31 replies to this topic

[casey_boy]

Hi guys,

FAO - Users experiencing the Connection Error problem whilst updating.

Lavasoft have asked us to see if there are any of you out there who would be interested in helping Lavasoft solve this connection error problem.

It would involve trained Lavasoft staff accessing your computer through a remote desktop connection. Rest assured they would only be looking for problems related to Ad-Aware and you would be able to see everything they do on your computer - you could also close the connection at any time.

If you are interested in really helping Lavasoft solve this problem then please post here. Lavasoft will monitor this thread and will PM any of you who offer with further details.

Please ensure you have a CLEAN SYSTEM. There have been many reports where the user later finds they have malware installed on their computer which was blocking the updates. Once clean, they were able to access the updates. Please read the following note:

Users MUST be able to access and download metafile.dat file to get updates. If download of this file fails, all update process stops. This seems to be the issue that we see in logs. Could you ask users that have this problem (confirmed by "Unable to get metafile" in their update log) to ask to access (and/or download) this file directly via their browser: http://download.lava...09/metafile.dat ? If they can access and download this file via browser, but Ad-Aware fails, the problem is in Ad-Aware. If they won't be able to access/download this file, their might be other problems, maybe on server side... NOTICE: this won't help them to fix update issue, but this could help us to get more information about the problem.

Please do not post 'no' replies either.

On behalf of Lavasoft, thank you.

Casey

Edited by visitor, 03 August 2009 - 01:57 AM.

[GuessWho]

Hello,

I would be interested in letting your admin try to solve this connection error using my computer.

Thank you.


Reply: Thank you. I have let Lavasoft know. They will hopefully get in touch soon. Casey

Edited by casey_boy, 21 May 2009 - 05:08 PM.

[ndyguy]

I'm having the same problems, and I'd like an admin to take a look at my connection.

Thanks.

Edit: I'm not sure if something changed on my end or the Lavasoft end, but my connection problem seems to have been solved. I had two laptops that couldn't connect as of a day or two ago, and today they can update without any issue.

Thanks.

Edited by casey_boy, 01 June 2009 - 11:08 AM.
merged your posts together

[LS Jeffery]

Hi guys

We will have a look in to setting up a remote session with one of our developers next week.

I will PM on you Monday about it...

Thanks a lot for your help everyone!

Jeff - Lavasoft

[powerman708]

Hello
I would be willing to work with Lavasoft on the connection error problem.I have a clean system and I can manually download the metafile.dat
powerman708

{email address removed}

Mod. Edit. Removed email address for privacy. Lavasoft will contact you through the PM system on this forum. Casey

Edited by casey_boy, 22 May 2009 - 08:28 PM.

[help4me]

I would be delighted to assist in any way possible. When I click on the download, it opens a file of code! wow! help! You may access my Vista operated Toshiba at will. My last successful update was May 25, 2009. The last successful file in the download was the third file after the "Sedona......" file.
Thank you for any and all help you can provide, help4me

[Royjean]

Any way I can help I will if it means fixing this problem. I just recently got AdAware back on my computer after uninstalling the 2007 version a year ago. The updates wouldn't download for me, and with me on dial-up when I'd do them manually it was taking forever so I said forget it. Two weeks ago I had a tune-up done on my laptop and the computer lady downloaded the Anniversary Edition for me since it wouldn't take her too long. Everythiing has worked perfectly until today when I was just about done with a long update and I got the connection error. Thinking my connection might have been interrupted I did it again and same thing. I went to the FAQ and found where there was a work-around with this, telling me to do this: *Go to, C:\Program Files\Lavasoft\Ad-Aware and right click on AAWService.exe, select properties in popup menu and in the Compatibility tab. Change the Compatibility mode to "Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP" , click "apply" then "ok". Do the same for Ad-AwareAdmin.exe and then retry the web-update.
but when it tells me to go to the exe. files of Adaware and change the compatibility mode to WINXP, there is no option of WINXP. So what do you do then? I only have options of WIN95, WIN98, WINME, NT and 2000. So am I suppose to change anything at all? I'm kinda clueless on this.

Thanks,
~Royjean~

Forgot to say, me too, when I click on the download Lavasoft asked us to, the metafile.dat, same as help4me, I got a whole page of codes, was that were we were suppose to see? My last successful def file download was May 24, 2009.

Hugs,
~Royjean~


I know I'm "replying" to my own message but did want you all to know, even if there was no pulldown option of changing the Compatibility mode to WINXP with the work-around suggestion by Lavasoft, I changed it to WIN98/ME instead, and it worked. It took me two times trying to install the def updates but it worked, no connection error this time. So don't know if it was because I went into the exe files and changed stuff or not, or per chance it just decided to work. Yea!!

Hugs,
~Royjean~

Edited by casey_boy, 29 May 2009 - 04:54 PM.

[marnhull]

Happy to help
Have "connection error" on Vista SP2 using Ad-Aware 8.0.5
Did all the suggested workarounds
desk top interact, firewall settings, XP sp2 compatability, can display .dat file, etc.
Nothing works
If you want more info. please email needs.
Regards
Dave

[HAL9000A]

Hello. I prefer and want to continue using Ad-Aware 2008. However, I would be very happy to allow LavaSoft to access my machine. I can download and view the .DAT file (which is a list of values and keys) and I have a clean system (Dell 4700, Win XP SP 3, Ad-Aware 2008 Version 7.1.0.8 Defs 0148.0040, and Norton Internet Security 2009 Version 16.5.0.135). Please accept my apology in advance if they want only AA AE users. Thank you.

