Proseries Updater issues- has Proseries fixed it so that we can do our updates on our schedule yet? If so, do you deactivate the background updates?

[mm1]

Click on Update Installed Products - always says no updates and todays date

Background Updates says - greyed out - activate background updates while we can click on deactivate background updates (should I deactivate background updates?) 

Automatic Updates (task scheduler) is all greyed out

Refresh Updates - we can click on refresh updates for installed products and it will then update.

I have no clue what this background updater does or does not do. I do know that we have had lockups and cannot get into our tax software in the morning (we have multiple scheduled software updates overnight and obviously when Proseries decided to do updates without any input from us, there was a memory overload - it used up all the memory on the workstations. 

I need to be able to let my people manually update the workstations as they come onto the system as some have other tasks before tax returns are worked. By spreading it out manually I don't overload the internet connection so that it is so slow we cannot do anything on client's computers, etc.

[IRonMaN]

Do the deactivate thingy - it puts you back in the driver seat to control updates.

[mm1]

Thank you so much! I was hesitant to do that until I knew I would not take down my whole network because I was not sure Proseries had changed it.

[mm1]

I have a problem that I hope you can help solve. Some workstations do not have the deactivate ability - it is all greyed out. Nothing works on their workstations to get update except the Refresh Updates which they click on and it updates. But 10 minutes later if they click on the refresh updates it has another bunch of updates download. Multiple times a day refresh updates produces updates. I guess at this point I am going to have to call Proseries for help because it is a total mess on my system. 

There was a box that kept popping up that says something like "allow mre... to update your software after the updates were downloaded at which point you were supposed to click install now. They clicked on allow. I have no clue what this new "allow mre... " pop up box is because we have never had that come up in any prior year Proseries software. 

At this point we have done many returns and I need to protect my data files on the server if I have to Uninstall Proseries and reinstall it. I am about crazy at this point.

[IRonMaN · Accepted solution]

Have you had any luck going to the computer start menu, clicking on ProSeries and then click "repair updates"?  I had to do that for my own computer to get me to deactivate the updates.

[mm1]

I seem to have bigger issues involved and I am going to have to call Proseries Tech. In checking every setting (after a shutdown) I find that going to Tools, License Products, that my license is good but when I go to Help, about Proseries, click on the License box it says unable to locate your license, you need to reinstall Proseries. OMG this is unreal. This may be why everything is going haywire. I don't know but I am calling them. Thank you for trying to help.

[IRonMaN]

You betcha!

[mm1]

I used the Assistant to get a call back. The first two people who answered had no clue how to fix my issue. After going through the same thing twice the second agent transferred me to Techinical and finally was able to link with the agent through glance where they could see my screen. After renaming files and redoing settings, my problem was solved. I would tell you what files I renamed as Beth had me going through directories and renaming files but there were several and I could not stop to write them down. I apologize but at long last we are up and operational as we should be. 

[msmith7305]

I have done the Refresh Updates several times.

I have done the Repair Updates several times.

I have exited PS and re-booted numerous times.

I still have every option for doing my own updates greyed out.

Anyone have any other tricks to fix this? Looks like some are now able to control this.

Not me.

Thanks

[IRonMaN]

Try clicking on ProSeries from your computer start menu then right click and from the "more" selection, try running as administrator.  Then go to the updates in the program and see if that allows you to deactivate it.

[msmith7305]

IronMan -

Thanks for the reply but that did not change a thing.

[IRonMaN]

Sorry, it was worth a shot.

[dkh]

@msmith7305  Yesterday mine was still greyed but today it is not.     Maybe tomorrow will be your day. 😁

[msmith7305]

Nope. Not sure what is wrong. Does make me worry other updates were not installed!

[mm1]

I had some file corruptions when one (or more) of the Proseries auto updates updated our computers automatically overnight and clashed with other software scheduled to update overnight at the same time using up all the memory on the workstations. In any case, if you are allowing Proseries to automatically update your computer then you should be ok. My firm needed to manually update as there are not enough overnight hours to update scheduled software updates.

Auto updates are not a problem but to check that you have all the updates, you can go to Update, Refresh Updates and let Proseries check that all the latest updates are applied. It simply checks the updates on your computer against the auto updates they have issued and verifies nothing was missed. Run it only once a day because by refreshing it goes through the whole process again and again and it is misleading because it looks like it is updating your Proseries every time you refresh when in fact all it is doing is checking yours against theirs. If you are on Auto updates and you click on "update installed products" it never seems to find any updates, at least that is what I found on our system. 

If you are manually updating your computer, then you do an "update installed products" once a day, or at least that is what my staff are told to do, update each morning when logging on Proseries. 

To change from auto updates to manual updates you go under Updates then "background updates" and click on "Deactivate background updates". You can go back to Auto by "Activate background updates".

[mm1]

Yesterday (2-17-22) the AL legislature passed a new tax law for a Child Tax Credit for Alabama taxpayers and it is on the Governor's desk to sign. They made this new law retroactive to the 2021 tax year!!! They were so proud of that and said "if you have already filed your tax return then all you have to do is amend your return to get the rest of your money. If you haven't filed, you can wait until the Governor signs the bill and then file to get it." Obviously they haven't got a clue that filing as soon as the Governor signs just doesn't happen like that and they didn't consult the Tax Division because Alabama amended returns have to be paper-filed and cannot be e-filed. 

This (supposedly) only affects taxpayers who had Child Tax Credit on their federal returns.

At this point, there are no regulations, no instructions, no form revisions in the pike, it hasn't even been signed by the Governor. When the Alabama Revenue Dept manages to get that done, we would have to wait for Proseries to update Alabama so we are talking a long time to be able to actually file a correct Alabama return with the CTC.

Our firm has chosen to go ahead with filing AL returns, just letting the clients know that it is their choice to wait or to possibly have to file an amended AL return. We are of the belief that the Governor will not make all those poor first filers have to pay to have their returns amended and that she will get the Revenue Dept on board to do as the IRS did on the unemployment change and fix it internally so that no amended return has to be filed. 

[dkh]

@mm1  I feel for you.... what a mess to have thrown at you during tax season.    Last year Indiana taxpayers had to wait 6 weeks after the ARPA was enacted for our government to decide if they would follow with federal and not tax unemployment.