Background

Total Visual Agent lets you easily schedule and execute the repetitive tasks your databases need. Schedule a wide range of tasks and run them in a fully automated and audited manner. Set start times and end times, and receive emails if anything goes wrong.

Problem

We have received reports that Total Visual Agent 2016 is not running scheduled tasks. Tasks may not run, or events and log files may not seem to update properly in the Total Visual Agent Manager or in the Activity Log.

Note how in the above figure, there was a task scheduled to run at 10:40AM, however, there is no processing activity and Total Visual Agent simply re-schedules for the following day.

Cause Due to Windows Permissions

Total Visual Agent requires administrator permissions during installation, and stores its shared settings database (TVAgent16.MDB) in the C:\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0 folder. This is confirmed if Total Visual Agent runs after installation.

However, if a user doesn't have Full Control to the C:\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0 folder, Windows automatically creates a replica of the folder in the user’s VirtualStore folder: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0

Changes that you make with the Total Visual Agent Manager get saved in the TVAgent16.MDB file there rather than the original database in C:\ProgramData.

When the Monitor or Service tries to execute the events, it can't find them since it expects the database to be in the C:\ProgramData folder.

Not an Issue in Total Visual Agent 2021

Note that this issue was one of many new features introduced in Total Visual Agent 2021. Visit the New Features page for more information. Existing Total Visual Agent customers can get the new version at a discounted upgrade price.

Solution

The following steps correct the problem. There are two sections. The first is confirming the user account has sufficient permissions. The second is backing up and restoring your settings.

Confirming the user account

Using Windows File Explorer, ensure that the user account has Full Control to  C:\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0

Note that simply because a user is in the Administrator's group, does not mean that Full Control is applied to the target folder.

Add the User to the List

1. If the user account is not in the Security tab, add them by clicking on the Edit Button:
   
2. Click the Add Button
3. Type the user name and click Check Names.
   
4. Click OK, then make sure to give the user Full Control, click OK

Backing Up and Recovering Your Settings

Your settings database contains your existing work defining databases, events, and tasks. It would be a shame to lose it. If you had multiple users running the machine, your settings may be in the TVAgent16.MDB database in both the C:\ProgramData and Virtual Store folders. It's best to back them up before proceeding.

There are two Total Visual Agent databases in the folder:

• TVAgent16.MDB is the settings database where your events and schedules are stored.
• TVAgent-Data.MDB is the activity log file.

Backup the two databases in both folders:

• C:\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0
• C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0

If you have data in the Virtual Store folder, your settings are most likely there:

1. Using Windows File Explorer, copy the TVAgent16.MDB and TVAgent-Data.MDB files from the C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0 to C:\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0
2. Rename the Virtual Store folder C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ProgramData\FMS\Total Visual Agent\16.0 folder to something else (e.g. 16.0-bak)

If you do not rename the Virtual Store folder, Windows continues to direct Total Visual Agent to the Virtual Store and the problem remains. By not seeing the files in the Virtual Store, Windows correctly uses the files in the C:\ProgramData folder.

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