Troubleshooting Installation issues on Windows OS

Can’t download the AimBetter_Agent.zip program

This is very unusual, but if you have this problem, please inform our support team of it at [email protected].

Check that your Windows OS user has Administrator privileges

Open the Command Prompt by clicking on the Windows Start menu and typing “cmd” in the search box. Type the following command:

net localgroup administrators

If your user is not in the Administrator list, it doesn’t have administrator privileges.

To install the AimBetter Agent, you need Administrator privileges. After installation, you can switch the user that runs the AimBetter Agent service to a  Minimal Permissions User.

Can’t run the AimBetter_Agent.zip program

— Possibility 1- Lack of administrator privileges

Check that your Windows OS user has administrator privileges to install this program, as explained in the above session.

— Possibility 2- Some anti-virus or security programs may be blocking it from running.

You should check if some EDR or anti-virus program is impeding the running of the AimBetter_Agent program.

Enable every configuration related to “aimbetter” or “montarget” domains.

— Possibility 3- Some previous monitoring programs may be blocking it from running.

In some cases, a previous monitoring program may still be enabled, blocking the AimNetter_Agent.zip from running.

To check if this is the case, enter the Windows Event Viewer application and go to Windows Logs -> Application -> Path –> COR_ENABLE_PROFILING . If the value beside this variable is 1, change it to 0. Click OK to save the change and try again to run the AimBetter_Agent.zip program.

After checking that there is no problem with administrator privileges or blocking programs, if you still cannot run the AimBetter_Agent program, please inform our support team at [email protected].

The AimBetter Agent service keeps stopping

In a local installation where the AimBetter Agent Service keeps stopping although you manually restart it, you should proceed with the following checks.

–Possibility 1- There was some change in the service user

Check that the AimBetter Agent Service user has not changed his password or permission access.

You can try another user with the necessary permissions (Admin or minimum required permissions) to ensure the problem is not with the user’s password or permission.

–Possibility 2- An antivirus program is blocking the AimBetter Agent service

Check if there was some Antivirus installation or update that can be blocking the AimBetter Agent Service.

Go to Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> Application and check if there is an antivirus-related error.

–Possibility 3- The AimBetter.Agent.Worker is suspended

Check in the Task Manager app that the Aimbetter.Agent.Worker.exe is not Suspended.

In case its status is Suspended, go to Details and click on End process tree as shown below.

If this procedure doesn’t succeed, you should try to end the Aimbetter.Agent.Worker.exe process tree through the CMD with the following command:

taskkill /im Aimbetter.Agent.Worker.exe /t /f

or

taskkill /pid processid /t /f

where pid processid should be the PID found in the task manager.

If an error still indicates that a child process is open, you should take the child process number from the error message and proceed with the Task Manager check from the beginning for this child process.

If you receive an error message indicating that the child process doesn’t exist while trying to stop it, please restart the server.

If all the previous checks and procedures didn’t solve this issue, please send the AimBetter folder logs following these instructions. These logs will help us better understand the problem and provide a solution.

The AimBetter Configuration App

After running the AimBetter_Agent program, the AimBetter Configuration App will automatically open and ask for the information needed to complete the installation.

If there is some issue with the installation from this stage on, red lights in the AimBetter Configuration App will indicate the reason.

— Always check the “More Info” link or button

When there is a “More Info” button, or an “info” icon beside the red light, you should click it to receive an indication the problem probable reason.

— Restart the AimBetter Agent Service

Don’t have a License key

— Possibility 1 – You don’t have an Account

You should create an account using the Signup form.

After filling up this form, you should receive an “AimBetter Account Confirmation” email in which you’ll be requested to verify your email address.

After the verification email, you should receive a “Welcome to AimBetter” email with your License Key and Identifier.

— Possibility 2 – You have an account but cannot find the License key

You can try looking for the “Welcome to AimBetter” email in your inbox. If you still can’t find it, please contact the AimBetter team at [email protected], attaching your email or phone number.

