IBM Support

'Standard Error 76 ... Could not find a part of the path...' when launching Controller

Troubleshooting


Problem

User launches Controller. User chooses database, and enters their username/password. User clicks OK, and receives an error. After clicking OK (to acknowlege the error) the Controller client appears.

Symptom


Information
Standard Error
Number: 76
Source: mscorlib
Description: Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Cognos\CCR\USERdatabasename'.
at Microsoft.VisualBasic.ErrObject.Raise(Int32 Number, Object
Source, Object Description ...
<...>
[OK]

Cause

There are several possible causes for similar errors.

  • TIP: For more examples, see separate IBM Technote #1642447.

This Technote specifically relates to the scenario where the cause is invalid cache files inside the end user's profile.

More Information
By default, Controller stores cache files inside the folder %APPDATA%\Cognos\CCR
  • These cache files are used to speed up the system (for the end users), for example when they are given menus to select parameters (for example 'company', 'actuality' and so on).

These cache files can potentially become invalid/corrupt if the Controller client crashes unexpectedly (for example, the user received an error the last time that they used Controller).
  • Therefore, the exact root cause (for why the cache files became corrupt in the first place) can have many potential reasons, but one of them is that the customer is running an old version of Controller which contains a bug (which causes the Controller program to crash unexpectedly).

Resolving The Problem

Long term fix:

Stop the Controller program from unexpectedly crashing during use. In general terms, this means:

  • Upgrade to the latest version of Controller (to avoid known bugs)
  • Ensure that your environment is in good condition (for example there are no network problems)

Short-Term (instant) Workaround:

Delete local cache files on client device.

Steps:

There are several different methods to delete cache files. Choose the method that is easiest/best for your environment:


    Method #1 - Manual reset of entire CCR folder

    1. Launch Windows Explorer

    2. Browse to the parent of the folder location mentioned in the error message

    • For example: C:\Users\BADUSER\AppData\Roaming\Cognos

    3. