A

Anonymous

Question

Unable to Load Database/Unable to create database.

Forum|Forum|18 years ago
October 11, 2007
6 replies
1624 views

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.

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A

Anonymous

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.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

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.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

I suppose someone has thought to try a system restore?

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A

Anonymous

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.

RoboColum_n_

Legend

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.

A

Anonymous

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

Community Expert

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.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

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.

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A

Anonymous

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.

A

Amebr-ke0mH4

Inspiring

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

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