[SOLVED]Multiple copies of Indigo Plugin Host

Activity Monitor says I have TWO of these running, started nearly an hour apart. Should there be two?

[matt (support)]

The IndigoPluginHost (IPH) is our process that runs plugins and executes python scripts. As you enable more plugins or start to execute more python scripts you'll see more of them. In general they are low overhead (depending on what the plugin is doing), so having multiple isn't a problem. They also help sandbox each plugin/script so they cannot take down the Indigo Server if something goes astray.

Nuts. I was hoping it had something to do with my old problem of not being able to use the reflector to control my stuff remotely. Oh well.

[jay (support)]

What specifically are the symptoms? Let's diagnose the issue first before trying to find a cause.

Jay, I went several rounds on this problem with Matt a long time ago, and there was no solution found. I think the general idea was that the remote server didn't approve of my changing my user profile on my computer, and refused to recognize connections from it, correct password be damned. Additionally, for whatever reason, it was impossible to remove the old hooks and start over without a clean install, which I'm never going to undertake for this purpose. If you have come up with a way to do a plain old uninstall of YOUR software that can wipe the slate clean, that would be much appreciated. I think if Indigo is going to tinker under the hood of my system to make its remote reflector work, it should be able to undo that tinkering reliably.

I'd love to finally get a solution to this problem. I'll send you the last letter in the old chain, if you get me an email address. Thanks.
--Jay

[jay (support)]

I'd love to finally get a solution to this problem. I'll send you the last letter in the old chain, if you get me an email address.

No need - we archive all email conversations, so I looked it up. Let me recap: you had two different user accounts on your Mac (neither of which Indigo created because we don't create accounts). You installed Indigo using one account, then switched to using the other one.

I think the general idea was that the remote server didn't approve of my changing my user profile on my computer, and refused to recognize connections from it, correct password be damned.

You aren't being totally honest here - we told you what the issue was but apparently you never did anything to correct the problem. This is not an Indigo issue but rather the fact that you switched from one user account to another and never fully merged the two. In fact:

Okay, wow... I see that this problem has been going back a long way. Looks like the profile I've been using for more than a year is NOT attached properly to my .Mac identity, so downloads from the app store and elsewhere have been in the user folder from the older profile

We tried to help you work through it, but the fundamental issue is that you have serious file ownership/permission issues that go way beyond Indigo. Indigo didn't create the problem by doing anything "under the hood". The last reply from you seemed to indicate that you had things under control.

Additionally, for whatever reason, it was impossible to remove the old hooks and start over without a clean install, which I'm never going to undertake for this purpose.

No idea what you mean by "old hooks".

If you have come up with a way to do a plain old uninstall of YOUR software that can wipe the slate clean, that would be much appreciated.

Uninstalling Indigo is described in our documentation.

I think if Indigo is going to tinker under the hood of my system to make its remote reflector work, it should be able to undo that tinkering reliably.

Indigo does not "tinker under the hood" of your system. It installs files in the locations described above and does NOT change any system-level settings. We've described the problem for you and your last email implied that you had a handle on it.

This is what I'd try next: uninstall Indigo (save off your database file) following the directions above. If you're still using Indigo 5, here are those directions. Note that the files that start with ~/Library are specific to the user account you've installed Indigo under but given the confused state of your user accounts you'll want to do it for both accounts.

Before proceeding, decide which account you're actually using and only use that account from this point forward. This seems to be the root of your issues. Run the latest Indigo installer and move your database file back into the Databases folder (assuming Indigo 5 - change the 5 to a 6 if you're on Indigo 6):

/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation/Indigo 5/Databases/

Start Indigo by double-clicking on your database file. It will prompt you for your registration code so you'll need to have that handy. This process will completely reset Indigo on your Mac though it won't fix the other issues you have with multiple user accounts. When you get Indigo up and running, let us know because we'll need to delete the old reflector (but leave the prism account) so you can start clean from that perspective as well. You'll log in to the goprism.com website and create your reflector then activate it as described in the documentation.

