Explorer Context Menu Install Fails

[Brian Gladman]

The explorer context menu items are not installing for me. I am running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 on an Intel Core2 duo. I have tried both the debug and the release builds and I have also tried the install quite a few times with no success.

Any ideas on what I should check to see what has gone wrong?

Brian Gladman

[Zoë]

Two things you should check are that the "Include Beyond Compare in Explorer Context Menu" option is checked in the options dialog, and see if the menu items show up in BC's "Explorer" menu. Since it's a 32-bit process it might indicate whether there's a problem in general or just with the 64-bit DLL.

[Brian Gladman]

Two things you should check are that the "Include Beyond Compare in Explorer Context Menu" option is checked in the options dialog, and see if the menu items show up in BC's "Explorer" menu. Since it's a 32-bit process it might indicate whether there's a problem in general or just with the 64-bit DLL.

Thanks for the quick response Craig. I cannot set the "Include Beyond Compare in Explorer Context Menu" item. When I click the box and apply the setting it appears to work but if I close and reopen this options dialogue again it returns as unset (whether or not I close BC3).

BC3's context menu items are all ok.

Brian

[Michael Bulgrien]

Brian, do you have administrative privilages on your Vista box? More to the point, I'm wondering if there is a registry entry that is failing to update when you enable the Explorer context menu functionality.

[Brian Gladman]

Brian, do you have administrative privilages on your Vista box? More to the point, I'm wondering if there is a registry entry that is failing to update when you enable the Explorer context menu functionality.

Hi Michael,

Yes, I have admin privileges on my box.

I checked some of the registry entries but I don't know how many I need to check.

I also think this is a registry issue since the 64-bit shell extension DLL is present. There is a registry entry that enables the shell extension but setting this doesn't enable the shell since this entry gets set back to disabled in some way. This suggests to me that another registry entry (for example, one that says that the 64-bit DLL is present) is not being set (or tested) properly.

Maybe Craig can let me know which registry entries are involved. I can then use RegMon from sysinternals to see what is happening during the BC3 install.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Brian,

Have you tried the fix in this post?

[Zoë]

The .reg file in the post Michael referred to has all of the relevant registry entries.

[Brian Gladman]

Thanks Michael and Craig, clearing out the registry using the fix Michael suggested, uninstalling BC3, rebooting, deleting the BC3 install directory and then installing BC3 again fixed the problem.

Thanks again for your help, which I much appreciate.

Brian

[danonymous]

Just FYI -

I had used the Cirrus install and was also having the same issues.
I just uninstalled, ran the registry file, reinstalled, and everything is working as designed. I'm on XP Professional , SP2.

[rdale]

BC3 and 64bit Win7

I just installed BC3 on my new 64bit Win7 machine and am unable to get the Explorer context menu working (it is set in Tools > Option). I uninstalled, ran the reg file linked above, and reinstalled BC3, but it is still not working. Any ideas?

[Chris]

Hi Rdale,

Are you using the installer from our web site?

Some of our larger corporate customers repackage Beyond Compare using their own installers, and some of them are buggy, preventing the context menu from working.

If you're using an installer provided by your company, uninstall Beyond Compare, then download and install using the installer from our web site. You can get the installer from the following link: http://www.scootersoftware.com/download.php

If using our installer fixes the problem, please report the problem to your company's IT department so they fix their custom installer.

[rdale]

Thanks Chris - that was exactly the case - my company's redistribution method is what caused the problem - BC3 works successfully now after installing from the native installer.

[chudson121]

Having same issue with context menu not installing on win7 64bit

I downloaded the latest version from your site and installed it (no repackaging)

I checked the option in the "Include Beyond Compare in Explorer Context Menu" in the options dialog for the setup package

In Tools > Option > Include Beyond Compare in Explorer context menu is checked and the command Compare is set at Main Menu

I tried unchecking and rechecking the explorer integration checkbox in

menu items DO show up in BC's "Explorer" menu

I have admin rights on the box.

