PRODASV3 Installation Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions should help you get through any problems you might encounterduring installation of PRODAS V3:

• What do you do if an installation warning says that it cannot load the hardlock drivers because they are in use?
• How do I respond to the question "prodasv3.msi already exists do you want to replace it?
• What if I run the installation but PRODAS does not seem to be loaded?
• How do I unload PRODASV3?
• How much disk space do I need to load PRODASV3?
• Are there any Temporary files that the PRODAS installation leaves behind?
• Why would my 3D Visualizer stop working?
• One of my PRODASV3 distribution files has been deleted. How can I reload the file?
• One of my PRODASV3 distribution files has been corrupted. How can I restore the file?
• How do I load my new PRODASV3 optional module? I already have PRODASV3 on my system.
• What if I get a message that "You must have a valid PRODAS key installed to load or modify the software?"
• I am running NON-ENGLISH Windows and occasionally I crash when opening a PRODAS data file

Just ignore this warning and continue. This may occur if the drivers are already on your system. Prodas2000 uses the same drivers.
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Answer yes. An answer of No will lead to choosing another location for the file. This will result in multiple prodasV3.msi files. Each file is 35 Megabytes.

This message occurs if the installation's Setup program is run multiple times on the same computer.
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Run setup again. This will complete the installation.

The first part of the Prodas installation is to make sure that the Microsoft Installer is compatible. This can result in updating the installer and rebooting before the actual PRODAS specific installation begins. The installation continues after the reboot. Sometimes there is a pause but within a few minutes the installation restarts automatically. If the installation does not start automatically then it can be started manually. Again the first step will be to check for a compatible installer. This time it will pass and simply continue.

A reason for the installer to not restart is that the command to restart the installer is limited to 127 characters. The command includes the path to the computer's TEMP directory and the path to the distribution. If either of the paths is very large then added to the 25 or 30 other characters for the command it overruns the 127 characters.

The only possible repercussion of the system not restarting automatically is that there might be some extra files left on the system drive. See the note on Temporary files that the PRODAS installation leaves behind.
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To unload PRODASV3, select PRODASV3 from add/remove programs in the control panel. Choose the Add/Remove button. From the maintenance window choose Remove.

After PRODASV3 is removed there is a 35 Megabyte file that you can manually remove from the system drive. It is called PRODASV3.msi. It is typically stored in c:\windows\downloaded installation.
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During the installation the system disk may require 100 Meg of disk space and in addition the disk onto which PRODAS is loaded requires up to 50 Megs of disk space. o After the installation the system disk usage is 40 Megs and the PRODAS file disk usage is up to 50 Megs
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During the PRODASV3 installation files are stored in directories in the computer's TEMP directory. After the installation the files should automatically be removed. If they are not automatically removed then they can be manually removed to avoid wasting disk space. To see if you have any files to clean:

If you know where your TEMP directory is then search in that area for a directory containing a file PRODASV3.msi. If there is such a directory then the whole directory and its contents can be removed.

If you do not know where your TEMP directory is then search your whole system disk for a file called PRODASV3.msi.

There is one copy that is located in a directory named "downloaded installation". This file is important and should remain on your computer. It is normally stored in the "Windows" directory.

Any other directories containing PRODASV3.msi can be safely deleted.
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If you have recently loaded a new version of the Internet Explorer it can cause an incompatibility your Cortona software settings. The settings are done automatically during the installation as a function of your computer's environment. The solution is to unload the Cortona software and then reload it.

Remove the Cortona VRML from the control panel's add/remove programs.

Reload Cortona by running cortvrml.exe that is in the PRODASV3 installation directory. Choose the defaults. The installation can also be run with no interaction by running from the command line with a "/s" qualifier.
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