Make sure to insert the License key and Identifier exactly as they appear in your “Welcome to AimBetter” email, without spaces or missing characters.

Proxy Configuration

If there is a Proxy server that needs to be configured, a popup message will appear requesting to insert the Proxy address. You should insert the exact details of the Proxy server in this window and click OK.

Click here for more details about Proxy Configuration.

Server Status light is red

Click on the “More Info” button or the “info” icon beside the Server Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – The server is down

Check that the Server is on.

— Possibility 2 – The server IP/Name is wrong

If the IP/Name inserted when adding a server in the AImBetter Configuration program is not correct, a “Failed to Connect to server” error will appear.

If the installation is “Local”, insert a dot ( . ) to the IP/Name field.

To check the correct name of the server, you can open the cmd and type hostname.

You can edit the IP/ Name by clicking on the Edit button at the end of the Server Status row beneath the Password field.

— Possibility 3 – The server clock is not sync

If the message when clicking “More Info” is “Client time and API time out of sync” (as in the following image), it is because the server’s clock is not synchronized with AimBetter’s API clock, which follows the NIST-F1 official standard. The solution is configuring the server clock to the right time – this can only be done by the customer himself, adjusting the server’s clock to the correct time.

— Possibility 4 – TLS 1.2 is not enabled

If the message when clicking “More Info” relates to a “Secure Channel Failure” (as in the following image), you should check if TLS 1.2 is enabled.

Service Status light is red

Click on “info” beside the Service Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – Lack of administrator privileges

When installing the AimBetter Agent, you should be logged in with a user that has administrator privileges. To check that the user you are logged in has administrator privileges, make the following check.

After installation, you can change the user who runs the AimBetter Agent Service to one with the minimum required permissions.

Ensure the AimBetter Agent service user has reading and writing permission over the AimBetter folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\AimBetter).

— Possibility 2- Some programs may be blocking it from running.

You should check if an EDR or anti-virus program is impeding the running of the AimBetter_Agent service or deleting files in the AimBetter folder created during the installation.

Enable every configuration related to “aimbetter” or “montarget” domains or the AimBetter folder C:\Program Files (x86)\AimBetter.

— Possibility 3 – There is some broken performance counter

After checking that the user running the AimBetter Agent has all the minimum required user permissions if the Service Status is still red, this may be caused by some broken performance counter. The solution is to rebuild these counters through the following procedure.

Open CMD (command prompt program) as administrator, and run the following scripts:

Script 1

cd c:\windows\system32
     lodctr /R

Script 2

cd c:\windows\sysWOW64
     lodctr /R

API Status light is red

Click on “info” beside the API Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – There is a Proxy server that needs to be configured

Check Proxy Settings.

— Possibility 2 – There is some Firewall blocking

Check Firewall Settings requirements.

–Possibility 3 – There is some Antivirus or other Cybersecurity application blocking

Check that access to https://api.aimbetter.com/ is allowed in the cybersecurity application configuration.

To check this access, follow these steps:

• Open Command Prompt (type cmd on the Windows search).
• Type powershell to launch PowerShell.
• Type the following script:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://api.aimbetter.com

The following image is an example of a message that informs that access to https://api.aimbetter.com/ is blocked.

If the access is ok, you should see the following result.

— Possibility 4 – No Internet outbound traffic through Port 443 to https://api.aimbetter.com/

Check Agent’s System requirements, especially regarding Internet access (Port 443).

As part of these requirements, check that the .NET framework is updated and that TLS 1.2 is supported

— Possibility 5 – The AimBetter Agent Service has stopped

Check AimBetter Agent Service Settings.

Monitor Status light is red

Click on the “More Info” button besides the WMI Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – Lack of administrator privileges

When installing the AimBetter Agent, you should be logged in as a user with administrator privileges. To check that the user you are logged in as has administrator privileges, make the following check.

After installation, you can change the user who runs the AimBetter Agent Service to one with the minimum required permissions.

Ensure the AimBetter Agent service user has reading and writing permission over the AimBetter folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\AimBetter).

