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Act! displays a blank or white screen when launched

  • Updated
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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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
  • 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
  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. Right-click the Act! icon on your desktop and choose Properties
  3. Click the Compatibility tab
  4. Under Privilege Level, check the box next to Run this program as an administrator
  5. Click Apply, then click OK
  6. 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?



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:
 
  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. Depending on which version of windows and Act! you are using, browse to one of the following locations:
     
    • Act! Pro and Act! Premium:
      64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows
      32-bit: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows


    • Act! Premium (access via web):
      64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web
      32-bit: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Web

  3. Locate the Home folder and rename it to HomeOLD
  4. Attempt to launch Act! again to test


Damaged Act! Preferences
 
  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. 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


  3. Attempt to open Act! to test


Damaged act.exe.config file (actsage.exe.config in Sage ACT! 2013 and prior):
 
  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. Depending on your version of Act!, browse to one of the Act! install folders listed below:
     
    • Act! Pro:
      C:\ACT_Pro_[version]\ACTSTD\program files\ACT


    • Act! Premium:
      C:\ACT_Premium_[version]\ACTWG\program files\ACT
      •  

    • Act! Premium (access via web):
      C:\ACT_Premium_[version]\ActForWeb\program files\ACT

  3. 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

  4. 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! Pro and Act! Premium:
      C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows

      •  
    • 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

  5. Paste the Act.exe.config or ActSage.exe.config file that you copied from step 3 into this folder
  6. 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:
 
  1. Ensure Act is closed
  2. Depending on which version of windows and Act! you are using, browse to one of the following locations:
     
    • Act! Pro and Act! Premium:
      64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows\Plugins
      32-bit: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows\Plugins

      •  
    • 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

  3. Copy all of the files in the Plugins folder to a different location, then remove them from the Plugins folder
  4. 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

  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. On your keyboard, press the Windows Key + R to bring up the Run dialog
  3. Type services.msc into the Run dialog, then press Enter to bring up the Services console
  4. Locate and right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Stop
  5. 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
  6. 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

  7. 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!

  1. Ensure Act! is closed
  2. On your keyboard, press the Windows key + R
  3. In the Run dialog, type services.msc, then press Enter or click OK
  4. In the Services window, right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Stop
  5. Leaving the services window open, launch Windows Explorer
  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. Locate and rename KGyGaAvL.sys to KGyGaAvL.OLD
  9. 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
  10. 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

  11. Locate and rename Registration.xml to Registration.OLD
  12. Go back to the Local Services Window that you left open in step 5, right-click Protexis Licensing V2, then select Start
  13. 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
 
  1. Launch Windows Explorer, right-click Computer (or My Computer), then select Manage
  2. Under System Tools, drill down to Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application
  3. 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
 
  1. 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!?
     
  2. 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:



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


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