Problem updating FG Unity: "Data Folder Not Found" error message

[BraveSirRobin]

I've been getting this "Data folder not found" error message when trying to check for updates. I'm using Version 4.0.0 ULTIMATE (2020-03-26). The details for the error message say:

Application folder:
D:/Program Files/Fantasy Grounds/FGUpdaterEngine
There should be 'FGUpdaterEngine_Data'
folder next to the executable

Is this a known issue?

[damned]

Hey BraveSirRobin

Please try rerunning the installer. If you installed prior to last Friday please try deleting the contents of that folder and then download a new installer and run again.

[HoloGnome]

This problem is still happening. See this thread: https://answers.unity.com/questions/...e=5&sort=votes

It may be that you have a rogue DLL in your build folder that is causing this issue for end-users. Don't know. Still trying to figure it out.

It took 3 installs, but it finally worked.

Install #1: Hung trying to copy new self updater after running web install
Install #2: Couldn't launch updater - got above problem...maybe it was incomplete install
Install #3: Deleted everything in /programs/smiteworks/fantasy grounds/ and reinstalled using web installer - worked

[HoloGnome]

Regarding the above post, here is the config and a little more info in case you want to try to track it down:
1. Clean webinstall on Windows 7sp1 64-bit Laptop - Q720 1.6Ghz, 8gb RAM
2. No previous FGU and FG Classic not running
3. Old Unity installed, but uninstalled before attempting install (a long time ago)
4. Downloaded trial webinstall from the store
5. On webinstall, went through the login and key screens before the install began
6. Selected default install locations and no other changes

On the first pass, I think I put the app in the background during the install while doing other things. Maybe there was a background event issue that hung the install - don't know.

Attached is a pic of the install window when it got stuck on the first pass and the log of the 2nd attempt where it couldn't find the data directory.

After it hung the first time, I just canceled and restarted it and then got the data directory missing/not adjacent to the .exe error above. After that, I left the userdir alone and just wiped the /programs/smiteworks/fg and it worked.

On the 3rd retry, I was hoping to do a full log capture to help figure out the problem...but it worked...so

[Zacchaeus]

Unity doesn't run on Windows 7.

[Trenloe]

1. Clean webinstall on Windows 7sp1 64-bit Laptop - Q720 1.6Ghz, 8gb RAM

A number of people have reported installation and FGU starting issues over the last few months when trying to use on Windows 7. Windows 7 isn't supported. System requirements here: https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassia...m+Requirements

Try it on Windows 8x or 10x.

[HoloGnome]

Thanks for the thread pointer! I can't really update my laptop at the moment, unfortunately.

Parenthetically, at the Unity level, there is nothing that omits support for Windows 7 sp1 x64, including through the 2020 betas. 32-bit is not supported in Unity, however. See attached images from the Unity docs. My q720 supports SSE2-SSE4 and I am using DirectX 11. For Unity, there are no other requirements for compatibility with Windows 7 for runtime (or development). Within x64, it seems somewhat least-common-denominator in its support for SSE2/DirectX10.

So, it may be worth looking into how the installer is being built (and what is being included in the directories on the build system) to check into the install anomalies with Windows 7 (assuming at least sp1 x64). The Windows 7 install issues may point to problems that are present in how the installer is being built that are relevant to other platforms, including Windows 8/10, and remaining undetected as possible intermittents. For example, the issue could be that I backgrounded the installer during the install process and it lost OS events or had some other issue -- perhaps pointing to something about the async i/o, an programmatic issue where it expected to be in the foreground for some other reason, etc. Anyway - just a suggestion. The thread I found above seemed to indicate that incorrect files in the build directory could potentially cause unexpected issues. It may bear quality examination.

The main issue was that it got stuck initially. After that, I think it had trouble dealing with partial install directories, which may point to a problem where the installer is doing a blind install instead of certifying what files and reg keys are present and what needs to be done for an incremental install after Cancel recovery. So, it might be helpful to check into incremental certification for all installer routines. At each point where something is installed, the installer should check for existence and do the right thing. Since I was able to fix the subsequent problems by deleting directories, it looks like there is an incremental certification issue that potentially affects all OSes.

Post-install on Windows 7 x64, I don't see any issues. The app seems to run OK, although I haven't used it too much yet. I can load libraries, create campaigns, etc.

Great job to everyone/SmiteWorks on getting FGU released! It's a huge step forward and something to be very proud of!!

[Sulimo]

I get that Unity may be supported on Windows 7 and I know a lot of people are still on Windows 7, however, Microsoft officially ended support of Windows 7 on January 14, 2020 (over a year ago now).

Anyone still on Windows 7 should upgrade asap, Microsoft is no longer releasing any security patches for Win7, so the number of vulnerabilities will just keep increasing as time goes on, making those users still on Win7 vulnerable to anything from cryptolockers to identity theft if they continue to use Win7.

Microsoft made Windows 10 available as a free upgrade for the first year of its release, however, they have quietly supported a free upgrade from Win7/8 even to this day (see here for how).

Since Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7, it is reasonable for the Fantasy Grounds team to no longer support it as well. So, you will be pretty much on your own if you encounter any issues.

[Moon Wizard]

Also, we will not be providing support to use or install FGU on Windows 7.

Regards,
JPG

[HoloGnome]

I understand. The issues I report are generic points of quality feedback relating to the installer, rather than which OS I am running. I appreciate the statement about not directly supporting Windows 7 and I guess I will take my chances, for now. But, the OS that I'm using shouldn't obviate the possible need for additional installer quality review.

Looking into how the installer is built or functions and why it might be having problems that could potentially affect other OSes (including Windows 8 and Windows 10) -- such as possibly having vestigial DLLs/files in final build directories, testing to see if background installs are a problem where events may be getting lost, and reviewing the installer code for certification on recovery or unexpected conditions -- might prove very helpful, regardless of the fact that I noted these issues on my Windows 7 machine.

Scripted installers are very hard to implement well and they require a lot of dedicated focus to account for environment, error handling and recovery. From what I saw, regardless of Windows 7, the FGU installer doesn't yet seem to be fully hardened to me. For example, it couldn't properly recover from unexpected conditions/issues after a partial/aborted install. So, it obviously wasn't doing certain types of basic checking on recovery.

I hope that you will take my quality feedback in a generic context, look at the installer and do some additional QA and code review for the benefit of all installable Windows OSes.