Administrative Privleges Problem

[Balishma]

Hey, just installed the postsql beta but have run into one huge problem

I can't open up PT3, whenever I double click it I get an error message titled "Admin Rights Required" saying "PokerTracker must be run with administrative privileges"....

well, my account is an administrative one.... even double checked that in the control panel... so I just don't know what to say...

[Josh]

Are you running Vista? If so, right-click the icon used to launch PT3, choose Properties, then go to the Shortcut tab. Click on "Advanced..." and check "Run as administrator". Save you changes and start PT3 again.

[mnz2000]

I take it that problems like this will be fixed before the final release? It would difficult to see how a newly designed program wouldn't support Vista in its basic configuration. Please consider Microsoft recommendations too, for example, you are not supposed to store user's files under the Program Files folder or access HKLM\...\ODBC.INI registry keys (which is a Windows 3.1 left-over anyway!).

I recommend reading "Designed for Windows XP spec" (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... layLang=en) and any relevant Vista-related specs from http://microsoft.mrmpslc.com/InnovateOnWindowsVista/.

[Josh]

There are certain things that PT3 must do that requires it to be run as admin. PT3 interacts with all sorts of directories and processes, it's not really possible to do it any other way.

[mnz2000]

There are always ways to do these "certain" things other way around. I have "Vista-readied" one large application myself. The easiest work-around was to move all admin-related things to the Setup program, other work-arounds generally require some redesign of the application.

Perhaps you could list the things that PT3 needs admin privileges for? That would also help a security-conscious user decide whether to grant those rights to PT3.

BTW, I have been running PT2 without Admin rights on Vista for more than half a year. Admin rights were only required for database creation, and even then I seriously question whether PT2 really needed to create system-wide ODBC datasources for its databases.

P.S. I know you have more important features on your To Do list for PT3. I just hope you don't forget simple things like this. Remember that many of your end-users are close to computer-illeterate!

[Balishma]

I'm running on XP, and this right click "run as" apears also on XP

but anyways, I figured out how to get into poker tracker, but not why...

I have two accounts on my computer that are classified as "administrators" for some reason the original account that I was using wouldn't open PT3, but my other administrator account would....

No clue why...

[Flatfish]

I was just about to file a bug report, but now i just second the motion that PT should be made Vista compatible. It's just a matter of proper programming practices, practices that haven't changed with vista, vista is just more picky about them in default configuration (which is a good thing). Requiring Admin Priviledges is bad and uneccessary (unless PT3 now directly reads the memory of the poker application or so, haven't finished installing it yet).

Installation and configuration of the Postgre SQL DB should be done during setup, not at first start up (it fails then unless you manually configure PT3 to run with admin priviledges)

[quotehyc]store user's files under the Program Files folder [/quotehyc]

Haven't confirmed that PT3 does that, but if it does it's definitely a bug.

[_dave_]

I don't think there is any way to get postgres up and running on Vista without admin privileges. I think there is little progress on the requirement to disable UAC either.

EDIT: I take that back - progress made for postgres 8.3 hopefully - and probably a useful document for people having issues with 8.2 / vista:

http://pgfoundry.org/tracker/index.php? ... 7&atid=126

[Flatfish]

That's why I would suggest setting up Postgres during the initial setup. It's perfectly acceptable for the inital setup to require admin privileges.
Well, if you don't intend to make PT3 run as a normal user, I guess it doesn't matter much... :/

Another comment on the setup experience:

Your average user will not (and shouldn't have to) understand what postgres and setting a port and usernames etc is all about. I suggest hiding those settings in the default install routine (still making them configurable in an advanced install for those users who do know). No point in even showing a user an option he/she won't understand.

[Flatfish]

Responding to your edit:

I didn't have a problem installing postgres, just pointing out that it is against good windows software developing practices to require a program to only run with admin privileges.