Created On:  31st December 2012

Problem:

How can I resolve the error, "Failed to determine whether hooking is installed. Reinstalling may solve the problem. (0x0: The operation completed successfully)" when trying to record in Silk Performer?

Resolution:

There are two known causes for the problem, both of which relate to the internal system registry settings.

During the installation of Silk Performer, setup queries the following Registry key to retrieve the AppData folder,

32 Bit Operating System

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Common AppData

64 Bit Operating System

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Common AppData

If these keys are missing or have no values assigned to them, i.e. C:\ProgramData, then setup will use a default directory, '-', during the installation process.

After the installation of Silk Performer has completed and an attempt to record is made, the error message "Failed to determine whether hooking is installed..." will be displayed.

To confirm this is the cause of the problem, either

  • access the system registry manually and check for the Registry Keys / value

or

  • refer to the install.log (C:\Program Files (x86)\silk\Silk Performer xx).

With a successful install, the following entries will appear in the log file

COMMON_APP_DATA_DIR : C:\ProgramData

If the Registry Keys are not specified or no value has been assigned, then the following will appear

COMMON_APP_DATA_DIR : -

Note the use of the default, - ,  directory.

To resolve, ensure that

  1. the system registry contain the keys highlighted above,
  2. the keys contain the value C:\ProgramData [or C:\Program Files (x86) for 64 Bit Operating system].

If the registry keys have been added or changed after the Silk Performer installation, then a fresh install of Silk Performer is required.

If the above registry keys are set correctly then you should check the value assigned to the Registry Key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\AppInit_DLL

During a recording session in Silk Performer, the Registry Key is assigned the value of "qaphooks.dll".

This Registry Key is not specific to Silk Performer and can be utilized by other tools. When other tools use the Registry Key and assign it a specific value, Silk Performer cannot overwrite the value assigned to the Registry with the qaphooks.dll value, thus leading to the error message during record.  To resolve:

  1. Select "AppInit_DLLs"
  2. Right click and MODIFY
  3. In the "Value Data" section ensure that there is only one entry for "qaphooks.dll" remove any other DLLs listed (make a note of the dll before removing it as another application may use that entry.). It is best to delete the qaphooks.dll value and then re-add it, as spaces after the value have caused issues.

Please take a backup of your registry before making any amendments.

#2597613