Act! displays a blank or white screen when launched

Symptom:
When I try to open Act, it displays a blank screen.

Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web) (server-side only)
Version: 2012 and later

DISCLAIMER: An embedded third-party software component (Protexis) that facilitates licensing services was discontinued by the manufacturer at the end of 2018. As of January 1st, 2019, the impact of this is twofold:

Any steps in the below article relating to the Protexis service e.g. uninstalling/reinstalling or any action that would cause the software to re-register WILL PREVENT THE ACT! SOFTWARE FROM RUNNING.
Depending on what version of Act! you are running, there will be necessary steps that need to be taken to ensure uninterrupted access. Read the full statement here.

In order to perform these steps, please see the Knowledgebase article below for links to your version of Act!:

Act! Licensing Software Update

Cause:
This issue has multiple causes:

Windows User Account Control (UAC) stopping Act! from loading properly
Antivirus Exceptions have not been added
Unable to connect to Welcome Page
Damaged Act! Preferences
Damaged act.exe.config file
Act! Add-on or plugin file conflict
Incorrectly named DLL file
Damaged Protexis Licensing Service
Damaged installation of Microsoft .NET Framework
Damaged Act! installation

Solution:

Note: Swiftpage does not provide support for Microsoft Products. If you require assistance with configuring UAC or uninstalling or reinstalling Microsoft .NET, contact Microsoft or an IT Professional for assistance.

UAC is stopping Act! from loading properly

Option 1: Permanently run Act! as a Windows administrator

Ensure Act! is closed
Right-click the Act! icon on your desktop and choose Properties
Click the Compatibility tab
Under Privilege Level, check the box next to Run this program as an administrator
Click Apply, then click OK
Attempt to open Act! again to test

Option 2: Disable UAC

If running Act! as a Windows administrator is unsuccessful, you may need to disable UAC. For more information about UAC and how to disable it, refer to the following Microsoft documentation:

What are User Account Control Settings?

Antivirus Exceptions have not been Added

This problem can occur because of your antivirus program blocking Act! from running correctly.

Please follow the steps in this article to add exceptions to your antivirus program:

Using your antivirus/firewall software with Act!

Unable to connect to the Welcome Page

By default, the first screen that Act! tries to load when launching is the Welcome Page. If you are on a network which uses a proxy or has particularly restrictive access, this can interfere with Act!’s ability to load. You can work around this by using the steps below:

Ensure Act! is closed
Depending on which version of windows and Act! you are using, browse to one of the following locations:
- Act! Premium (access via web):
  64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web
  32-bit: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Web
Locate the Home folder and rename it to HomeOLD
Attempt to launch Act! again to test

Damaged Act! Preferences

Ensure Act! is closed
Rebuild the preferences using the steps in the following knowledgebase article:

How to rebuild the Act! Preferences file
Answer ID How to rebuild the Act! Preferences file

Attempt to open Act! to test

Damaged act.exe.config file (actsage.exe.config in Sage ACT! 2013 and prior):

Ensure Act! is closed
Depending on your version of Act!, browse to one of the Act! install folders listed below:
- Act! Premium (access via web):
  C:\ACT_Premium_[version]\ActForWeb\program files\ACT
Locate and copy the following file depending on your version of Act!
- Act! v16 and later: Act.exe.config
- Sage ACT! 2013 and prior: ActSage.exe.config
Browse to the folder where Act! is installed. By default, Act! is installed to the locations below based on what version of Act! you are using:
- Act! Premium (access via web):
  C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web
Note: If you are on a 32-bit computer select the Program Files folder instead of the Program Files (x86) folder
Paste the Act.exe.config or ActSage.exe.config file that you copied from step 3 into this folder
Attempt to open Act! again to test

Act! add-in or plugin file conflict
It is possible that an Act! add-in or plugin file could be causing a conflict that is not allowing Act! to load. Follow the steps below to resolve this issue:

Ensure Act is closed
Depending on which version of windows and Act! you are using, browse to one of the following locations:
- Act! Premium (access via web):
  64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web\Plugins
  32-bit: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Web\Plugins
Copy all of the files in the Plugins folder to a different location, then remove them from the Plugins folder
Attempt to open Act! to test

Note: If Act! opens after removing the files from the plugins folder, you can attempt to narrow down which file is causing the conflict by copying the files back into the folder one at a time.

