ARC GIS 10 loads but will not open

[EamonSullivan]

Hello,
    I've being having a problem installing arc gis 10.  After downloading through a 1 year evaluation, when opening ARC MAP the program seems to just stall.
ARCMAP will open, initialize application... and stall. I uninstalled Arc GIS 9.3 for 10, my computer ran 9.3 just fine.


    I am not sure if it is a installation problem or a computer problem??? Any suggestions are deeply appreciated. Thanks for any help.
James



My computer currently running:
   Vista Premium 64 bit SP2
    Intel Core DUO 2.66 GHZ
    6.0 gb ram
    250 gb hard drive
    nvidia geforce gt 130m

[V_StuartFoote]

Eamon,

At this point for you, I'd suggest an attempt at a reinstallation on your system that has been completely cleaned of ArcGIS 9.x and 10.0

Vista is a little more finicky than Windows 7, but ArcGIS can be loaded and run with out too much fuss. Your system specifications look sufficient, but it is always worth while to update OS and drivers--especially for the nVidia Graphics card. It is critical that you run the installation from a user account with Administrators group membership and that if possible you disable UAC for the account.


--Authorization code--
Yours is an Education edition 365-day evaluation--you did receive your EVAxxxxxxxx authorization number, and you did activate it, correct? If you are unsure, follow steps these links:


[INDENT]http://www.esri.com/apps/products/arcgis/eval10/evalhelp/index.cfm#install
http://www.esri.com/software/landing_pages/arcgis/desktop-ed.html[/INDENT]


If you were able to make it through the installation and at the end were presented with the Authorization Now... wizard, if your system completed the authorization exchanges you must run the ArcGIS Administrator tool from the start menu and in the "Desktop" panel select the Deauthorize button. Allow that to complete exchanges with ESRI. That will release your authorization code so you can reuse it after a clean installation.

--Uninstall--
Any 3rd Party extensions would need to be uninstalled first. And then the old ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.x should have been removed completely prior to starting the ArcGIS 10.0 installation. Now everything should come off. Running the ArcGIS 10.0 cleanup utility removes the prior versions. But some components get left behind that can interfere. That includes the C:\Program Data\ESRI and the C:\Users\<accountName>\AppData\Roaming\ESRI, if any thing is left there it probably should be deleted or at least renamed. In the Windows registry--run regedit.exe from an elevated command prompt--delete the HKLM\Software\ESRI and HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\ESRI keys. And also delete the HKCU\Software\ESRI keys for each user logon present on the system. A couple of rounds of string searchs of the registry for "ARCGIS" and for "ESRI" should reveal any residual components to be deleted. It is possible to complete a removal manually, but it is tedious and too easy to corrupt the registry--I don't recommend it. Rather, do as much using add/remove programs or the ESRI clean up utility as possible--the ESRI KB 28709 can be helpful if the installer packages remain on the system.

Use Add/Remove programs to uninstall the Python2.5 from ArcGIS 9.x and Python2.6 from ArcGIS 10.0 if present.

--Vista OS preparation--
Note that Vista only came with .NET Framework 3.0, so if that had not been updated prior to the ArcGIS Desktop 10.0 installation--the installer would have attempted to install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. That can go awry--so you may need to verify that the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is correctly installed and patched--the validation tool by Aaron Stebman is kind of the standard for doing so: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2008/10/13/8999004.aspx

Finally Vista, as does Windows 7, can run out of system resources--specifically space in the system registry for recording additional configuration and component registrations. Unfortunately, as that occurs available space in the registry is not dynamically made available. The Microsoft Windows Installer can error and hang the installation. It may seem like the install ran to completion, but it did not. This can lead to sporadic errors when attempting to run any of the ArcGIS components. This is preventable by expanding the RegistrySizeLimit value--a DWORD (32-bit) value-- in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control key using the regedit command. Edit it to set a Hex value of "ffffffff" (8 - "f"s), create the value if not yet present. Setting this value is essential for a problem free installation on both Vista and Windows 7--not an issue on Windows XP that handles dynamic registry resize smoothly.

--ArcGIS 10.0 install--
Make those preparations, and starting with a system clean of any ArcGIS components, you are ready for a fresh installation. Run the installation again from an Administrators group account using an elevated command prompt. The ESRI.exe installation panel in the .ISO DVD is fairly reliable for doing the installation. But if you continue to have problems, you can run installation of each component from a command window with the msiexec.exe /i command and include detailed logging to track any issues.

I know it looks like a lot of effort, but backing it all out and starting clean will be more efficient resulting in a stable ArcGIS Desktop 10.0 installation. And, when you finish the install, immediately proceed to install Desktop 10.0 SP3 (or then soon to be released SP4)

Stuart

[EamonSullivan]

Stuart,
Thanks so much for your indepth guide. I will give it a try when I am not it class.

    I will be certain to let you know how the reinstall goes. But before I begin, I don't want to lose my evaluation, will the deauthurize button lose my evaluation? Will it still be valid after the uninstall and reinstall?

Thanks Again,
Eamon

[V_StuartFoote]

Eamon,

That is the way it is supposed to function when you "Deauthorize". If it does not rearm, you'll receive a licensing error -- 7288. At which point either obtain a new authorization number from your instructor, or open a support request with ESRI Customer Service to have the authorization number rearmed.  You'll need to provide them with your ESRI Global ID, the Authorization number and if possible the Customer ID of your school.

Stuart

[RomanFedorowycz]

Hello,
I have a similar problem, but contrary to Eamon, all other components of ArcGIS open and function properly(ArcGlobe, ArcScene, Arc Catalog) except for ArcMap, wich initializes but never opens. I am running vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, Nvidia Geforce 8400M GS, 4gb ram and 250gb hard drive. ArcGIs 9.2 worked fine on this computer and was uninstalled before installation could begin. Do I need to follow all the steps as described in the previous pos, or is there an easier way.

[Abride_Buys]

Hi pomkofed,

I have exactly the same problem as you. Did you ever find a solution?

Thanks
Abri

[CindyMeyer]

Help!  I am having a similar problem trying to install the education version of ArcGIS 10.  I have unistalled, reinstalled, updated .net, unistalled, reinstalled, deauthorized and authorized, rebooted....  I am running out of options.  I have been using ESRI software for several years, and I just can't get this to run.  ArcCatalog runs, but when ArcMap initializing a warning pops up saying it must close.  I can not wait 10-14 days for a new DVD. I have a very tight timeline to finish my dissertation analysis.  Please help!
Thank you,
Cindy

[curtvprice]

Help!  I am having a similar problem trying to install the education version of ArcGIS 10.  I have unistalled, reinstalled, updated .net, unistalled, reinstalled, deauthorized and authorized, rebooted....  

Some random thoughts...

Have you deleted your user profile (rename %APPDATA%\ESRI to ESRI-old)?

I learned at the esri conference that you can start ArcMap with the /log option to write to a log file. This can be helpful in figuring out what's up if a user profile reset doesn't do the trick.

Here's a trick that may help too, if the default map is breaking ArcMap:

HowTo:  Disable loading last opened map on ArcMap startup
http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/36193

On the license end of things, (where this thread started!) open ArcGIS Administrator and see what it says about your license status.

[BubbaHey]

Curtis is right, I have seen a corrupt user profile cause this issue.

[CindyMeyer]

Thank you Curt,
I will try this, but I am not sure where to find it to change it?
Cheers Cindy

Some random thoughts...

Have you deleted your user profile (rename %APPDATA%\ESRI to ESRI-old)?

s.