Hi guys,

Lavasoft have asked us to see if there are any of you out there who would be interested in helping Lavasoft solve this connection error problem.

On behalf of Lavasoft, thank you.

Casey

Edited by HAL9000A, 02 June 2009 - 12:05 AM.

[cardy]

I, too, am experiencing the connection error message on loading the AE and none of the workarounds suggested have been successful. I would be happy for lavasoft support to access my machine to sort the problem. One oddity is that my AVG is not announcing that the Lavasoft application has been installed, yet there it has been. I have an XP machine.

Best Wishes

[kb7pa]

Would certainly entertain a visit by Lavasoft into my computer to see what has happened. My connection error started right after downloading the new IE 8. I have deleted and reinstalled Ad-Aware with the same problem. I have two computers, both with Vista and Ad-Aware works fine on the desk top and a connection error on the laptop. Any help is appreciated.

Mo

Thanks Lohiro. Just read your post and went to Vista Compatibility mode and used Windows XP. Ad-Aware downloaded fine.

Edited by kb7pa, 04 June 2009 - 05:28 PM.

[clperdue4342]

I get connection errors. I've tried all the workarounds. The workaround that instructs me to select "xp" under compatability, does not exist in my pulldown menu, nor does "Vista". I can select Win95/98/ME/2000/NT....everything but my OS which is XP SP3. I just paid for this software a couple of weeks ago and have yet to get it working; I can't register it, I can't update it, nothing.

[duddleston]

Me too!
Please help

[Fumes21]

When I first installed the program it updated normally, but after it rebooted and then I tried to update it wil not work. I'm running Windows Vista, and tried the fixes with no change.

[njnitehawk]

same here give it a try

[CFB]

I can not update definitions. Connection Error message appears. I would like LavaSoft tech support to help out with this problem.

[Greg Schroeder]

I would be happy to have Lavasoft access my Vista machine and determine why I cannot update Ad-Aware. I can download the manual load from their site, and I can download the file from the link you provided. When I hit ad-aware updates, it immediately goes to "Connection ERROR, CHECK YOUR SETTINGS.

[robertmiles]

I'm interested in helping. I have two computers connected through the same IP address, with Ad-Aware AE on only one of them. The problems are on my 32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 machine, with nearly all updates, which passed my antivirus program and my two other antispyware programs today. One thing I noticed today is that Windows Defender was blocking a hosts file update, which I'd guess was leftover from the last time I was able to run Ad-Aware AE. However, telling Windows Defender to let the hosts file change happen did not help, and neither did reinstalling Ad-Aware AE.

The problems started about the time I downloaded the Vista SP2 update, Internet Explorer 8, and a software update for Windows Defender, reported a lot of newsgroups spam from a very active spammer who was able to fake some of the post headers, and did a few things I've forgotten - about a month ago. I think I joined Microsoft's group for voting on what's spyware to be blocked by Windows Defender about the same time, also.

[Oscar69]

My computer is one that was upgraded from XP to Vista Ultimate. Up until Ad-Aware AE version come along, this program worked perfectly. Like everyone else with this "Update Connection" problem, I did everything that was advised by Lavasoft, or other everyday users without success. This week I installed a unrelated recommended program called ADVANCED SYSTEMCARE (ASC) @ http://www.iobit.com/ . You only need to install the FREE version. Once installed, do a cleanup, reboot, etc, run ASC. I then tried Ad-Aware UPDATES FROM THE LAVASOFT FOLDER IN THE START ALL PROGRAMS, and guess what Ad-Aware AE Updates now works like it should. Once it work from that angle I tried Ad-Aware from the "pinned Start menu" and a desktop shortcut with no problem. So give it ago, install ASC and see what happens. Obviously, I do not know how and why it fixed the problem, at least it now works

[blh]

If Lavasoft will still accept help from users, I'd like to try—let me know. I’ve encountered most of the errors and issues posted in the various Lavasoft forums, and none of the workarounds helped. I successfully downloaded the metafile.dat as requested. Even though I'm still on Ad-Aware 2008 (Free), I hope the solution will eventually apply to all of us.

Could there be a conflict with the duplicate Internal Name shown on the Version tab of Properties for aawservice.exe and Ad-Aware.exe? Is it possible this duplicate name, Ad-Aware, causes communication problems between aawservice.exe (in the SYSTEM account) and the Ad-Aware.exe (in a user’s account)? That confusion might prevent the service from establishing a second process in the user account, which may be necessary for access to the definitions file and logs in the user account folders, as well as successful communication between processes in the two accounts.

Is the Error Control value shown in System Info for aawservice supposed to be "Ignore"? Is that why the application eventually works after aawservice stops hoarding CPU & memory, even though the error message said the application would terminate? If control is really just passing on through without proper error trapping, does this defeat the purpose and security of having aawservice start in the SYSTEM account? Could that also contribute to misleading errors some of us have had, such as the definitions file being out-of-date when it really is not?

Or could the communication and access issues be resolved by changing the Service Type (shown in System Info) for aawservice from “Own Process” to “Share Process”?

I apologize for such a lengthy post. I realize a moderator may need to edit or split this up. I also posted in the 2008 forum looking for anyone with a configuration similar to mine who is running error-free. I also describe my workaround in that post.