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wmcole
Contributor II
Message 11 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

The FOR statements appear to execute, but in fact do not define / set RegVer.  So the IF statement errors out attempting to do a test on a nonexistent value.

If I "bypass" the for statements and hard-code IeVer="9.0000" (the value I find in the referenced IE Version Vector registry key) the rest of the script runs as it should.  However this still doesn't fix the blank Security Center UI problem that occurs when IE 9 is installed.

I also tried the procedure referenced in https://community.mcafee.com/thread/40504?start=10&tstart=0 to no avail.  That is:


Uninstall McAfee and reboot

Downgrade to IE 8 and reboot

Uninstall Service Pack 1 and reboot

Install McAfee (make sure it works normally): I installed by using MCPR tool, McAfee Preinstall then the installer for Mcafee itself

Reboot

Upgrade to IE 9 (at this point the Security Center UI is blank, whereas with IE 8 it is not).

Run IERegFix.bat (altered to execute - i.e. for statements bypassed and hardcoded IEVer value) and reboot.

Run McAfee Virtual Technician abnd reboot.

Install Service Pack 1 and reboot.

Still got a blank Security Center UI.

Now, I would have posted all this to an existing "Blank UI" thread, but when I do your cohorts delete my post and lock the thread.  They apparently, like McAfee TS, don't want to admit this is still a  problem, that it is a McAfee problem, and that McAfee should fix it instead of just running users through all kinds of uninstall, reinstall, wipint OS / Drives etc., wasting 100's of hours of users' time for something one decent software engineer with a program listing and a trace could sort out and fix in less than a day.

Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 12 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

You're ahead of me again, I was off sorting out a problem with a blocked-content banner. I did actually go to look up a few sites about the scripting problem, but you found a much quicker shortcut. Still, if ever you feel an urge to get back into Windows scripting, at least I can tell you where to start

(http://ss64.com/nt/syntax.html and http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ntfortokens.php)

I've read the posts and I see you've got IE9. You haven't added any new fonts. You've done a lot of reinstalling and so forth. I'm not exactly an expert here, and I've got IE8 not IE9, but from all I've heard the blank Security Center is caused by something in IE, since McAfee uses IE settings for the display. And the blank IE is only with IE9, not IE8. So .... there's a difference between the two IE versions in their settings, perhaps? As I recall SC doesn't display if one of the fonts is missing, but I'll need to dig back through old posts and minutes of meetings to find out which font it might be. And even then that might not be the problem you've got. The only other thing I can suggest is to skim through your IE settings to see if anything needs setting/unsetting.

It's quite possible an old fix for this problem might have been inadvertently undone. The experts are welcome to put me right, if that's not the case.

wmcole
Contributor II
Message 13 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

Thanks for the scripting references.

Yes, it is IE 9 that has / causes the problem, although it worked with IE 9 for several months.

I looked at the font thing, and I have a number of fonts that have been added by Avid Media Composer, Adobe Master Collection apps, MathCad and other app installations.  Now, some of those additions occured during the time SC worked with IE 9. And looking at a font list in a backup from a time things were working, I see no deleted fonts.   So I'm not sure I buy the font thing (unless it was a deletion) as a probable cause. 

I looked through some of the myriad log files created by MVT, MER and McTrace, and noticed that in install logs there were numerous errors (installer trying to access non-existent files, many of which begin with 'mc...',  or failure to disable certain files that have "ui" in the name during a trace when I try to open the SC UI).  These files would probably provide a SW engineer who is familiar with / has access to the SC UI code a clear answer as to where the problem lies.  But, even if I open a TS case, I don't think those files would ever find their way to such a person.

Also, I was going to open a new case on this problem, but my only options were phone or chat.  Since I am going to be in the field most of the next few weeks (phone hour conflict) and chat does not get me to a real SW person - just someone reading a script who is going to try to make me do everything I've already done 20 times over, and there is no way to email / forum post with a real McAfee software engineer, I'm just going to shine it on and probably go with Zone or Norton.

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 14 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

wmcole wrote in part:


Now, I would have posted all this to an existing "Blank UI" thread, but when I do your cohorts delete my post and lock the thread.  They apparently, like McAfee TS, don't want to admit this is still a  problem, that it is a McAfee problem, and that McAfee should fix it instead of just running users through all kinds of uninstall, reinstall, wipint OS / Drives etc., wasting 100's of hours of users' time for something one decent software engineer with a program listing and a trace could sort out and fix in less than a day.

You have two threads on the go wmcole with your original one here: https://community.mcafee.com/message/241562#241562 so nothing was deleted, but simply branched out of a much older thread.   I will lock that other thread though as there is no point in having two going at the same time and makes our job all that more difficult meaning we have less time to help people.   Issues may appear to have gone on for a long time but the reasons for these issues change.  The original reason for blank UI's was people using beta versions of Internet Explorer which of course should no longer be a reason.

What we have also found, not necessarily in your case, is that many people prefer to use other browsers so don't bother keeping IE up to date with Windows Updates.   That is very important even if one doesn't use IE as other processes do, McAfee SecurityCenter being one of them.   So the reasons have changed, hence locking old threads and in the case of your issues, keeping it all in one thread.

