Topaz Sharpen AI 2 upgrade problem (Answer found)

I just upgraded to Sharpen AI 2.0.4 today, but it still opens version 1.4 when I choose the option from CS6 filters.  I checked the folder in Programs> Adobe> CS6> Plug-ins and the folder just says Sharpen AI (not AI2), but the date on the folder says today (4-2-20).  I also checked the Plug-ins folder in CS6 under Preferences and the Sharpen AI folder is still there. I shut down the computer and restarted it and reopened the file I was working on but it still opens version 1.4 instead on ver. 2.0.4.

I would welcome any suggestions on how to fix this issue.  Thanks in advance.

You have to read my thread on Topaz installer issues:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=287598
It will fix this problem and many other Topaz problems.

E.J. Peiker wrote:You have to read my thread on Topaz installer issues:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=287598
It will fix this problem and many other Topaz problems.

Thanks E.J.  Much appreciated.

E.J.

Ok, I did as your instructions said, and Sharpen AI2 now opens correctly.  Thank you very much.

That said, I now have an issue with Denoise AI.  When I invoke Denoise through CS6 filters, an error message comes up saying Plug-in Launch Failure.  When I click on OK, it appears to try to open again but CS6 stops working and shuts down.

I went and followed your instructions again, but with only Denoise.  Uninstalled it, deleted it from Downloads, Ran CCCleaner, rebooted, re-ran CCCleaner, rebooted again, redownloaded Denoise from Topaz, and the rest of your instructions.  It failed to launch again.

Denoise opens just fine as a standalone, just not thru CS6 filters.

Any suggestions?  Should I delete ALL Topaz programs and installers once again, even the rest of my AL programs open just fine thru CS6 filters?

Open to any suggestions.  Thank you!

Yes, in my instructions I said ALL Topaz AI programs.  There is a conflict between their old installer and their new installer that blows up Photoshop in Windows - their 2.0 programs use a completely different installer technology and Photoshop can not handle how it uses two different methods to point to plug-ins (for others, this is a WINDOWS platform problem only, Mac is not affected).  I would include Studio in that as well, if you have it, as it shares some AI component code (AI Clear)...

Step #2:
2. Uninstall every single Topaz AI program

Follow every single step with no modifications whatsoever to be 100% sure that everything will work right.

E.J. Peiker wrote:Yes, in my instructions I said ALL Topaz AI programs.  There is a conflict between their old installer and their new installer that blows up Photoshop in Windows - their 2.0 programs use a completely different installer technology and Photoshop can not handle how it uses two different methods to point to plug-ins (for others, this is a WINDOWS platform problem only, Mac is not affected).  I would include Studio in that as well, if you have it, as it shares some AI component code (AI Clear)...

Step #2:
2. Uninstall every single Topaz AI program

Follow every single step with no modifications whatsoever to be 100% sure that everything will work right.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I only deleted Sharpen & Denoise.  I did initially uninstall ALL AL programs and delete them from Downloads.  Then ran cccleaner, rebooted, re-ran cccleaner, then re-downloaded all AI programs again, etc.  I followed your instructions completely and to a "T".  

It was only after the re-installation of ALL AI programs that the Denoise launch failure occurred so, only then did I try the process again with only Denoise.

Believe me, I would NOT try to shortcut your instructions and then question why something didn't work.  NEVER would I do that.  You have helped me way too many times for me to get cocky in any way.

I will go back and re-run the entire process once again, and again uninstalling ALL Topaz AI products, and this time I will even uninstall those Topaz programs which are not AI related as well to make sure everything Topaz is off my computer, and again go step by step through the deleting, cleaning, rebooting, re-cleaning, downloading, installing, etc.  and see if that will solve the problem.  Will let you know.

Hmm, OK. Uninstall DeNoise, redo the registry clean and reboot. then reinstall it. Make sure you only use the DeNoise entry in the Topaz Labs folder, not the one that might show up in the Topaz Labs LLC folder. You are the first of many I've coached through this problem where this procedure wasn't 100% effective. Topaz should pay me for doing their job

E.J. Peiker wrote: Make sure you only use the DeNoise entry in the Topaz Labs folder, not the one that might show up in the Topaz Labs LLC folder.  

