This post is from one very pissed-off customer.

As I was working with VC, it started to give me incessant nag screens about upgrading to a new version. In order to get rid of the nag screen I downloaded and installed 5.1.6.

As soon as I tried to use it, it gave me an error saying my license would not allow me to use it. Needless to say your site used the opportunity to try to get me to purchase an upgrade.

I think you could have mentioned that before the download, but you did not. So I took the option of downgrading to a previous version.

I downloaded the install package and tried to run it, only to find that it will not install because the later (forced) download was installed. Now I find that I cannot uninstall 5.1.6 because it throws an "Error 1001... the specified service does not exist as an installed service" and then rolls back the uninstall.

So now, because your cheap salesman tactics nagged me into trying your upgrade, I am left with no working versions of a product for which I have a fully paid up license.

Fix this!

1. The new version popup is nothing new but can be turned off in client settings
2. Am I understanding you correct that you can't install a version that you already had before on the computer?
3. Which version are you trying to install?
4. Please make sure that you don't have any version installed in Add/Remove programs before installing
5. Do you have more information in the event viewer about this error?

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Hi -

2. Am I understanding you correct that you can't install a version that you already had before on the computer?

Not sure about that. I don't know what the original version number was. It might have been 5.1.4, as that rev number was mentioned as the "highest allowed" by the license warning screen.

3. Which version are you trying to install?

Your screen for downgrading to a previous version offered only 5.1.2, so that is what I downloaded and will attempt to install. However the issue for the moment is that I cannot uninstall 5.1.6

4. Please make sure that you don't have any version installed in Add/Remove programs before installing.

Again, I cannot uninstall 5.1.6, not with Add/Remove programs and not with the uninstall utility that came with the package.

5. Do you have more information in the event viewer about this error?

No. All of the significant text was given in my original message.

What we can offer is to perform screen sharing with you to resolve this. Skype or Yuuguu (www.yuuguu.com). We have no existing solution for this as we never have seen this before. It seems like some vital components that VisualCron installer has been modified or removed.

Basically, in the screen sharing we will help you find a way to force the deinstallation.

Please add user support@visualcron.com on Yuuguu or user VisualCron on Skype. If you use Skype you need the latest version of Skype.

If you want to do this yourself you need to:

1. Remove the VisualCron service first. Fetch http://neteject.com/installutil.exe  and place is in the VisualCron folder. Open a command prompt and write:
installutil /u VisualCronService.exe
2. Force deinstallation by downloading Windows Cleanup Utility: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301 
3. Install VisualCron 5.1.4 from here: http://neteject.com/down...Cron/VisualCron5.1.4.exe 

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I removed 5.1.6 manually using the registry and downloaded 5.1.4 from the location you provided.

It installed cleanly and appears to be working.

May I suggest this could have been avoided by changing the nag screen. Once (or twice) dismissed it should go away indefinitely. The language should also point out that there is a charge for upgrade being pushed unless the user has previously bought maintenance.

Thank you for your help.