I have run the registry fix (http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbull...36&postcount=9), uninstalled, reinstalled, and rebooted

ShellExView Does NOT display beyond compare at all

I have disabled all other non microsoft context menu's and did an uninstall/reinstall

Here is the log file from installing the setup package.
<install log file>
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Log opened. (Time zone: UTC-05:00)
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Setup version: Inno Setup version 5.2.3
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Original Setup EXE: C:\Users\chudson\Downloads\BCompare-3.2.3.13046.exe
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Setup command line: /SL5="$2001CE,5528046,341504,C:\Users\chudson\Downl oads\BCompare-3.2.3.13046.exe" (1).exe /log="C:\beyond.txt" /SP-
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Windows version: 6.01.7600 (NT platform: Yes)
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 64-bit Windows: Yes
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 Processor architecture: x64
2011-01-05 09:52:49.949 User privileges: Administrative
2011-01-05 09:52:49.959 64-bit install mode: No
2011-01-05 09:52:49.960 Created temporary directory: C:\Users\chudson\AppData\Local\Temp\is-KST7H.tmp
2011-01-05 09:53:07.806 Starting the installation process.
2011-01-05 09:53:07.808 Creating directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3
2011-01-05 09:53:07.808 Creating directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\Packers
2011-01-05 09:53:07.809 Directory for uninstall files: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3
2011-01-05 09:53:07.809 Creating new uninstall log: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\unins000.dat
2011-01-05 09:53:07.810 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:07.810 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\unins000.exe
2011-01-05 09:53:07.811 Time stamp of our file: 2011-01-05 09:52:49.908
2011-01-05 09:53:07.811 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:07.813 Uninstaller requires administrator: Yes
2011-01-05 09:53:07.905 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:07.906 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:07.906 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BCompare.exe
2011-01-05 09:53:07.906 Time stamp of our file: 2010-12-09 14:43:50.000
2011-01-05 09:53:07.906 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.005 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.006 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.007 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BCompare.chm
2011-01-05 09:53:09.007 Time stamp of our file: 2010-12-09 14:44:16.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.007 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.176 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.177 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.177 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\License.html
2011-01-05 09:53:09.177 Time stamp of our file: 2010-04-12 17:22:44.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.177 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.180 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.180 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.181 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.com
2011-01-05 09:53:09.181 Time stamp of our file: 2008-11-21 12:17:02.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.181 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.217 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.217 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.218 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe
2011-01-05 09:53:09.218 Time stamp of our file: 2010-02-04 17:33:32.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.218 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.259 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.260 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.261 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BCShellEx.dll
2011-01-05 09:53:09.261 Time stamp of our file: 2010-03-01 09:54:14.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.261 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.299 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.300 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.300 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\BCShellEx64.dll
2011-01-05 09:53:09.301 Time stamp of our file: 2010-03-01 09:54:14.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.301 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.344 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.345 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.345 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\Readme.txt
2011-01-05 09:53:09.346 Time stamp of our file: 2010-02-16 15:10:46.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.346 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.347 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.347 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.348 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\Helpers\PdfToText.exe
2011-01-05 09:53:09.348 Time stamp of our file: 2009-07-09 10:01:20.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.348 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.348 Creating directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\Helpers
2011-01-05 09:53:09.465 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.466 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.467 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\Helpers\XLS_to_CSV_Single.vbs
2011-01-05 09:53:09.467 Time stamp of our file: 2010-11-04 10:21:10.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.467 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.468 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.469 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.469 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\unrar.dll
2011-01-05 09:53:09.469 Time stamp of our file: 2009-07-06 14:33:30.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.469 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.518 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.518 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.519 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\7zxa.dll
2011-01-05 09:53:09.519 Time stamp of our file: 2008-06-17 11:04:14.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.519 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.549 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.549 -- File entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.549 Dest filename: C:\Program Files (x86)\Beyond Compare 3\UACLaunch.exe
2011-01-05 09:53:09.549 Time stamp of our file: 2008-03-19 15:54:52.000
2011-01-05 09:53:09.550 Installing the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.569 Successfully installed the file.
2011-01-05 09:53:09.570 -- Icon entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.570 Filename: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3\Beyond Compare 3.lnk
2011-01-05 09:53:09.571 Creating directory: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3
2011-01-05 09:53:09.922 -- Icon entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.922 Filename: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3\Beyond Compare 3 Help.lnk
2011-01-05 09:53:09.925 -- Icon entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.926 Filename: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Beyond Compare 3\Uninstall Beyond Compare 3.lnk
2011-01-05 09:53:09.930 -- Icon entry --
2011-01-05 09:53:09.930 Filename: C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Beyond Compare 3.lnk
2011-01-05 09:53:10.059 Installation process succeeded.
2011-01-05 09:53:10.061 Need to restart Windows? No
2011-01-05 09:53:12.946 Deinitializing Setup.
2011-01-05 09:53:12.954 Log closed.

[Aaron]

It would seem that the 64bit shell extension is not being installed as part of your install process. Would your registry potentially be locked down in anyway? Are you at a company where the IT staff may need to give you elevated privileges?

[chudson121]

Its a fresh clean install of windows 7 professional, with no additional policies on the system. Is there a way to manually install the shell extension?