Forum Lurking Reveals Product Pitfalls:
Hi Fred. Thanks for your bible of knowledge. I should have followed your advice and waited to install the latest Zone Alarm Pro. I did successfully install the new version on a newer P4 2.4ghz machine and all went pretty well. It was quirky in that it didn't seem to remember some of the permissions for which it constantly prompted. After a few weeks it seems to be ok.
My problem started when I decided to update the older version on an older P3 450mhz machine. I should have taken a cue when the download page suggested doing a clean install. I followed the advice given and the program just wouldn't install. It could not find the True Vector service and stopped every try thereafter. I gave up. I then tried to reinstall version 5.5 and I didn't even get a splash screen. After several attempts I had a "duh" moment and checked out the ZA pro forum. Hindsight being 20/20, I found that there were many folks who encountered many of the same problems I had experienced. In fact the heading of the forum page apologizes for the problems and assures that they are working to resolve the bugs in the program. One poster gave some guidance on getting the remnants of the failed ZA 6.0 installation out of the system32 folder so that Ver. 5.5 could be reinstalled. I followed the advice and again tried to reinstall the older version. All seemed to go well until the program restarted after a reboot. It could not find the True Vector service and while task manager indicated that the program was running there was no other indication that it was. Ending the task and trying to reopen the program did not work. I wrote to ZA and am awaiting a reply. I've since reverted to the Windows XP firewall in the meantime.
I fully agree with your advice to wait to install. And I would also recommend that whatever software one is trying to install or upgrade that they go to the vendor's forum for that program to see what issues there may be. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound (or more) of cure.
Again, thanks for all you do. Your newsletter and your columns are invaluable tools. ---John Cody.
Thanks, John. Your advice--- spend some quality time in the vendor's forum--- is a great, albeit underappreciated, way to dip your toe in the water before diving into a major software application or utility. Professional product reviews can be helpful, but despite the expertise of the reviewer, it's still one user's experience. Fora can reveal trends, giving you a gut-feel about whether or not new software may cause unwelcome problems.
In a similar vein, using Google's "Groups" search (accessible via the "More >>" link above the Google default text-entry box) lets you mine user experiences posted in "newsgroups" on Usenet; another treasure trove of real-life data.
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Other
Permalink