Incorrectly named DLL file

Ensure Act! is closed
On your keyboard, press the Windows Key + R to bring up the Run dialog
Type services.msc into the Run dialog, then press Enter to bring up the Services console
Locate and right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Stop
Navigate to and open the appropriate folder:
- 32-bit OS: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Protexis\License Service
- 64-bit OS: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Protexis\License Service
Right-click on the PSIKey_2.dll file, select Rename, and rename it to PSIKey_3.dll.

Note: If there is already a PSIKey_3.dll file, skip to the next section
In the Services Console, right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Start

Damaged Registration Files

Note: These steps may require you to re-register Act!

Ensure Act! is closed
On your keyboard, press the Windows key + R
In the Run dialog, type services.msc, then press Enter or click OK
In the Services window, right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Stop
Leaving the services window open, launch Windows Explorer
Open the Folder options, go to the View tab, and ensure the following settings are configured:
- Ensure that the Show hidden files and folders option is enabled
- Ensure that the option to Hide file extensions for known file types is unchecked
- Ensure that the option to Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) is unchecked
Browse to and open the following folder, depending on what version of windows you are using:
- Windows Vista and later: C:\ProgramData\Protexis
- Windows XP, Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Protexis
Locate and rename KGyGaAvL.sys to KGyGaAvL.OLD
Locate one or more alpha-numeric “.sys” files with exactly 10 characters in the name (not including the .sys extension) and change the .sys file extension to OLD like you did in step 8 above
Browse to and open the following folder, depending on what version of Windows and Act! you are using
- Windows Vista and later:
  Act! versions 2013 and later: C:\ProgramData\Protexis
  Sage ACT! 2012: C:\ProgramData\ACT\ActData
- Windows XP, Server 2003:
  Act! versions 2012 and later: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ACT\Actdata
Locate and rename Registration.xml to Registration.OLD
Go back to the Local Services Window that you left open in step 5, right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Start
Close out of the Local Services window and attempt to open Act! again

Note: If the above steps don’t work, you may need to uninstall and reinstall Protexis. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I uninstall and reinstall the Protexis Licensing Service?
Answer ID How do I uninstall and reinstall the Protexis Licensing Service?

Damaged installation of Microsoft .NET Framework

Verifying that the error is caused by an issue with Microsoft .NET

Launch Windows Explorer, right-click Computer (or My Computer), then select Manage
Under System Tools, drill down to Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application
Look for the following error:

"Error Exception: Error in the application.Act.Framework.CumulativeUserCountException: Error in the application.
at Act.Framework.ActFramework.CheckLicense(User u, Int32 activeUsers, Boolean christenDB)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Error Exception: could not be found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80030002 (STG_E_FILENOTFOUND))System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80030002): could not be found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80030002 (STG_E_FILENOTFOUND))
at ADChronopher.SchedulerClass.LoadFromFile(String fileName)
at Act.UI.ActApplication.InitializeScheduler()
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Error Exception: Value was either too large or too small for an Int32.System.OverflowException: Value was either too large or too small for an Int32.
at System.Convert.ToInt32(Int64 value)
at Act.UI.ActApplication.InitializeUpdater()"

Uninstalling and reinstalling Microsoft .NET Framework

If the error message from the previous section was present, then it’s likely that your Microsoft .NET Framework installation is damaged. It may be necessary for you to either repair or uninstall and reinstall Microsoft .NET Framework in order to resolve this. For more information on repairing or uninstalling and reinstalling Microsoft .NET Framework, refer to Microsoft or your IT department for assistance.

Note: After repairing or uninstalling and reinstalling Microsoft .NET Framework, it may be necessary to uninstall and reinstall Act!. Refer to the Damaged Act! installation section of this article for instructions.

Damaged Act! installation

Uninstall Act!. For information on how to uninstall Act!, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I uninstall Act!?
Answer ID How do I uninstall Act!?
Reinstall Act!. For information on how to install Act!, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I install Act!?
Answer ID How do I install Act!?

PLEASE NOTE: If you are still experiencing problems relating to Protexis after going through this article, we would strongly recommend upgrading your Act! software to the latest version as the version you are currently using is now obsolete:

North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand: Act! Support Obsolescence Policy
Europe, UK and Rest of the World: Act! Support Obsolescence Policy

Please visit act.com to see all of the new features that Act! now has available.

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