Fixing H2 Runtime1. Table of Contents is disappearingIf your VS 7 help Table of Contents is disappearing after installing 3rd party software this is more likely to be the vendor's Help Collection not setup correctly. A small syntax error typically makes the TOC entire disappear. Contact your software vendor. Often unplugging the 3rd party collection from MS.VSCC.xxxx will make the TOC reappear. A reboot may be required. 2. Some MS Help 2 Links don't work Luca reported that all <MSHelp:Link> type MS Help 2 links failed to fire. Links were rendered as underlined text but mouse cursor didn't change to pointing hand and clicking did nothing. Normal <a> type links worked correctly. Luca tried all the tricks (see below) then finally discovered the problem was related to the MSIE component. After running IEFix the problem was resolved. How to Uninstall/Reinstall MS Help 2 -- The recommended wayThe recommended way (Note that Document Explorer is part of MS Help 2.x). STEP 1 - Add-ons and SDKsTry and REPAIR or REINSTALL anything that plugs its documentation into the MSDN Documentation (eg. Software Component. VS SDK etc). If that does not work then try to UNINSTALL all these add-ons. STEP 2 - H2 Related SoftwareIf the problems persist then try to REPAIR or REINSTALL all applications that install MS Help 2.x & Document Explorer.The following applications install MS Help 2.x
Please also read this post from Maria Shneerson [MS] from the Microsoft Forums In general, I would like to point out that it is very dangerous to remove registry and files manually - you can get your machine in a completely broken state. I would recommend modification of the step described above Uninstall all application using Help (VS, MSDN, .NET Framework SDK (keep .NET Framework 2.0). Finally uninstall Microsoft Document Explorer 2005. Check that "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Help" folder is gone. If it still exists, it means you did not uninstall everything in step 1. Check if "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft Help" folder is empty. If it is not, rename it (do not delete it completely. Reinstall applications uninstalled in step 1. (when you install VS or MSDN, you will be prompted to reinstall Microsoft Document Explorer as well)Maria Shneerson, MSDN If you get MSI Errors when removing software see MsiFix (eg. those infinite uninstall loops that happen when MSI screws up). How to Uninstall/Reinstall MS Help 2 - Brute Force WayWarning: This is not a Microsoft recommended way to repair help and if customers contact MS (through forums and PSS) they need to mention that they attempted to delete stuff from their registry and hardware. If things are really broken with Help 2 then I would removing MS Help 2 from the machine by hand. But 1) please try the previous "recommended" way first. 2) Only do this only out of shear desperation (ie. the next thing you were going to try was a reformat of the hard disk). 3) You are a developer who knows their way around the hard disk and registry. STEP 3 - Remove Old Namespaces Registration InfoSteps 1 & 2 should have wiped out everything H2.x related, but lets make sure there is nothing left. Remove any remaining Collection Registration info from the hard disk. Look for the following folders and if the exist RENAME them to another name. All User folder: (May be "All Users.Windows" under XP)
For more info on this folder see http://kb.helpwaregroup.com/mshelp2/h2-faq#TOC-Q.-How-do-I-unregister-files... All User registration info is kept in this folder. c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft Help or c:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft Help User restricted registration info is kept in a similar folder. From memory... c:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data\Microsoft Help nslist.hxl - Contains list of all registered namespaces. A collection registration under Namespace = XYZ, Locale 3081 = English (Australia). XYZ.hxn -- Namespace info for XYZ. XYZ_3081_MKWD_A.HxW HxW - Merged Associated Index. XYZ_3081_MKWD_F.HxW HxW - Merged Context Index. XYZ_3081_MKWD_K.HxW HxW - Merged Keywords Index. XYZ_3081_MKWD_NamedUrlIndex.HxW HxW - Merged Named URL Index. XYZ_3081_MValidator.Lck Lock file XYZ_3081_MValidator.HxD ? XYZ_3081_CValidator.HxD ? XYZ_3081_FiltersCache.HxG Filter Cache ? XYZ_3081_MTOC_NS.HxH Merged TOC file Maybe you need to delete some registration info files. However the safest way to unregister files is to use a tool like Namespace.exe (comes with VSHIK) or FAR (shareware from http://helpwaregroups.com/products/far/ ). Problem if you remove files before they are first unregistered the H2 API is not happy and will fail to unregister. FAR on the other hand will successfully unregister collections even if files have been removed. STEP 4 - Remove any remaining stuff by hand.Make sure all MS Help 2 runtime files are completely gone. Note: Best to Rename rather than Delete Disk and Registry items incase you want to roll back. 3.1 Rename any H2 Runtime folders from disk
3.2 Make sure all Registry Info is gone
STEP 5 - Reboot and Reinstall all SoftwareReinstall all your software.Note that Microsoft Document Explorer 2005 (used by MSDN Help, VS /NET Help, Office 2007 Help etc) can only be installed by installing one of these applications (see full list above).Good luck Rob |
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