— Possibility 2 – There is some Firewall blocking

Check Firewall Settings requirements.

— Possibility 3 – The DCOM Settings are not correct

Check DCOM Settings and Ping requirements.

— Possibility 4 – The AimBetter Agent Service is not running

Check AimBetter Agent Service Settings.

— Possibility 5 – The WMI Services are not running

Check WMI Services Settings.

— Possibility 6 – There is some issue with WMI that needs to be investigated

We recommend you proceed with this WMI Debug test.

— Possibility 7 – There is some issue with the Analyze Tab

Check if all the data is displayed beside the Analyze Tab. For further information on how to troubleshoot Analyze Tab issues, check here.

Linux Server Status light is red

Click on the “More Info” button besides the Linux Server Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – The Server is unreachable

Ensure the Server’s IP or Name is correct in the IP/Name field.

The AimBetter Agent may be unable to connect to the server for various reasons, including the server’s offline status, network connection problems, or issues with the server’s hardware, software, or the client’s network settings.Cli

Clicking on “More Info” will give you details about the reason as in this example.

— Possibility 2 – Linux credentials issue

You should have a new Linux User created for AimBetter – check “Creating a Linux User.”

Ensure the Linux username and password are correct.

If there is a credentials issue, clicking on “More Info” will show a message related to permission, as in this example.

— Possibility 3 – A Linux command package is missing

AimBetter executes some Linux commands that require an installation of the correspondent package.

In the following example, the “More Info” shows that the package that includes the “iostat” command must be installed.

SQL Server Status light is red

Click on the “More Info” button besides the SQL Server Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – There is some Firewall blocking

Check Firewall Settings requirements.

— Possibility 2 – The AimBetter Agent Service is not running

Check AimBetter Agent Service Settings.

— Possibility 3 – MSSQL Credentials issue

Check MSSQL Credentials.

— Possibility 4 – MSSQL Port Settings issue

Check MSSQL Port Settings.

— Possibility 5 – SQL Server Services are not running

Check SQL Services Settings.

Oracle Status light is red

Click on the “More Info” button besides the SQL Server Status red light to get an indication of the issue probable reason

— Possibility 1 – There is some Firewall blocking

Check Firewall Settings requirements.

— Possibility 2 – The AimBetter Agent Service is not running

Check AimBetter Agent Service Settings.

— Possibility 3 – Oracle Services are not running

Check Oracle Services Settings.

— Possibility 1 – There is some Firewall blocking

Web Server installation issues

— Possibility 1 – Error during the installation: Program blocked by group policy

Check IIS – Error: Program blocked by group policy

— Possibility 2 – Error when accessing the website: Could not load file or assembly … or one of its dependencies

Check IIS – Error: Could not load file or assembly … or one of its dependencies

— Possibility 3 – There are multiple sites in the IIS server, and there is an error when accessing one or more of these sites (not all)

Check IIS – Error when accessing one or more sites on a multiple sites IIS server

— Possibility 4 – No data in AppPools and Websites Tabs

Check IIS – No data in AppPools and Websites Tabs

Still couldn’t fix the issue? Send us AimBetter folder logs

If the previous checks and procedures didn’t solve all the issues with the AimBetter Installation, please follow the next steps:

— Step 1 – Stop the AimBetter Agent service

— Step 2 – Go to the AimBetter Agent log folder and delete all its files.

The path to this folder is C:\Program Files (x86)\AimBetter\Monitor\Agent_log

— Step 3 – Restart the AimBetter Agent Service

To restart the AimBetter Agent service, go to “Settings” at the top right of the AimBetter Configuration, click on “Stop,” and then on “Start.”

— Step 4 – Go to the AimBetter Agent log folder, copy all its files, and send them to us.

Go once more to the AimBetter Agent log folder in this path C:\Program Files (x86)\AimBetter\Monitor\Agent_log

Copy all its files and send them to [email protected]. We’ll be in contact with you shortly to give further assistance.