Overview
Patches are product updates released to fix known issues in MailEssentials.
This article provides a manual workaround when patches are failing to install automatically through the Configuration UI.
Diagnosis
Failing product updates/patches will result in a greyed-out button stuck at "Installing" when you click on the patch name on the Updates tab at GFI MailEssentials > General Settings > Product Updates.
The updates tab lists all patches available and all those that have been installed or failed installation. Further details on patches that failed to install can be obtained from the debug logs for the PatchChecker plugin located at ..\GFI\MailEssentials\Attendant\debuglogs\PatchPlugin.log.
Pay close attention to any error message or warning on this debug log file. Some sample errors that may be encountered are shown below:
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status: NotTimeValid"
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status info: A required certificate is not within its validity period when verifying against the current system clock or the timestamp in the signed file.
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status: RevocationStatusUnknown"
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status info: The revocation function was unable to check revocation for the certificate.
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status: OfflineRevocation"
"warning","PatchPlugin","Warning: Element error status info: The revocation function was unable to check revocation because the revocation server was offline.
Solution
Updates are essential and keep your MailEssentials server free from any known issues and security threats. Older versions of the product have known issues therefore the first recommendation is to ensure that you are running the latest release before proceeding with the manual update steps outlined below:
- Browse to
..\GFI\MailEssentials\Patches\directory and open the PatchDetails.xml file in a text editor. - Locate the
<PatchRelease>tag for the patch that is failing to install (e.g. Patch 7). - Look for the line that contains a URL and prefixed by a
<url>tag similar to: <url>http://cdnpatches.gfi.com/me/...
- Copy the actual URL into a browser (without the <url> </url> tags) to download the .cab file.
- Browse to the download location and right-click the file then select Properties.
- Unblock the file in the General tab if available.
- Unzip the cab file and the zip file contained within the cab file.
- Right-click the GFIPatchExecuter.exe and Run as Administrator.
- Note: You may need to click the Rollback button and reinstall if it previously failed to install.
Common Patching Errors
A dialog box will appear when installing with debugging information. similar to below:
Patching started
Patch ID: 575a1c13-aae0-47a6-99a0-cc301f5af158
-----------------------------
Build Version Restriction: Between
BuildVersion: 20160420
ExactOrLowerVersion: 20160420
HigherVersion: 20151118
Build version not matched - Error will be displayed here with additional debugging information below
Start Patching - System.Exception: Build version not matched
at GFIPatchExecuter.Classes.Core.VersionCommand.ProductVersionCheck()
at GFIPatchExecuter.Forms.frmPatch.StartPatching()
Some common known errors and their causes are:
| Error | Cause and solution |
| Build version not matched | Check the Build version against the ExactOrLowerVersion fields. The patch is not for the version detected as installed. This usually means you are not running the latest build therefore you should first upgrade MailEssemtials. |
| Service could not be started/stopped/restarted | The exact service will be listed, complete the required action manually. If a stop request is not working, stop the service and run the patch again. If a restart or start is requested, perform this action and check if the patch was installed. |
Note: If the error is not listed above, please open a support ticket.
Confirmation
The orange banner that shows on the MailEssentials dashboard when patches are available will be gone.
Navigate to GFI MailEssentials > General Settings > Product Updates. and click on the patch name under the Updates tab. You should see a greyed-out button at the bottom confirming that the patch is succesfully Installed.
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