[matt (support)]

Note I found and deleted your reflector so you can recreate it after the clean install. I believe if you follow Jay's steps you'll have it back up and working.

Guys,
I know you've been trying to help here. My apologies if I came off as brusk. I assure you I'm not being dishonest about anything--rather, there was just too much back and forth for me last time out--I simply don't understand how Indigo is working, or why, regardless of my permission problem, Indigo can't just wipe clean everything and start fresh.

•Yes, I'm using Indigo 5. Until I'm able to make the software work properly, I can't justify the expense of upgrading.

•by "hooks" I mean whatever code it is that your computer is leaving behind that is not eliminated by an uninstall. Perhaps there is nothing left behind and this has something to do with the permissions you're talking about. But permissions for what? Indigo files, or something else in the system that Indigo is referencing?

• I guess I never had a handle on it.

•The secondary account is NEVER used, except for testing and diagnosing like this. Could the confusion be between different computers? Am I not allowed to run Indigo from a laptop AND a desktop? It's entirely possible that I initiated the reflector account from my laptop. Would that make it impossible to connect to the reflector from the desktop?

•As a first step, I'll make sure that the older desktop computer profile is deleted. Of course I don't know whether this is going to help any conflict between the desktop and laptop computers.

I'll report back when that's done.

[jay (support)]

If you installed Indigo on the laptop and activated the reflector there, then yes that could very well be the problem. Indigo is licensed per server so you can't run the server on two Macs (though you can install and run the client application only "/Applications/Indigo 5" on as many Macs as you like).

Outside of the files identified in the uninstall docs, Indigo touches nothing else. Removing those files will completely uninstall Indigo. We aren't "leaving behind" anything else. If the permissions on your operating system created directories are incorrect there's nothing we can do about that.

[matt (support)]

Definitely following Jay's instructions to completely uninstall Indigo. I think in our email thread there was confusion by us throwing in the towel on how to fix the permission/user account problem on your Mac. We don't know how to fix that. But a fully clean install of Indigo under the correct account I believe will take care of the Indigo/reflector issue. Your Mac will still be in a messed up state, but I guess if the only problem you've see as a result of that is the reflector issue then there isn't any point in burning down the forest and starting over.

Okay, here's what I found:

The extra account on my desktop machine is completely clean. There's nothing there. It's likely more recent than my main account. I haven't used it once since I installed Mavericks ("natural" scrolling is still on)

When I run Indigo from it I get the following error:
Error failed to create reflector connection: unexpected tunnel error
Error reflector reconnection scheduled in 15 minutes


But all that's moot if we're going to proceed from the assumption that the trouble is that I created the reflector account on the laptop. If you've wiped out the reflector account so I can start afresh, then let's make sure I do that new start the right way.

Something like this?:

1) ARCHIVE my Indigo settings document. This will be safe to use later.
2) UNINSTALL Indigo 5 from all computers and profiles.
3) REINSTALL Indigo on my desktop
4) INITIATE NEW REFLECTOR. How do I do this?

[jay (support)]

1) ARCHIVE my Indigo settings document. This will be safe to use later.

Your database file, yes.

2) UNINSTALL Indigo 5 from all computers and profiles.

Yes, all user accounts.

3) REINSTALL Indigo on my desktop

Yes - while logged in to your normal user account.

4) INITIATE NEW REFLECTOR. How do I do this?

Follow the directions in the prism documentation I linked above.

Jay, the indigo server.app is still running. How do I uninstall it so I can do your clean install?

[matt (support)]

Hi Jay,

Launch the Indigo application then you can choose the Indigo->Stop Server to shutdown the server, then Indigo->Quite to stop the client. Or if you've already moved everything to the trash you can restart your Mac (it won't be automatically launched if it is in the trash).

But it IS launching again after restart. Maybe I haven't removed everything. I threw away your main app. How do I get the rest?