Unable to Load Database/Unable to create database.

[Guest]

RoboHelp 6.0 on my PC is suddenly unable to open existing projects or create new ones. The problem is not in the projects, as other people can unzip the same set of files and open them with RoboHelp on their PCs.

The Details:
When attempting to open an existing project (any project whether in version control or not), I get the message " Open project was cancelled or the application was unable to load database for..."

I found the article that says to delete the CPD and XPJ files and then to use the Edit option to open the HHP file so that RoboHelp will recreate the two files. When I try that, I get the message "Unable to create database. Check that the directory is not read-only." It's not read-only.

When I attempt to create a new project, the application acts like it is going to create one, but it just creates a project folder without the new first topic and then repeats the New Project Wizard window that prompts for title, etc. It will keep creating folders and returning to this window in a loop without ever really creating a project.

RoboSource Control is functioning normally, by the way.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled RH 6 several times, and have even uninstalled RH 6 and installed to RH 5 just to see if it could open projects, which it does with no problems. After that test, I uninstalled RH 5 and reinstalled RH 6, only to encounter the same problem all over again.

This started happening after I uninstalled other unrelated software and received a message that some Service Pack 2 files had been changed and prompting me to insert the Service Pack 2 CD, which I don't have. This is because our IT department pre-builds our systems from an image and then distributes job-specific applications over the network. IT tried repairing Service Pack 2, but that didn't work. I'd like to uninstall and reinstall Service Pack 2, but the IT person says it's too risky on a system that was built from an image.

We would like to find out which files RoboHelp is looking for when it launches a project so we can replace those files manually. Does anyone know what they are or have another suggestion that might fix the problem?

Otherwise, I am stuck having to allow IT to rebuild my system. That means reinstalling and reconfiguring everything on it, just as if I were upgrading to a new PC. This can take a whole work week. However, I have already spent close to a work week on this problem, so maybe rebuilding would save time in the long run.

[Peter Grainge]

Did your logon have admin rights when you installed? I doubt that is it as X5 would also give trouble but we need to eliminate that one.

Assuming that's not it, deactivate RH6 and then uninstall it.

Get IT to keep your existing profile but also to create a new one, with admin rights. Install RH6 using that logon. If that fails, deactivate and uninstall. Go back to your old profile.

You might want to try another install at this point but to be honest, it sounds like the PC is in a bit of a mess and your conclusion may be the one that give most confidence going forward.

Just make sure you deactivate RH each time you uninstall when the reinstall is going to be to a different profile.

[Guest]

Yes, I have Admin rights on my PC. I was the one who installed RH 6.0 initially, and it had been working for a month before this happened. I had actually just submitted 5 projects for a Help build just a few days before...four small projects that are not under version control and one very large project (over 5000 topics) that is in version control. I can't even open the small projects anymore.

I have to leave for the day, but I will check this forum from my home PC. Would love to find the answer to this problem before I'm stuck with a rebuild on Monday.

[Amebr-ke0mH4]

These may be complete red herrings, but I thought I'd post them just in case... (hopefully these links work - first time I've attempted it.)

Here's a thread from someone who had a problem with a trial version. Did you have the trial version, then upgraded? If so, maybe something was left over from the trial and is causing problems?

Trial version limits

And another thread where the admin rights seem to have gotten confused and needed to be reset.
The last post in the thread, by Danni Oster

Admin rights problem

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestion. No, I didn't have the trial version. We tested an actual version before anyone installed. I will follow up on the other one, though. I'd be so happy not to have to rebuild my system.

[MergeThis]

You said: "I get the message 'Unable to create database. Check that the directory is not read-only.'"

Then, you further said: "This is because our IT department pre-builds our systems from an image and then distributes job-specific applications over the network." (emphasis mine)

But the key to this is in your first sentence: "RoboHelp 6.0 on my PC is suddenly unable to..." I suspect that your IT folks "suddenly" messed around with some piece of filth like a "virtual networking" app, or the kinds of things they're distributing are not being done properly. In addition, have they started rolling out a new anti-virus app throughout the organization? If so, you might have to get them to include all folders with RH projects as "reject-free" zones for that software.

If you do go the rebuild route, I suggest that, after they've rebuilt the machine and you're ready to install RH, you:

1. Set up which folders (containing RH projects and the RH app) that the anti-virus app shall bypass.
2. Completely disable your anti-virus software (not simply a "sleep mode" or something like it).
3. Be logged in as yourself with full admin privileges.
4. Install RH and activate it.
5. Open a project, make a few edits, generate both a CHM and WebHelp.

IMPORTANT: Only after step 5 should you allow the anti-virus app to be reactivated.


Good luck,
Leon

[Guest]

Thank you for the suggestion. I need to clarify.

I did not have the Service Pack 2 CD to insert into the drive, because my base system was built from an image, and we do not have CDs for the operating system. We do not have CDs for most of our other software, either, because the company buys site licenses and makes software available for us to load from a server. However, my problem occurred not when I started the word day, but immediately after I uninstalled some trial software and got the message that some Service Pack 2 files had been changed and to insert the CD which I didn't have for the reason stated. The folder is writable, by the way, and RH makes a CPD file but then can't build the database.

Although we have experienced problems after receiving updates through SMS, no one else is having a problem with RoboHelp...just my machine...so I doubt it was an update, and there are no updates in Add/Remove Programs list around the date of the failure. The projects themselves are not corrupt, because other people can take my zip files, unzip the projects, and work in them just fine.

