "why" matter?

------------------------------
Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
Toronto ON
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 13:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Very odd. We have 20 people - maybe 10 can get in and the other 10 get this message.  Renaming the Activate.pvx to Activate.old and then back immediately fixes It but only for that session. Which kinda makes sense because everyone does get their own c:\sage\.. folder.  I'm just not sure what the renaming is doing except it seems to make the file so it's visible to the Sage client.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 12:03
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I don't know much about the VDI environment other than it is used in the Azure environment.  Even though the user gets the same desktop profile are users sharing the Sage 100 workstation folders?  If so then it would be similar to remote desktop and the workstation needs to have a multi-user version of activate.pvx.  Also, if you haven't done so already, compare all of the Sage 100 local and server folder and file permissions to the 2018 version to ensure they are the same.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary

That's what they were doing as a workaround. Then panic set in and I stopped getting updates and they internally decided to roll back to their old version because of this issue. Initially, I told them I didn't think this was bad enough to abandon ship but I think the people who had to ok the go-live are understandably nervous in this environment - both in creating more work and in perhaps losing their jobs if there was a prolonged outage.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 13:38
From: Kevin Moyes
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

If that is all it takes, and the user has permission to do it, why not have their IT create a login script to do the renaming?  If it works, what does the "why" matter?

------------------------------
Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
Toronto ON
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 13:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

Very odd. We have 20 people - maybe 10 can get in and the other 10 get this message.  Renaming the Activate.pvx to Activate.old and then back immediately fixes It but only for that session. Which kinda makes sense because everyone does get their own c:\sage\.. folder.  I'm just not sure what the renaming is doing except it seems to make the file so it's visible to the Sage client.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-29-2020 12:03
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I don't know much about the VDI environment other than it is used in the Azure environment.  Even though the user gets the same desktop profile are users sharing the Sage 100 workstation folders?  If so then it would be similar to remote desktop and the workstation needs to have a multi-user version of activate.pvx.  Also, if you haven't done so already, compare all of the Sage 100 local and server folder and file permissions to the 2018 version to ensure they are the same.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary

We had a second login session with Sage.
The first session they diagnosed "ghost users" as the cause. Killed a bunch of stray PVXWIN. Restarted the server
Issue re-appeared
The second session was about 2 hours and I think Sage generally has ruled that this is something environmental - which is what I'd advised from the start.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

It seems suspiciously like a permissions issue.  Have they tried logging in to the workstation in question as a user with full local and domain admin rights?  Also, you may ask IT to try the following on the workstationfrom a command prompt:
attrib -r -a -s -h c:\sage /S

I believe that command would ensure the sage folders and files have all of the necessary permissions.


------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:31
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

I agree it sounds like permissions. They tightly control their desktop environment with Horizon VDI which means that every time someone logs back in they get the same desktop - so changes that they make for that session won't persist locally. 

We look at the effective permissions for c:\sage\*.* and they seem ok.

The problem is that I don't manage the desktops -- the IT folks have access and control over all that. 

When IT remotes to the desktop ( as the user ) and can rename that activate.pvx then they lose faith in the "it's permissions" possibility.

My working theory is some type of AV or network management solution which has blocked access to the activate.pvx locally until it sees that the user renames it and then "trusts" that file. I'm completely guessing because this so far only happens to some users but not others. 

Not having a "regular" desktop environment makes this much much trickier to diagnose.


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:53
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It seems suspiciously like a permissions issue.  Have they tried logging in to the workstation in question as a user with full local and domain admin rights?  Also, you may ask IT to try the following on the workstationfrom a command prompt:
attrib -r -a -s -h c:\sage /S

I believe that command would ensure the sage folders and files have all of the necessary permissions.


------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:31
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

It would be interesting to know what files are open on the local machine before, during, and after the error occurs.  It may shed some light on the issue.



------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 12:15
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I agree it sounds like permissions. They tightly control their desktop environment with Horizon VDI which means that every time someone logs back in they get the same desktop - so changes that they make for that session won't persist locally.

We look at the effective permissions for c:\sage\*.* and they seem ok.

The problem is that I don't manage the desktops -- the IT folks have access and control over all that.

When IT remotes to the desktop ( as the user ) and can rename that activate.pvx then they lose faith in the "it's permissions" possibility.

My working theory is some type of AV or network management solution which has blocked access to the activate.pvx locally until it sees that the user renames it and then "trusts" that file. I'm completely guessing because this so far only happens to some users but not others.

Not having a "regular" desktop environment makes this much much trickier to diagnose.


