Classic Shell: Forum

I've been using Classic Shell ever since I got my Lenovo S210 Touch with Windows 8 (upgraded to 8.1, and then a failed upgrade to 8.1 pro Media edition, so I get the activation nag screen several times a day).

Yesterday I tried to upgrade to Classic Shell 4.3.0. But after downloading the file and clicking on it, nothing happens. I'm running an administrator account, but even tried right clicking and "run as administrator." Nothing happens. No evidence that the install program executes (nothing shows up in the task manager). So I foolishly uninstalled my old version 4.0.4, and tried to reinstall 4.0.4 and 4.3.0 but with the same results - nothing happens.

I tried booting up in Safe Mode but again, nothing happens when I click on the installer (of any version).

Any ideas besides throwing this S210 out the window? I can't even upgrade to Windows 10 because Lenovo doesn't let you know what your product key is (no install DVD, no sticker on the PC), so I can't activate my current 8.1 Pro version, so I can't upgrade to Win 10.

Don't worry, your problem should be fixable.

The installer does not need to be run as admin as it automatically elevates when required. Check if you have the genuine installer. Right click it and open Properties and verify that it has a Digital Signatures tab with the name of the signer as "Ivaylo Beltchev".

It uses Windows Installer (MSI) technology. So another thing you can try is run the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter: http://aka.ms/Program_Install_and_Uninstall

You can run the installer with this switch: /L* log.txt so it will generate a log file. e.g.
"C:\Users\your user name\Downloads\ClassicShellSetup_4_3_0.exe" /L* CSLog.txt

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I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thanks for the reply, Gaurav.

Yes, the file I downloaded is correctly digitally signed. The file extension is .exe, not .msi. It does not appear to be an archive containing an msi either.

I tried running it with the /L* log.txt option, but no log file was generated. I ran it with the /? option on the command line, and got the options listed, so I know it's running, but despite any options I might include on the command line, nothing happens. Very frustrating.

I ran the troubleshooter you suggested, but ClassicShell was not listed as one of the programs, and when I clicked on "Not Listed" it reported there were no problems.

You can extract the MSI from the installer using the command line: http://www.classicshell.net/faq/#install_commands

The troubleshooter won't list Classic Shell. It will do a general repair of whatever is broken with Windows Installer. Let it do its fixes and try running the Classic Shell installer again.

The log file is generated in the same folder as the installer. Make sure there is no space between /L and *. Use double quotes correctly too:

"C:\Users\User\Downloads\ClassicShellSetup.exe" /L* CSLog.txt

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Thank you Gaurav and Ivo. The troubleshooter did not solve anything for me unfortunately. However, I followed Ivo's suggestion and found the msi file that got extracted, and installed that. It reported an error "Module C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicExplorer 32.dll failed to register. HRESULT-1073740791. Contact your support personnel." Similar error messages were repeated, and I hit ignore for each. The net result is that ClassicShell appears to be installed and functioning again, and thankfully all my settings were restored after the previous uninstall. I'm not sure what's going wrong with my laptop, but at least I have the excellent ClassicShell back. Thank you both for your help. I guess I will find out in time if the error messages resulted in problems not currently seen.

If you have an anti-virus, it could be preventing Classic Shell files from being registered, giving you errors. Try to temporarily disable it and install again: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6584&p=28841#p28841

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.