d7x v18.4.18.0 Release Notes (Updated to include all v18.x.x.x)

[Release Build] v18.4.18.0 

Download via the d7x Manual (or update by launching d7x.)

• Lock Screen and Unlock Screen:  These d7x features have been added to the list of functions available to assign to your custom list boxes in the main interface.  (from the Config -> Custom Apps tab, or the “Add App / Function” floating window, select either “d7x ALL Functions” or “d7x Misc”, then type “lock” or “screen” in the search box.)
• Lock Screen:  Added prompt to verify that the tech knows the Technician Password before allowing the lock screen to be enabled.  This prompt will occur ONLY ONCE per session, and does NOT apply to the new custom Lock Screen option above when run during Auto Mode.
• Config UI:  Custom Apps and d7x internal functionality (Custom Apps tab) now displays the detailed description in the lower pane when clicked on (so you don’t have to switch back and forth between the Edit/View tab and the Assign App tab if that’s what you’re doing…)
• Config UI:  Improved search option on Custom Apps tab to include item descriptions for d7x internal functionality.
• Config UI:  (Servers / Email tab) Added link to our software FAQ on the website to explain troubleshooting Gmail (specifically regarding MFA and the “Less Secure Application” Google options, which also links directly to them on Google the account site.)
• Updated search engines:  (Config -> Browser/Search tab) Removed Scroogle (no longer in operation) and Dogpile (which at one time was worthy but no longer.)  Added Duckduckgo and Bing (for some reason…) Separated Google searches to specific English, Encrypted, and English/Encrypted options.
• Mail Password Functionality:  Restored functionality utilizing Nirsoft MailPV.exe for mail password gathering functionality.  This was previously disabled when Nir updated the app to remove command line arguments, unless you had below a certain version of that .exe still in your .\3rd Party Tools directory.  Since then Nir has released new versions that re-enable command line arguments, but they must be downloaded from a password restricted area; d7x has been updated to download the new MailPV.exe from that area so it can once again function as previously expected.
  • New password protected download functionality was implemented for this feature, and although this is not yet available as a configurable option for other custom apps, expect that to be added to the custom apps configuration interface in a near future update.  

 

• d7x and d7xRDT Crash:  Fixed a scenario where a semi-random crash would occur for certain users/configurations when either starting d7x or when saving the Config.  Since the issue occurred during d7x startup, it was also seen when deploying from the d7x Remote Deployment Tool.
• d7x Slow to Close if…:  Fixed an issue causing d7x to close far more slowly depending on how long it was left running.  For example on an average system if left running on the tech bench over the weekend, it could take up to 5 minutes or more to close itself.  This was most notable when a self-restart or Windows restart was invoked from within d7x after it had run for an extended period of time, and mostly a problem for d7x cleanup routines if a Windows restart was invoked from outside of d7x (e.g. by the user or a custom app.)
• Info Report / Product Keys:  Fixed an issue which caused an error “system cannot find the path specified” when generating an Info Report, specifically during the “Getting Product Keys” routine.
• Client ID and Reports Directory:  Fixed:  Removed a temporary work-around (in place to resolve some FTP upload issues) which was creating these values after filtering out many non-alphanumeric characters, most visibly this replaced spaces with underscores.
• Client ID/Ticket Number:  Fixed:  The “Client Name” and “Ticket Number” used in reporting were set to default values with each restart of d7x after the first session start, or any time the session start prompt wasn’t shown.  This caused issues or failures in uploading reports using incorrect filenames particularly when uploading for PC Repair Tracker integration (unless prior to uploading reports you manually invoked the session start prompt by clicking the “# / Name” label on the System Info tab, which did reset these to the proper values.)
• Lock Screen:  Fixed Lock Screen interface not displaying the password prompt when the unlock button was clicked, and also not resizing to cover the entire screen.
• Config UI:  Fixed issue where all hovering the mouse over any checkbox on the “Behavior/Updates” tab always displayed the “Activation Check” details in the lower description pane instead of the details for that specific item.
• Config UI:  Fixed issue where search option on Custom Apps tab sometimes displayed results without the search term.
• FTP Upload Failure with Integrated Apps:  Fixed an issue where uploading from the Integrated Apps tab (under the Config -> Custom Apps tab) would fail to upload files such as dSupportSuiteSetup.zip; also the FTP Upload functionality now accepts .exe as well as .zip files as might be expected.
• Space Freed / 0 bytes:  The v18.3.x.x releases reported 0 bytes deleted during any Maintenance based operation or when temp files would be deleted; the 0 byte message applied to user interface prompts as well as the Work Report, but was not respective of the space that was actually freed (as all features were working properly, only the reporting of freed space was incorrect afterwards.)
• Disable Windows Defender:  Restored the functionality to disable Windows Defender (Config > Behavior tab > General Behavior section) which was not working properly depending on the build of Windows 10 and possibly 8.x as well, by implementing some new methodologies to accomplish the task.
• d7x Desktop Shortcut:  (Config -> Session) is now corrected automatically after updating to a new version of d7x (due to the differing filenames.)

