There is a conflict with some program or service running, the configuration is invalid, or some other program or service is hung or unstable. There are several items that should be tried before trying to identify a third-party conflict.

• Windows may be unstable, and this is just a result of some other program that has hung, or a program that is waiting for something. Restart your machine, then retry, to remove this possibility.
• Return to Installation Defaults - it is possible the software is opening off-screen, or is not visible due to some configuration setting. (See product Setup | Configuration (Appearance [Advanced]) | Special options)
• Try MSCONFIG.EXE's Diagnostic Startup (Start | Run | MSCONFIG | Ok) or test in safe mode (see here for How to start Windows in Safe Mode) - if the software runs in safe mode, but not at your normal desktop, then you should refer to the following notes, and review the options in MSCONFIG.EXE.
• See if there is an Application, System, Hardware, or Service type error - to do this, you can review the System Logs - use Control Panel | System & Security (XP: Performance & Maintenance) (Vista: System & Maintenance) | Administrative Tools | View Error Logs (XP: Event Viewer) - review all Errors and Warnings to find offending item.
• Check for unfinished or incomplete updates

Use MSCONFIG.EXE (e.g. Start | Run | MSCONFIG.EXE). At the General Tab, try Diagnostic Startup first - if after a restart, things work as expected, then some non-Microsoft software is causing a conflict. Using Selective Startup, you can disable "Load System Services" and/or "Load Startup Items" to try and determine if it is a service or startup program causing the conflict. In the Services and Startup tabs, you can individually add or remove specific items .

In Windows Vista, the Windows Defender may be affecting something. If you go into Control Panel | Security | Windows Defender, then open the Tools (top middle), and go into Software Explorer, you can select various categories on that screen. Look at Startup Programs, and you can review and Disable/Enable all Startup programs. One user reported that they could not disable a program through this interface, but after finding and closing it, everything worked.

Here are anecdotal items we have recorded - every situation we have documented indicates this is a symptom of some other problem in the system, not a problem with IMG software.

• We have heard about issues with anti-virus programs. For example, "Symantec AntiVirus client service" and "DefWatch", when disabled in the Services tab, has resolved this problem.
• A user running Ad Aware reported: "Apparently everything was fine until the fourth version. It wasn't the program itself. It was when I turned on Ad Watch that I had the problem."
• Here is something we saw and were able to duplicate the problem - (Internet Explorer hung): Close all programs (task bar is clear), then open Task manager (right-click on the task bar, select Task Manager…) . If you see an iexplore.exe task, end this process (it shouldn't be running, since all programs are closed, and Internet Explorer isn't open). Now retry.
• "The moffice application that comes with ErgoClick Mouse Clicking Device could not be disabled, and when terminated, everything worked normally."
• "Also, turning off the IntelliAdmin service of Remote Control resolved this problem. "
• "Wavelink's Avalanche Enabler on XP embedded when disabled resolved this problem."
• "After a recent update to McAfee anti-virus, this problem occurred."
• "Disabling Kepware's Data Logging service resolved this problem."
• " I figured out if I turn off my Malwarebytes application it works fine."

The keyboard window itself is considered a "popup" class window in the system, and an overreaching popup blocker may stop all popup windows from being visible. From our experience, conflicts of these types can be problematic, and difficult to identify the exact cause. In the case of an anti-virus program, it may be settings issues, or white lists & black lists. Because an on-screen keyboard works at a low level to generate keystrokes that are seen by other applications, an overreaching security solution may prevent it from operating. You may wish to check for anti-virus program updates, or try default (or different) settings within the anti-virus program to prevent this type of conflict, or try a different anti-virus solution. We always recommend running as clean a system as possible. Unfortunately, resolving these conflicts is time consuming, and when multiple third-parties are involved, it goes beyond the normal level of technical support available. Essentially if the software runs in safe-mode, but not in your normal environment, then there is some driver or other software running that is causing this problem. Since we don't have access to your environment, we can't effectively help beyond suggesting the above methods provided by the operating system.

Notes:

• Depending on product, release version, OS version, and specific technical issue, some tech items are very specific, and some may span to other products/versions
• Downloadable files can also be accessed by anonymous FTP at ftp://downloads.imgpresents.com
• Older files are moved into a separate archive location - see notes/details/new location in *.archived.txt text file

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