OK, this is beginning to get frustrating now.  I didn't want to take any chances so I redid the whole thing from square one again.  I uninstalled every Topaz program, both AI & non-AI.  I deleted all Topaz programs in Downloads.  I also deleted all Topaz programs in Adobe> CS6> Plug-ins>.  I ran cccleaner three times instead of two just to be sure.  I rebooted in all the correct places. I reinstalled ALL Topaz programs again, but in three (3) instances (Studio2, Sharpen, and Denoise), they automatically installed only in Topaz Labs LLC, not Topaz Labs.  All of the other programs installed automatically into Topaz Labs.

That said, when I invoked both Denoise & Sharpen in CS6 filters each program opened, but each program was an older version.  I checked for updates thru Help, and was told I was running the latest versions, which I know is incorrect because they're what I used a while back, before the versions included an Auto choice.

How can I get these versions to upload directly to Topaz Labs?

Sorry to be a pain in the ass, I know you're not a Topaz employee, but you seem to know their programs better than they do.  I appreciate your help.

During the installation, the installer shows you where, i.e., the drive, folder, etc., the Topaz program by default will be installed. You can at that point select to install it on any drive and in any folder you want. If you don't want the installer install the program in folder "Topaz Labs LLC", then change it to/type in "Topaz Labs" instead. All my AI programs (including Studio 2) are now under "Topaz Labs" folder. That's where I tell Photoshop CS6 to located the Topaz plugins. One thing: the Topaz installer still will install its program data under "program data" folder and its sub-folders "Topaz Labs" and "Topaz Labs LLC, and whatever it wants to do. Just point Photoshop to where the executable files are.

DChan wrote:During the installation, the installer shows you where, i.e., the drive, folder, etc., the Topaz program by default will be installed. You can at that point select to install it on any drive and in any folder you want. If you don't want the installer install the program in folder "Topaz Labs LLC", then change it to/type in "Topaz Labs" instead. All my AI programs (including Studio 2) are now under "Topaz Labs" folder. That's where I tell Photoshop CS6 to located the Topaz plugins. One thing: the Topaz installer still will install its program data under "program data" folder and its sub-folders "Topaz Labs" and "Topaz Labs LLC, and whatever it wants to do. Just point Photoshop to where the executable files are.

Thanks for your note.  If I can just change the destination file for the installation, why can't I just move the programs to T Labs from T Labs LLC?  Also, as I mentioned above, both Denoise and Sharpen now work, even being in T labs LLC folder, but they just don't open as the newest versions.  Will them being installed in the T labs folder change that somehow?  I'm lost.

Bill Chambers wrote:... If I can just change the destination file for the installation, why can't I just move the programs to T Labs from T Labs LLC? [snip]

You mean copy the program from one folder and paste it to another? I believe it has something to do with Windows registry. Entry in the registry has to be changed also for the program to work.

Also, as I mentioned above, both Denoise and Sharpen now work, even being in T labs LLC folder, but they just don't open as the newest versions.  Will them being installed in the T labs folder change that somehow?  I'm lost. [snip]

That part I don't understand either. Even if the old version is opened, won't it then tell you a newer version is available right away? If you have for sure installed the latest version, can open it as a standalone but Photoshop still opens the old version, I think it has something to do with Photoshop itself. I'd say it can only do that if the old version is still somewhere on your computer. Guess you just have to re-install the programs again but make sure everything from the old version is gone.

As a side note, several years ago, if I wanted to have a clean re-install, I would go into Windows registry itself, search for all entries with, say, "Denoise" (or even "Topaz" if you want nothing to do with it anymore in it and delete them one by one. Not for the fainted heart

For anything more technical, ask E.J.

OK, this is what I have done. Based on the knowledge I could manually change the destination folder for my installs, I once again started from scratch.
My computer is Windows based, using Windows 10. It has a reasonably fast processor and 48 GB of RAM, and a GeForce 960 graphics card, which is the leak link, but it has always worked with the most current versions of any Topaz programs.