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:53
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It seems suspiciously like a permissions issue.  Have they tried logging in to the workstation in question as a user with full local and domain admin rights?  Also, you may ask IT to try the following on the workstationfrom a command prompt:
attrib -r -a -s -h c:\sage /S

I believe that command would ensure the sage folders and files have all of the necessary permissions.


------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:31
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

For example, is another user or process accessing the activate.pvx file?  That's one of the reasons I suggested a couple of weeks ago to try copying the multi-user activate.pvx file from the server to the workstation, similar to what is required on a terminal server.  Not that it is a permanent solution but it may send you in the right direction.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 14:00
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It would be interesting to know what files are open on the local machine before, during, and after the error occurs.  It may shed some light on the issue.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 12:15
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I agree it sounds like permissions. They tightly control their desktop environment with Horizon VDI which means that every time someone logs back in they get the same desktop - so changes that they make for that session won't persist locally.

We look at the effective permissions for c:\sage\*.* and they seem ok.

The problem is that I don't manage the desktops -- the IT folks have access and control over all that.

When IT remotes to the desktop ( as the user ) and can rename that activate.pvx then they lose faith in the "it's permissions" possibility.

My working theory is some type of AV or network management solution which has blocked access to the activate.pvx locally until it sees that the user renames it and then "trusts" that file. I'm completely guessing because this so far only happens to some users but not others.

Not having a "regular" desktop environment makes this much much trickier to diagnose.


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:53
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It seems suspiciously like a permissions issue.  Have they tried logging in to the workstation in question as a user with full local and domain admin rights?  Also, you may ask IT to try the following on the workstationfrom a command prompt:
attrib -r -a -s -h c:\sage /S

I believe that command would ensure the sage folders and files have all of the necessary permissions.


------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:31
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990

Ultimately this was some type of issue with VDI. While the IT people said that once VDI runs for one person it will run for everyone - they did not apparently take into consideration that they had multiple VDI instances depending on job roles. Once they figured that out they also apparently found at least one VDI instance that wasn't configuring itself properly. 

They resolved this issue by fixing the broken VDI and then all the people lived happily ever after. 

If this ever happens to you insist on testing outside of VDI by using some type of a VM or simple network login. Otherwise you'll waste a lot of time explaining to IT why the issue is most likely with their setup.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 14:30
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

For example, is another user or process accessing the activate.pvx file?  That's one of the reasons I suggested a couple of weeks ago to try copying the multi-user activate.pvx file from the server to the workstation, similar to what is required on a terminal server.  Not that it is a permanent solution but it may send you in the right direction.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 14:00
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It would be interesting to know what files are open on the local machine before, during, and after the error occurs.  It may shed some light on the issue.

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 12:15
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

I agree it sounds like permissions. They tightly control their desktop environment with Horizon VDI which means that every time someone logs back in they get the same desktop - so changes that they make for that session won't persist locally.

We look at the effective permissions for c:\sage\*.* and they seem ok.

The problem is that I don't manage the desktops -- the IT folks have access and control over all that.

When IT remotes to the desktop ( as the user ) and can rename that activate.pvx then they lose faith in the "it's permissions" possibility.

My working theory is some type of AV or network management solution which has blocked access to the activate.pvx locally until it sees that the user renames it and then "trusts" that file. I'm completely guessing because this so far only happens to some users but not others.

Not having a "regular" desktop environment makes this much much trickier to diagnose.


------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:53
From: Doug Higgs
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

It seems suspiciously like a permissions issue.  Have they tried logging in to the workstation in question as a user with full local and domain admin rights?  Also, you may ask IT to try the following on the workstationfrom a command prompt:
attrib -r -a -s -h c:\sage /S

I believe that command would ensure the sage folders and files have all of the necessary permissions.


------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Assistant to the Traveling Secretary


Original Message:
Sent: 05-22-2020 11:31
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

On the second go-live after extensive testing the problem re-appears for SOME ( but not all ).
They are using Horizon VDI which could be a complicating factor.

The one strange part is that if I rename the local c:\sage\sage 100 workstation\mas90\home\lib\keys\activate.pvx to .old and back then the problem goes away

It makes me think it's something that is in their local configuration vs a widespread issue. Doesn't seem to be a user rights. Might be anti-virus, anti-malware or some other type of config management that they run at the OS level that is impacting some users

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990


Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2020 10:18
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage 100 2019 Premium: Cannot open activation key file - UNLESS we rename it and rename it back

We did some additional testing and one thing that was updated as the addition of "Change" permissions to the c:\sage\... folder ( just like the KB asked for ).

I seem to be working fine once those permissions were updated.

While I can't say for 100% certain if this will be the cure for all users - I am noting it here in case someone searches and finds these messages in the future. I'll update if I find that this permissions change somehow doesn't work for everyone.

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz - Schulz Consulting - 860-516-8990