I'm sorry you are having this trouble but it remains a mystery to us why some people have it and most don't.    Please check that Windows is totally up to date, especially IE and any of its add-ons and try disabling add-ons one by one to see if they are effecting how IE displays things..

None of your posts were deleted.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 29/05/12 7:13:32 EDT AM
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 15 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

By the way I hear you regarding how support appear to be reading from scripts.  It's how they are trained.  If you ask them to escalate the issue then things should start moving more quickly.   Tell them that it is an issue well-reported in these forums.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 29/05/12 7:10:28 EDT AM
wmcole
Contributor II
Message 16 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

Thanks, - I may try the escalation route once my hours for work etc. get more settled.

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 17 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

OK, good luck.

wmcole
Contributor II
Message 18 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

I FINALLY have a procedure that seems to isolate the problem to a single event.

After looking back at the font directory content / definition before the problem occurred and after it occurred, I:

  1. Removed 6 fonts, two .ttf fonts installed directly, four PS fonts installed as shortcuts.
  2. In my account, deactivated McAfee Internet Security for the machine on which it was installed.
  3. Performed complete uninstall of all McAfee products per TS101331 (which includes Windows unsinstall followed by the use of MCPR.exe)
  4. Use regedit to remove all registry entries referring to McAfee (except MRU, MUI or MUICache keys [most recently used lists] and legacy keys in ControlSets001, 002 - i.e not CurrentControlSet since their deletion or not has no effect; and not removing McAfee keys in HKUSERS\<user CSLID>\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates).
  5. Remove all directories/ files with McAfee in the name from Users\ including in App Data, Local, LocalLow, Roaming etc. (but not in Documents as these have no impact on McAfee running or not and are likely user created).
  6. Remove all directories / files McAfee in the name from Program Files\ and Program Files (x86)\ directories.
  7. Prep the machine for McAfee installation per TS100119 (which includes running MCPreInstall.exe, and re-running MCPR.exe).
  8. Disable IE 9 pop-up blocker (IE9, Tools>Internent Options, Privacy tab).
  9. Ran MVT.exe - confirmed no issues.
  10. Ran my modified IERegFix.bat which attempts all the dll registrations.
  11. Re-install from a fresh download from my account.
  12. Ran MVT.exe - fixed on issue resulting from McAfee install (one registry entry with an incorrect key, according to MVT).

Note that there were either soft ("restart") or hard ("shutdown" [power down] and power-up) reboots between / within each step.

This time, by adding the manual registry and directory cleaning of McAfee entries / files / folders from the system, McAfee Internet Security displayed correctly and I had access to all UI info / controls available through SC (Security Center).

I started adding back the fonts removed in step 1 above (required for a legacy company Adobe Illustrator document) and found that when the PS font for Helvetica (files HV______.pfm, HVB_____.pfm, HVBO____.pfm, and HVO_____.pfm) was installed via shortcut, some panes from SC started going blank.  I.e., the "About" pane, the help pane, and windows invoked by clicking on the "Learn More"  entries in the expanded feature pull-downs on the Home panel.

If I rebooted after Helvetica installation, the entire SC interface was blank.

If I deleted Helvetica (shortcuts) from Control Panel> Fonts and rebooted, SC interface and all its sub-panel interfaces were once again visible and functional.  The other 5 fonts being installed make no difference.

Go figure...

Now, the fact that at least ONE partcular font, but NOT ALL fonts that can be added to a default Win 7 x64 base installtion cause the blank UI phenomenon IS NOT THE USER'S FAULT, THE USER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX, OR A SACRIFICE THE USER SHOULD NEED TO PAY IN ORDER TO RUN McAfee PRODUCTS!!!  WHETHER IT IS A BUG SOLELY IN McAfee PRODUCTS, OR IN THE INTERACTION WITH IE9, OR SOLELY IN IE9, IT IS McAfee's RESPONSIBILITY TO FIX THE PROBLEM ON ITS OWN, OR WORKING IN CONCERT WITH MICROSOFT AS A SUPPOSED "DEVELOPMENT PARTNER".

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 19 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

Fonts are mentioned at the bottom of this document:  https://community.mcafee.com/docs/DOC-3000

Whilst I agree that fonts shouldn't make a difference, they do.   Anything other than the default set and things go awry.

I trust you are back to SP1 and IE9.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 02/06/12 5:59:28 EDT AM
wmcole
Contributor II
Message 20 of 44

Re: Inoperative Customer Support Tools

The fact that fonts are "mentioned" (with no procedure / tool for users to use to find out if there is a 'font' issue) has zero bearing on this discussion.  ITS A BUG!!!  Whether it is adding / modifying fonts or IE 9 or whatever, this is a McAfee or Mc Afee + Microsoft technical issue that needs to be addressed by McAfee developers, not by the (gate keeping) tech support people whose mandate is to, at all costs,by any means possible, get the user to quite posting about / requesting support for bugs in McAfee software.

wmc

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