[GIS] Windows 10 killed ArcGIS Desktop

arcgis-10.5arcgis-desktopinstallationwindows 10

I’m hoping to find a solution. I’m running Windows 10 on a Dell XPS, and I have a single install license of ArcMap 10.5. The Windows 10 fall 2017 Creators Update has killed ArcGIS Desktop. It can’t open after installing this update. However, ArcCatalog runs without any trouble.

I’d love any troubleshooting suggestions. I can run Desktop for a while after I roll back the Windows update, but since I can’t disable Windows updates it’s short lived, because ArcGIS Desktop starts crashing as soon as the update downloads.

Update: I checked in my license, uninstalled Arc, rebooted, reinstalled Arc, re-checked out my license, and Desktop still can't open. ArcCatalog still runs with no trouble.

Best Answer

call ESRI Support, they will provide your license key for you if you need to re-install and do not have it on-hand. But before uninstalling I would attempt a Repair Install and see if the files were moved, replaced by the updates.

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I searched for answers for awhile until the following discussion pointed me in the right direction: https://community.esri.com/thread/208892-arcmap-1041-freezes-in-windows-10

I haven't had full freezes or crashes as others report, but the problem appears to be related to the Group Policy updates received over my work's network. I verified this by manually updating the group policy by running GPUpdate.exe (windows key + type gpupdate), which immediately triggered the problem in ArcMap.

Group policy updates default to every 90 minutes with a +/- 30 random offset to prevent all computers hitting the servers at once. I tried fixing the problem by changing the frequency of group policy updates to daily, but they still occurred every ~90 minutes. What did work was enabling 'Turn off background refresh of group policy' which prevents group policy updates while the computer is in use. The group policy updates are then applied when you logoff (locking computer also seems to work). You might want to check with your IT dept to make sure this is okay.

To change this setting, you will need to run the group policy editor with administrative privileges, which you can access by hitting windows key, typing gpedit.msc, right-clicking the gpedit.msc file that appears, and 'run as administrator'. In the window that pops up go to Computer Configuration > administrative templates > system > group policy Right-click Turn off background refresh of group policy, select edit, and toggle the 'enabled' radio button. Hit okay, and close the windows.

You can monitor your group policy updates by running the 'event viewer' with admin privileges (win + type 'event viewer'), and going to Applications and Services Logs/Microsoft/Windows/GroupPolicy

I hope this helps. If you don't have admin rights, you might see if an admin will enable this setting for you.

Install ArcGIS Desktop ArcMap for a single user on Windows 10

Short answer, no. ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) only allows Per-Machine installation while ArcGIS Pro allows Per-Machine and Per-User installations.

The answer can be inferred through Esri's documentation. Reading through Installing ArcGIS Desktop on your computer, there is no mention of either per-machine or per-user installation, but the screenshots only show a per-machine installation. It isn't explicit, but the inference is accurate. Reading through Install ArcGIS Pro, per-machine and per-user installations are explicitly mentioned.

You can make either a per-machine installation (the default) or a per-user installation of ArcGIS Pro. A per-machine installation allows any user to run ArcGIS Pro on the computer on which it is installed. A per-user installation allows only the user who installs it to run the application.

Regardless of what the documentation states, what really matters is how the installer is configured because that is reality regardless of what a web page says. One can use PowerShell and WindowsInstaller COM to get a definitely answer.

PS C:\> $MsiPackages = @() # Array of paths to Pro and ArcMap installers
PS C:\> foreach ($MsiPath in $MsiPackages) {
>>     $MsiDb = (New-Object -ComObject "WindowsInstaller.Installer").OpenDatabase($MsiPath, 0)
>>     $MsiSql = @(
>>        "SELECT Property, Value FROM Property WHERE"
>>        "Property = 'ProductName' OR"
>>        "Property = 'ProductVersion' OR"
>>        "Property = 'ALLUSERS'"
>>     ) -join " "
>>     $MsiDbView = $MsiDb.OpenView($MsiSql)
>>     $MsiDbView.Execute()
>>     while ($MsiRecord = $MsiDbView.Fetch()) {
>>         "$($MsiRecord.StringData(1)), $($MsiRecord.StringData(2))"
>>     }
>>     ""
>> }
>>
ALLUSERS, 1
ProductName, ArcGIS Desktop 10.8.2
ProductVersion, 10.8.28388

ProductName, ArcGIS Pro
ProductVersion, 2.9.32739
ALLUSERS, 2

According to ALLUSERS property - Win32 apps:

An ALLUSERS property value of 1 specifies the per-machine installation context.

The value ALLUSERS=2 enables the system to reset the value of ALLUSERS, and the installation context, dependent upon the user's privileges and the version of Windows.

So, according to the Windows Installers themselves, ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) can only be installed Per-Machine while ArcGIS Pro can be either Per-Machine or Per-User.

Best Answer

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