MCEBuddy FAQ - Install, Uninstall and Start Up Issues

Getting Started, Guides and FAQs Guides and Solutions
1

Sometimes MCEBuddy will run into various issues while installing, uninstalling or starting the application. Listed below are some of the common error messages and resolution steps. Please make sure you DO NOT SKIP any step and ORDER is very important.

  1. ALWAYS perform a complete uninstall of the previous version of MCEBuddy before installing a new version.

  2. ALWAYS delete the previous installation of MCEBuddy (by default in the C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x) before installing a new version of MCEBuddy.

  3. MCEBuddy automatically saves and restores the key configuration files from the installation config directory (history, mcebuddy.conf and profiles.conf) while uninstalling/reinstalling. While reinstalling it restores a backup of the old configuration files (mcebuddy.conf.old and profiles.conf.old) for your reference. PLEASE DO NOT REPLACE THE NEW CONFIGURATION FILES WITH THE OLD FILES AS PARAMETERS IN THE NEW FILES ARE ADDED/UPDATED WITH EACH RELEASE.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS


How do I do a of MCEBuddy?

  1. Uninstall MCEBuddy from the Start Menu or the Uninstall Programs Shortcut (Control Panel)

  2. Delete the MCEBuddy Service:

    • Find cmd.exe or command.exe in the Start Menu -> Accessories.
    • RIGHT CLICK on it and select Run as Administrator.
    • In the command prompt type sc stop MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should stop the MCEBuddy service.
    • Now type sc delete MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should delete the MCEBuddy service. Do not worry if it gives an error saying service does not exist.

NOTE: If you do not run as an administrator then the service deletion will fail and MCEBuddy will not install.

  1. Delete the installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x) - you will have to check where MCEBuddy was installed

  2. Delete the backup configuration files stored by MCEBuddy. Open the folder %HOMEPATH% (this is a windows variable, just type that into your Run prompt or Windows Explorer). Delete the following 3 files if found, mcebuddy.conf, profiles.conf and history

  3. Reboot the computer

If you’re facing the following error while trying to uninstall/install MCEBuddy, “The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable”, this is due to a Windows Installer corruption and you need to follow the instructions here:

https://thegeekpage.com/the-feature-you-are-trying-to-use-in-on-a-network-resource-that-is-unavailable-in-windows-10-fix/


The uninstaller is not working. How do I do a force uninstall MCEBuddy?

Follow the below steps to force remove MCEBuddy if the Windows installer is corrupted/unable to uninstall it. CAUTION: ADVANCED EXPERIENCED REQUIRED OR YOU MAY END UP MAKING WINDOWS UNUSABLE

  1. Stop the MCEBuddy2x service from the windows service manager (run services.msc) and close the MCEBuddy GUI/Application

  2. Delete the MCEBuddy2x folder from the Program Files folder

  3. Start an Administrative command prompt (right click on cmd.exe or command.exe and select Run as Administrator), type sc delete mcebuddy

  4. ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR ON HOW TO OPERATE THE REGISTRY. IT CAN STOP YOUR COMPUTER FROM OPERATING IF YOU MAKE ANY MISTAKES. Open the Registry, navigate to the following registry keys, search for and delete entries or keys as appropriate with MCEBuddy2x in them
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Assemblies\ (delete keys)
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Installer\Assemblies\ (delete keys)
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\ (delete key)
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders (delete entries)

  5. Reboot the computer

If you’re facing the following error while trying to uninstall/install MCEBuddy, “The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable”, this is due to a Windows Installer corruption and you need to follow the instructions here:

https://thegeekpage.com/the-feature-you-are-trying-to-use-in-on-a-network-resource-that-is-unavailable-in-windows-10-fix/


MCEBuddy Engine does not start . Windows Event Viewer contains the following error –> This access control list is not in canonical form and therefore cannot be modified.

CAUSE

MCEBuddy wasn’t uninstalled properly and left the directory in a corrupted state.

RESOLUTION

  1. Uninstall MCEBuddy

  2. Delete the previous installation of MCEBuddy (by default in the C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x ) before installing a new version of MCEBuddy.

  3. Reinstall MCEBuddy

  4. If that does not work, then follow the procedures for a clean install


MCEBuddy Engine does not start . Windows Event Viewer has the following Error System.ServiceModel.AddressAlreadyInUseException: There is already a listener on IP endpoint 0.0.0.0:23332

CAUSE

MCEBuddy wasn’t uninstalled properly and did not remove the service properly.

RESOLUTION

  1. Uninstall and reinstall MCEBuddy

  2. If that does not work, then follow the procedures for a clean install


Service name already exists

CAUSE

Previous uninstallation was not clean and the MCEBuddy service was left behind so the new installation cannot complete until the old service is removed.

