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We have been through the process several times now of attempting to uninstall ( but we have not link, as the uninstall failed whe it couldn't delete all files) We have cleaned out files, removed tables and re run the installer... but still get no Administrator|Components|Chronoforms menu. When we try to reinstall we get Components/com_chroncontact.... already in use by another component.

Where are the crumbs that are not getting removed when we delete all component | com_chron... files in components and admin.../components?

We are also dropping 2 tables and records in components table.

But there is still something blocking reinstall?

Any ideas? Anyone?

This has been driving me crazy for close to a week. As it turns out simply flushing the mysql cache and closing open mysql tables may have been the solution.

However, there is another warning... if you do manual hacks, upgrades or changes make sure that you leave files in the same state of ownership, permissions and no extra files or folders. Otherwise when you go to uninstall the uninstaller will fail.

Then you may be stuck in a situation where you need to go in via ftp of ssh and clean out files, dump tables and if you are going that far, don't forget to look for the chornoforms entries in the joomla components table.

Hi cms_sea,

A complete manual uninstall should be to remove (a) the 'components/com_chronocontact folder and all contents; (b) the 'administrator/components/com_chronocontact folder and all contents; (c) all jos_chrono. . . tables from the database; and (d) the record from joc_components with the name 'Chrono Forms'.

Bob

Exactly right. Thank you.

The one piece that we missed and others might run into as well was that we couldn't reinstall because of data that had was sitting in MySQL cache, apparently making the system think that the records or some piece of Chronoforms still existed. Flushing the cache, immediately resolved the problem.

Hi cms_sea,

Just for my info - how do you flush the MySQL cache? I don't think I've ever had to do that.

Bob

Hi cms_sea,

Just for my info - how do you flush the MySQL cache? I don't think I've ever had to do that.

Bob

I've been having the exact same problem as noted above, after an uninstall/reinstall the Chronoform component does not appear in the components menu in the J! administrator.

I have flushed both the query_cache and the mysql tables, but to now avail.

When I look at the jos_components table post-installation, I don't see a Chronoform component listed. This would seem to explain why I'm not seeing Chronoform on the components menu, but why would that record *not* get inserted during installation?

Just so you know, I'm installing the ChronoForm 2.5 for J!1.5 RC3.1 on a J! 1.5 installation that's running Legacy 1.0 mode.

One thing I did notice, which probably isn't necessarily related to the problem I'm having is that there was a com_chronoform folder left behind in the plugins directory. I removed all of this during my uninstall just to make sure the old install was all cleaned out, but it didn't make a difference on reinstallation.

Can anyone help point me in the right direction of finding out what's going on here?

Hi elewis33,

Sorry, there's nothing 'special' about the ChronoForms installation process. If you've removed both sets of old folders and there's no entry in the jos_components table then I don't know of any reason why the installation wouldn't run normally. This is particularly true if there's no installation error message.

I'm just wonderign if there might be some residual problem from the ChronoForms menu item 'adder' that is a bit buggy - I don't know where this places its entries though.

Bob

PS the folder in the PlugIns directory is presumably from the ChronoForms mambot.

My experience was that all files and tables related to chrono... had to be removed. The uninstaller will not deal with files that may have been added to the directory by hand, especially if there are ownership or permission issues and the db tables are not always removed when they are removed using the admin tools. This means you need to go into the folders and database and remove them by hand before re-running the installer.

I have been going into
phpMyAdmin
Show MySQL runtime information
Flush query cache

I was told by one person the way to make it go away is to simply set its size to zero, buy Joomla seems use make heavy use of both system cache and MySQL cache, and I am sure that there will be a performance hit if this cache is turned off permanently. So I have taken to flushing the cache when having difficulty creating or configuring new chronoforms, especially when the site seems to be non-responsive to changes I am making.

Hi elewis33,

Sorry, there's nothing 'special' about the ChronoForms installation process. If you've removed both sets of old folders and there's no entry in the jos_components table then I don't know of any reason why the installation wouldn't run normally. This is particularly true if there's no installation error message.

Yeah, there are no installation error messages after I do all the noted cleanup steps. I remove all the files manually, make sure there's not entry in the jos_components table and then reinstall. The install message comes up on the installer page which makes it all look good, but nothing appears on the Components menu or screen.

I'm just wonderign if there might be some residual problem from the ChronoForms menu item 'adder' that is a bit buggy - I don't know where this places its entries though.

I did add a menu item for one of my forms before the first uninstall. It is still there and I was wondering if that might be the cause of this difficulty as well.

It would be really helpful if we could trace down where that menu item is added. I did look through the jos_menu* tables last night and didn't see anything glaringly obvious. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be great.

PS the folder in the PlugIns directory is presumably from the ChronoForms mambot.

I thought that might be it. It didn't reappear after the reinstall, whereas the other folders (components/com_chronoforms) did.

Thanks for the reply and any additional pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Earl

GreyHead wrote:
I'm just wonderign if there might be some residual problem from the ChronoForms menu item 'adder' that is a bit buggy - I don't know where this places its entries though.

I did add a menu item for one of my forms before the first uninstall. It is still there and I was wondering if that might be the cause of this difficulty as well.

It would be really helpful if we could trace down where that menu item is added. I did look through the jos_menu* tables last night and didn't see anything glaringly obvious. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be great.

Indeed it was the lingering "menu adder" items that were left behind in the jos_components table. There were 2 items that I had to remove in order to get the installer to work. Once they were gone Chronoform installation ran normally *and* the component menu showed the Chronoform component.

So the million dollar question in my mind is why would the installer appear to work correctly and yet the jos_components table does not update correctly during installation simply because these lingering items are present?

Obviously the form that is supposed to be linked to the menu probably isn't there any more, but is that any reason to fail to properly complete the installation - and to do it without warning?

Thanks for the help from those that have done so.

Earl

Hi Earl,

Good question. I don't know if the ChronoForms uninstaller tries to remove the menu items - I haven't looked at it yet. I do know that the Joomla installer is a fairly dumb beast. It has a small number of error messages that it throws up and they aren't always accurate or helpful.

Bob

Bob, Max and others,

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm very appreciative of the help I've gotten here and the product that you provide. While it was somewhat daunting when I first looked at it I can now see how truly simple and effective Chronoforms really is.

I'm not a PHP or Joomla! guru by any stretch of the imagination. And the best news is that I don't have to be. I know my way around databases and filesystems and that's really enough to make Chronoforms do what I need right now.

And with a few little tweaks here and there (install/uninstall) it will become even better.

Earl

P.S. I've gladly paid for a licensed copy of your little tool. Thanks again.