Error Code (-41) Revisited (Again & Again)

The Amyuni PDF Converter is our Printer Driver that enables you to convert any documents to PDF format. If you have any questions about installing and using the Amyuni PDF Converter please post them here.
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Will Nitschke
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 03 2008

Error Code (-41) Revisited (Again & Again)

Post by Will Nitschke »

Ok I have read all the postings on the -41 error code and I suspect that Amyuni may be dismissing this problem as a programming issue (because in many cases it is), when it is sometimes a problem with the Amyuni driver itself or the nature of the Windows environment.

Here is the situation: We are software developers and were previously running the 2.09 version at many sites. We have upgraded to the 3.00 version and provide a software upgrade of our package which now uses the 3.00 version. Now, 9 out of 10 times there are no issues and 2.09 gets uninstalled and 3.00 gets installed. However, some of the time this doesn't work and then users get the -41 error message and can no longer fax or email PDF's and get very frustrated and angry with us.

Based on our observations the problem seems to occur primarily or exclusively in a Citrix or Windows terminal services environment. We direct IT people to completely uinstall the 2.09 driver manually (as per Amyuni guidelines) but this usually does not resolve the problem.

One IT person who struggled with this problem for many days and eventually got rid of the -41 messages reported the following to us:

"I have finally fixed the "Printer not activated, error code -41" problem
I have been having with Windows server 2003. I added Domain Users with
full permissions to security of the CapitalPDF Printer and all works
well. Permissions I hate them!"

(CapitalPDF is what we have named the Amyuni driver when used with our software)

The above is useful information but does not always enable the IT person having the problem to resolve the issue.

Can Amyuni provide any systematic guidelines on how to deal with these sorts of issues that we can pass onto the relevant experts? The problem we have now is that because the PDF driver is third-party, we don't have a deep understanding of its internal workings and in some cases cannot assist our users in getting the newer driver to work in their environment.

Thanks.
Joan
Amyuni Team
Posts: 2799
Joined: Wed Sep 11 2002
Contact:

Re: Error Code (-41) Revisited (Again & Again)

Post by Joan »

Hello Will,

As you most probably have read in the forum, error code -41 is generated when Trying to activate a new version of the PDF Converter with an activation key of the previous version.

In your case it seems to be a different senario. I will check your post with our Developers.
Custom Brand the Amyuni PDF Printer Driver http://www.amyuni.com/en/developer/branding/index.html

Amyuni PDF Converter tested for true PDF performance. View results - http://www.amyuni.com/benchmark
Will Nitschke
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 03 2008

Re: Error Code (-41) Revisited (Again & Again)

Post by Will Nitschke »

Any news or information on what might stop a driver from being uninstalled?

If we execute:

install.exe -u -s "AmyuniPrinterName"
install.exe "AmyuniPrinterName"

and the operator executing the above statements has administrator rights, what might cause the 2.09 driver to still exist on that system? (Not be uninstalled.)

As I stated in my previous email, 9 out of 10 times the above approach works. It's the 1 in 10 where the -41 error continues to arise that is a concern for us. We have only seen the problem, so far, in a Terminal Services or Citrix type environment.

What would be the "best practice" approach for uninstalling an older version of the printer driver and ensuring it is completely removed, in such an environment?

Thank you.
Joan
Amyuni Team
Posts: 2799
Joined: Wed Sep 11 2002
Contact:

Re: Error Code (-41) Revisited (Again & Again)

Post by Joan »

Hello,

The situation you have described occurs because there are a couple of registry keys which get created when the install.exe is initially run and these registry keys contain licensing information. These keys can not be accessed by standard users and therefore cause the situation you have described.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\PrinterDriverData] "TC"=dword "Code"="07...F" "License"="Your License value"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\<Printer Name>\PrinterDriverData] "TC"=dword "Code"="07...F" "License"="Your License value"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Hardware Profiles\Current\Software\<Printer Name>] "TC"=dword "Code"="07...F" "License"="Your License value"


In order to resolve this issue you can

A- Include the install.ini file with the correct "License to" and "Activation code" values in the same directory as the install.exe. The install.exe will read these values from the ini file.

B- You can install the printer and assign the "License to" and "Activation code" values to it by passing these values as parameters to the install.exe.

E.g.: Install -s "My Company Printer" -n "Evaluation Developer License" -c "07ABCDA0ABCDABCDABCD012301230123.....".

Hope this helps.
Custom Brand the Amyuni PDF Printer Driver http://www.amyuni.com/en/developer/branding/index.html

Amyuni PDF Converter tested for true PDF performance. View results - http://www.amyuni.com/benchmark
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