This is what I did this morning, in this order:
1. Uninstalled every Topaz product, AI & non-AI.
2. Went into Downloads and deleted any Topaz related entry.
3. Rebooted computer.
4. Ran the free version of cccleaner
5. Re-ran cccleaner again as directed.
6. Rebooted computer.
7. Just to be safe, I ran cccleaner again
8. Re-ran ccleaner once again.
9. Rebooted computer.
10. Logged into Topaz Labs website; went into "Purchased Products"
11. Downloaded & installed the following:
A. Studio 2, v. 2.3.1. I manually edited the destination folder to Topaz Labs (T Labs) from Topaz Labs LLC (T Labs LLC).
B. Adjust AI, v. 1.0.5
C. JpegtoRaw, v. 2.2.1
D. Mask AI, v. 1.1.0
D. Gigapixel AI, v. 4.4.5
E. Sharpen AI, v. 2.0.5. Again, I manually changed destination folder to T Labs from T Labs LLC.
F. DeNoise AI, v. 2.1.2. Again, I manually changed destination folder to T Labs from T Labs LLC.
12. I manually opened each program to make sure they all opened properly. Each program opened properly.
13. I opened PS CS6 & opened Preferences> Plug-ins and chose Topaz Labs. I exited CS6
14. I reopened PS CS6, opened an image, and went to filters and chose Denoise. Again, the UI shows the older UI, without the option to choose Auto. I cancelled Denoise and opened Sharpen AI (again, thru Filters). The UI for Sharpen AI is also the older UI, before the Auto option existed.
15. Upon opening both DeNoise & Sharpen, the versions are the same number as I downloaded. I checked both programs (through Help option) for upgrades and both say I was running the latest version, even though I know 100% that their UIs are NOT the latest versions.

This is very frustrating. I've looked on the Topaz forums but have gotten any satisfaction there as yet.

Is this a Windows machine?

Problem Solved. Thank you so much E.J. and DChan.

OK, sorry I didn't check in yesterday. It looks like you got it resolved. The Topaz installers are a complete mess. Anothr way to get around the problem that you ran into is to after uninstalling, going through all of your folders in both programs folder and physically deleting the Topaz folders, then doing another registry clean.

You can not just move programs in Windows without using the installer because of two things, the registries and the dynamic link libraries. They would be pointed to the wrong folder.

EGrav wrote:Is this a Windows machine?

As stated in both threads on this subject, this is a problem that only exists in the Windows versions due to the fact that Topaz changed the type of installer and install location between versions of the program without properly removing the older version and without properly updating the registries and dynamic link libraries to the new version.  they treat every installation as if it were a brand new installation of the program without cleaning up the mess left behind from previous versions.  The Mac world works fundamentally different in how and where program components are installed. This leaves Macs with different issues irrelevant to the conversation but this issue is not likely to occur.  But this is just sloppy programming on the part of Topaz.  They have some really cool programs but they are often insanely buggy and often require many updates before working properly.  Switching installer technology between versions without automatically and fully uninstalling a previous version is just full of pitfalls.

E.J. Peiker wrote:OK, sorry I didn't check in yesterday.  It looks like you got it resolved.  The Topaz installers are a complete mess.  Anothr way to get around the problem that you ran into is to after uninstalling, going through all of your folders in both programs folder and physically deleting the Topaz folders, then doing another registry clean.

You can not just move programs in Windows without using the installer because of two things, the registries and the dynamic link libraries.  They would be pointed to the wrong folder.

Thank for all of your help, E.J.  This issue was really freaky.  Every time I downloaded from "Purchased Products" it messed up and wouldn't work properly.  This happened through either 4 or 5 complete sets of your detailed instructions.  I was researching stuff on the Topaz Support page, and saw where I could download either Sharpen AI or Denoise AI there as well, and I basically just said "What the heck" and gave it a try and the Installer opened up and it showed it was going to download the program into "Topaz Labs".  Every other time, from Purchased Products, it downloaded into "Topaz Labs, LLC".  Anyway, I shut down the installer, went, back and uninstalled Denoise and Sharpen, deleted the folders in Downloads, and went through your instructions again, except this time I downloaded from the Support Page and, on both DeNoise and Sharpen, it downloaded correctly in "Topaz Labs", and it seems to work correctly once again.  

Your instructions were fantastic; I could have never figured all that out by myself.  Thanks so much. Life is once again good.

Tanks Bill, It took me about three weeks to get everything working right before I was able to devise a series of steps that worked on three different machines and then I had others try it and it worked for them too.

Bill Chambers wrote:Problem Solved.  Thank you so much E.J. and DChan.

Good to know !

Wow, what an ordeal! Based on past history, does anyone expect Topaz to straighten this out, or is that being naive? Obviously I would prefer to wait on installation if it might be corrected. Or is it unrealistic to expect them to admit the problem?

At any rate, thanks to everyone who worked on and posted this fix. If I go forward with the upgrade, at least I know what's coming.

Richard