Client Issues

There are frequent posts in this forum regarding strange behavior by the Groupwise client. These issues range from "Unable to load file (whatever)" messages on startup to sudden crashes when some particular action is performed to weird address book problems. The common thread with these issues is that it only occurs on one or a few clients. If you're experiencing problems with all or most clients on your system this FAQ will probably not help you.

We're all used to the common Windows method of uninstalling and then reinstalling client software when it acts up. Usually this does not help with the Groupwise client. This is because the Groupwise client, like nearly all Win32 software, leaves a bunch of settings in the Registry when uninstalled. When you reinstall, it picks up the same settings and the same problem reoccurs.

The cure for this is to run the Groupwise Cleaning Agent after uninstalling. This handy little utility from Novell scrubs the broken or unwanted entries from the Registry. When you then reinstall the client many problems will be fixed.

Here's a link to the Cleaning Agent:
http://support.novell.com/servlet/filedownload/uns/pub/gwca55us.exe/
I know that this utility was originally intended for the GW 5.5 client, but it is very effective for the 6.0 and 6.5 client as well. I have not tested it on the GW 7.0 client.