 

• Offline mode functionality has been removed entirely pending a rewrite, and will be re-introduced in a future update as separated from the current main interface.  The visible Offline tab remains in the current build but functions as described below.
  • Offline mode functionality is used in working with OSes on partitions other than the active/system partition, e.g. from ‘Tech Bench’ PCs or WinPE boot disks.
  • Please continue to use d7II.exe for all Offline related functionality.  With each new launch/instance of d7x, on every first click of the Offline tab you will be prompted to run d7II instead (from d7x\d7IIv3) which will download as necessary.
  • NOTE:  dFunk (aka MalwareScan) is NOT affected, so it can be launched via d7x itself without issue, or as a separate exe it can be launched by itself from the d7x\Modules directory (you would then point it to an offline OS installation by selecting the desired partition’s drive letter from the drop down selection box.)

 

The ‘Fully Loaded’ SFX available for download from the d7x Additional Downloads section in your dMZ account has been updated to the latest version, and includes the latest Custom Apps configurations as well as some new custom Menu defaults for the d7x main interface (e.g. Links, Folders, Registry, Search.)

Please be aware this is a fully pre-populated and configured copy of d7x and is only for NEW configurations of d7x.  If you extract this to an existing d7x directory it will overwrite ANY existing configuration, including logo files, with the exception of your product registration and Technician Password.

If you wish to start over fresh using this configuration, it is highly recommended to extract this to a NEW directory and when running d7x for the first time, use the Browse button to import your existing Reg.Settings.dat file from an already registered copy of d7II or d7x, which contains your product registration and Technician Password.

Always remember:  If you run d7II or d7x on any system and do not use “End Session” to close it, running any subsequent d7x version from any other location will in turn launch the d7x .exe that was used to start the session, as well as use it’s configuration instead.  Always “End Session” when closing d7II or d7x on any PC you intend to use/configure multiple copies on, prior to launching the d7x .exe in any other location.

 

• New:  Technician Password correction!  When extracting an encrypted config archive, d7x will now prompt if the technician password (used for archive encryption) is incorrect, allowing the option to retry as many times as necessary.
  • Previously when encrypted config extraction failed due to an incorrect password, d7x was launched with blank config triggering a first-time registration prompt on launch.  This has actually been an issue since d7 Premium with dCloud, but rarely a problem since typically no one changes that password.
  • By having few options in d7/d7II/d7x that require it’s manual input, this is why it can easily be forgotten and not become an issue for quite some time.  It usually takes a new major release (d7II, and now d7x) when those opting for the “clean download/setup” can bring this on with new configs created using different technician passwords entered during the initial registration process.
• New:  d7xRDT v18.3.17.1 and above will self-update it’s own binary when deployed, to ensure server connectivity with updates as changes are required.
• Fixed:  Failure to run scripts within custom app configurations that used the %scriptdir% variable to point outside of the 3rd Party Tools directory.  Possibly other cases were an issue resulting from the bug.  Further, some custom apps were failing without a download URL being configured.
• Fixed:  d7x sometimes failed to restart itself along with Windows.  Previous versions ran shutdown code which removed the startup entry responsible for launching d7x after a Windows restart; this also stalled auto mode operation until d7x was manually launched again.
• Fixed:  Issues and failures related to reboot options to put Windows in Safe Mode, including a failure with the custom internal functionality “Safe Mode w/Networking Mod” which is now working properly.
• Fixed web links opening in the d7x internal browser despite being configured to use the system default web browser.
• Fixed:  Starting with d7x v18.3.16.0 and d7xRDT v18.3.17.1 self-updating is once again functional.  All previous versions will fail to establish secure communications with our servers after Feb. 26th, 2018.
• Change:  The d7x window’s title bar previously forced the version display, ignoring user preference (this is by design for TestBuild and FastTrack releases, but now temporarily removed in FastTrack versions until the first Release version follows soon.)
• Change:  d7x v18.3.16.0 to d7x v18.3.17.1 do not completely force shutdown/restarts but allow waiting for apps to close within the Windows configured hung app timeout value (after which the system shutdown/restart is forced.)  While this change is as much of a feature as an issue in some cases, in others it should be reverted back to the old behavior soon, or allow for user configuration/prompt.  (Feedback on this change is appreciated.)
• More was done, and more is to come…

 

• New:  Config > Personalize contains two new settings “Display Config Name in Title Bar” and just under it “Include Config Date” will display the current config name and date used in the Config Mgmt Portal
• Fixed:  The existing setting in Config > Personalize to “Display d7x Path in Title Bar” is now working again.
• Fixed:   “Full Auto Mode” may repeatedly reload default settings for the “Audit” tab if d7x or Windows restarts for any reason, and the mode has already progressed to another tabs; the effect would be that the checked items will run all over again.
• Fixed:  Zip reports for upload to FTP server (most notably used with PC Repair Tracker integration) may fail depending on your configuration.  The issue is resolved in our testing; please report any further issues.