We have tried repairing Service Pack 2 twice (in different order with respect to the RH install), and that has not fixed the problem. This is why I was hoping someone might know which file or files RH needs to launch a project. Although I have been cautioned against it, I am really tempted to uninstall and reinstall Service Pack 2.

I was also tempted to use a program I found online that promises to clean up the registry, Windows, and Service Pack 2 files. The initial scan claimed to find a large number of "Errors," but I would have to register (and probably pay for the application) for it to actually fix my system...and it might not work. And it is against company rules to install software that was not purchased through our software purchasing system, so I really couldn't do that. If it had been my own PC at home, I would have.

[Peter Grainge]

There's a topic on my site about installing but apart from trying with some registry hacks that are covered, my gut feel is it's time to call it a day.

I hope you do find something. If you do and have questions, post back. The forums get checked over the weekend albeit less frequently.

[RoboColum_n_]

Call me cynical but a registry cleanser would say there were loads of "errors" in an effort to get you to buy it. I think the only way forward that is likely to work is a complete uninstall/reinstall of RH. There are any number of files required to load a project so it would be difficult to tie down which one is missing/corrupted.

[Guest]

I agree with your comment about reporting errors so I'd buy the product. That's the other reason I didn't go for it. But even if they were legitimate errors, I would be violating company rules, and that's what really stopped me...because I know there are errors in the Service Pack 2 files.

As I said earlier, I have completely uninstalled and reinstalled RoboHelp four times. It does not fix the problem. I am sure that is because the problem is missing or altered Service Pack 2 files, as explained in the original post.

It sounds like I am stuck starting my system from scratch next week. (I work 4 ten-hour days, so I don't work Fridays, but I'm checking this forum just in case someone comes up with something new I can try. This is the very first time I have not been able to solve a computer issue with persistent troubleshooting that finally led to the cause and a solution. It's driving me crazy.

[Peter Grainge]

I suppose someone has thought to try a system restore?

[Guest]

Oh, yes, a system restore is always the very first thing I try when things like this happen, and it usually works. But this time it made things even worse so I had to undo the restore. That makes sense, because a system restore doesn't work if you have installed or uninstalled software since the last restore point, which I had. It was unstalling software that started the whole thing.

[Guest]

Problem Resolution = HHA.dll

For anyone who might be interested in the resolution to this issue, we did rebuild my PC and reinstall all of my software. The RoboHelp installation "complained" that I did not have HTML Help Workshop on my system and told me to download version 1.4 from Microsoft. I did have HTML Help Workshop..it's in my programs list. (It's not listed in programs on my co-workers' PCs, and they were not having problems, by the way.) But to make RH happy, I uninstalled the workshop and tried to install the version from Microsoft. But a message informed me that I already had a newer version of the workshop on my system, and I was back where I started. I could open projects, but there were weird problems. Selecting Topic Properties was met with an error message, and when the properties window opened, I could only see whatever template was assigned (or none if the topic had lost its template), and there was an extra section for Oracle help.

So I started dinking around in the registry to see if I could get rid of any traces of the workshop so I could install the version RH wanted or to find any other clues to my problem. Under HTMLHelpAuthor, there was a reference to an HHA.dll file located in C:\WINDOWS\system32...only the file did not exist on my system. (Remember that my original problem was that some Service Pack 2 files were either modified or missing.) So I did a Google search on that file name and found out that HTML Help Workshop is included in newer Windows operating systems, but that people used to have to get HTML Help Workshop from Microsoft, and that some people had made the mistake of just putting the HHA.dll file into the C:WINDOWS\system32 folder without also installing HTML Help Workshop. At this point it was obvious that I needed the HHA.dll, so I got it from a co-worker's PC. (Looking at the registry entries, I can also see that my system was built with a slightly different version of the operating system than my co-workers have.)

Adding the HHA file to my system solved the problem. All projects but one were fine; one was still exhibiting the strange behavior. I fixed it by going back to the RoboHelp 5 version of the project and re-converting it to RoboHelp 6.

I suspect that if I had known about the HHA.dll file before we rebuilt the PC, I could have solved the problem without going through that painful process. That is why I thought I should post the solution even though it was after the rebuild.

[Peter Grainge]

First many thanks for posting back a full report of what you had to do. Installing RoboHelp 6 on a new build PC has caused some problems as it is the only version issued that did not include the installation of the Microsoft Help Compiler. For what it is worth, that was a licensing issue and it has been resolved for RoboHelp 7. What is odd here is that you had the problem on a PC that had previously had X5 installed. Although you uninstalled that, the uninstall does not remove the Microsoft Help compiler so it should have just been "taken over" by RH6.

Let's hope your post will help someone else. Given the low cost upgrade to RH7, I suspect that RH6 will be fairly short lived and hopefully people will not encounter this issue.

[Guest]

Yes, the workshop was still present, but apparently RH needs the HHA.dll to recognize and use it.

I had been using RH6 successfully for a couple of months when the problem occurred after I uninstalled some other software from a couple of content management vendors and received a message that some Service Pack 2 files had been changed and to insert the Service Pack 2 CD or some software might stop working (and I didn't have the CD to do that). If such a thing ever happens again, I will let the PC sit until someone in IT is available to lend me the CD...even if I have to wait several hours.