RESOLUTION

  1. Delete the MCEBuddy Service:
  • Find cmd.exe or command.exe in the Start Menu -> Accessories.
  • RIGHT CLICK on it and select Run as Administrator.
  • In the command prompt type sc stop MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should stop the MCEBuddy service.
  • Now type sc delete MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should delete the MCEBuddy service.
    Don’t worry if it gives an error saying service does not exist.

NOTE: If you do not run as an administrator then the service deletion will fail and MCEBuddy will not install.

  1. Delete the entire installation directory (by default in the C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x).

  2. Now try to install the new version of MCEBuddy


While UnInstalling it gives an error, Service Does Not Exist

CAUSE

Some antivirus programs such as Norton mistakenly identify MCEBuddy as an unwanted service and delete it. This causes the uninstallation to fail.

RESOLUTION

  1. Goto Control Panel -> Uninstall a program

  2. Select MCEBuddy and click Change and Select Repair

  3. After the Repair is complete you can now Uninstall MCEBuddy


When installing I get an error message “The configuration data for this product is corrupt. Contact your support personnel”

CAUSE

When the previous version was uninstalled the Windows Installer left corrupted data in the registry

RESOLUTION

  1. NOTE: THIS ASSUMES YOU KNOW HOW TO USE REGEDIT TO EDIT THE REGISTRY. THIS IS AN ADVANCED CONCEPT AND RENDER YOUR OS IMPAIRED IF USED INCORRECTLY

  2. Open the registry editor by typing in regedit.exe in the Run from the Start Menu

  3. Navigate to the registry key -> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\Installer\Products\

  4. Find and DELETE any/all of the following keys, depending upon which version(s) of MCEBuddy you had installed/tried installing earlier:

    • MCEBuddy 32bit Key -> 24C2BB9D-EEDB-449D-AD22-24CFFD29B43E
    • MCEBuddy 64bit Key -> 0D3796AA-D867-4278-AEBC-3616AD1F7C3A
    • MCEBuddy Remote Client Key -> 52306C3E-A88E-4A36-8A31-164BA14B81C6

  5. Close the registry editor, install MCEBuddy now


I have a port conflict on my local machine (port is already in use)

CAUSE

Another program is using the port used by MCEBuddy. By default MCEBuddy uses port 23332 for communication.

RESOLUTION

  1. Stop the MCEBuddy engine

  2. Open MCEBuddy.conf

  3. In the section [Engine], change the LocalServerPort to another port number which is not used by any other application (choose from 1 to 65534) (try a random port number greater than 1024 if your don’t know which ports are used). If you don’t find it then add the following line in the [Engine] section and save the file.
    LocalServerPort=23332

  4. Reboot the computer OR Restart the MCEBuddy service (Control Panel -> Services -> MCEBuddy 2x -> Right click and select Restart)


An exception occurred in the OnInstallAfter event handler of System.ServiceProcess.ServiceInstaller. –> This access conrol list is not in canonical form and therefore cannot be modified

CAUSE

MCEBuddy tries to create the temp and log directories after installation. Sometime there is a security conflict with the previous version of MCEBuddy and the new version cannot create/delete the directories.

RESOLUTION

  1. Delete the MCEBuddy Service:
  • Find cmd.exe or command.exe in the Start Menu -> Accessories.
  • RIGHT CLICK on it and select Run as Administrator.
  • In the command prompt type sc stop MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should stop the MCEBuddy service.
  • Now type sc delete MCEBuddy2x and press Enter. This should delete the MCEBuddy service.
    Do not worry if it gives an error saying service does not exist.

NOTE: If you do not run as an administrator then the service deletion will fail and MCEBuddy will not install.

  1. Delete the entire installation directory (by default in the C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x).

  2. Now try to install the new version of MCEBuddy

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3

I uninstalled version 2.6.2 using the settings module in Windows for apps. It uninstalled completely and removed it completely from the Programs folder. I even went as far as to use the command prompt for stop and delete as referenced in the “Install, Uninstall and Start Up Issues” post. In the past, this has always worked for me so I continued trying to install the new version v.2.6.3 and nothing happened. When I say nothing happened, I got the spiraling installer icon briefly, and then it disappears and nothing happens. I waited a half hour and nothing. Tried downloading it again thinking perhaps Windows defender blocked it but that wasn’t the case. Also, my browser is set to allow content from the website so that wasn’t the issue. Came to this page and went through each of the steps starting from the top and going through them all and still, nothing happens when I try to install. Checked Windows Defender to see if somehow it’s blocking the installer but it’s not. I know Windows Installer is working because I installed other software over the weekend, and it installed without any issue. Please help me resolve what’s going on as my recordings are backing up in my hard drive.

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Unfortunately it’s a windows issue. Assuming you’re tried to reboot your computer, try a different computer. Something may have corrupted with your windows installer registry. You could try to debug the windows installer by looking at the windows installer logs to see what’s going on. You could also open windows event viewer to see what errors may be logged on there from windows installer.