 

• New: Automatically assigns %computername% as the client %name% used in reporting. As a result, uploading reports (to FTP) for the current session will succeed without error when a client %name% is not set from the new session dialog (this dialog should also now appear by default in unconfigured copies of d7x.)
• New: d7x FTP code replaces d7II FTP code for downloading custom apps stored on a self-hosted FTP server. (TODO: Replace report uploads still using d7II FTP code.)
• Change:  Various d7II-specific code has been replaced with d7x-based replacement code. Affected areas include manipulation of user profile directories by various procedures, loading/saving file data, loading/saving of (d7II compatible) d7x configuration settings, and more. Benefits include stability with improved error handling, and speed with fewer disk read and especially disk write operations.
• Change:  d7II v3.x files (when downloaded automatically) are now saved to the d7x\d7IIv3 subdir; the d7x\Config dir is also automatically copied there to separate config settings as d7x transitions to using newer features and settings not compatible with d7II.  We would prefer you to copy your d7x\Config dir to the d7x\d7IIv3 dir after settings changes in d7x (and also copy the d7x\Modules to d7x\d7IIv3 if definitions files are altered through d7x.)    See the “d7II v3.6.87 Update Information” section above for more details.
• Change:  The “Start Session” config option “Automatically generate System Info Report” now checks Windows Activation for the report, even when Windows activation checks on Vista and above are disabled (also changed to become the new default) when loading the System Info tab.
• Change:  Moving reports to a UNC path (via End Session tab/config) and emailing the reports are affected by new code replacements, which is in preparation for modifications and new functionality.
• Fixed:  Audit and Tweaks Auto Mode were previously bugged and never triggered the flag to signal that they had completed all tasks.  As a result, changing the Auto Mode profiles (top right selection box) would fail with a user prompt explaining to stop the current task before switching modes.
• Fixed:  KillEmAll (v5 internal) had improved kill routines that were terminating critical Windows 10 processes (one in particular caused UI issues in d7x, Windows itself, and other apps) therefore internal logic was improved/added for additional Windows 10 processes.
• Fixed:  Windows activation checks on Vista and above were occurring more than necessary; this is an issue on Vista and above because it is a slow process and causes the d7x UI to hang while it is running.
• Fixed:  Some web links initiated from d7x may prompt you twice before opening the link.
• Fixed:  Fab’s AutoBackup not launching AutoBackup6ProTrial.exe after download.  Improved detection of existing AutoBackup[x]Pro.exe files.
• Fixed:  Issue:  (Manual Resolution Available)  Fab’s AutoBackup button continues to launch the extract utility if any AutoBackup[x]ProTrial.exe files are found in a \3rd Party Tools subdir from previous d7II/d7x v17.x usage.  A fix is planned, but deleting the file will resolve the problem entirely, as well as enable the new Fab’s AutoBackup fixes to former functionality and new behaviors.  The issue is now resolved.
• Fixed:  When a system was configured to use more than two DNS servers, the display on the System Info tab was not truncating the display info.
  • Remaining Issue:  Unfortunately the hover tooltip and lower status display is not displaying the full list of DNS servers.
• Fixed:  Session start tasks were not running when launched from d7xRDT (Remote Deployment Tool) as configured, including asking for client name/ticket number, installing context menus for explorer, creating the desktop icon, correcting time zone, etc.
• Fixed:  Incorrect reporting of drive space freed by temp file and maintenance routines (most routines were reporting available space after the cleanup, not space freed by the cleanup!) 
• Fixed:  End Session tab settings not loading from the d7x safe mode UI, as well as (re)loading on the normal UI every time the tab is switched back to End Session, and reloading again when actually ending session if triggered from the top right red X button, but after the button is pressed, negating any manual/temporary config change you may have made on that tab previously.
• Fixed-ish:  Custom Apps and other integrated apps (e.g. Fab’s AutoBackup) stored on Self-Hosted FTP servers fail to download if located in the root FTP path (e.g. “/CustomApp.zip”) and not a subdir.
  • UPDATE:  See the first item in KNOWN ISSUES for a resolution.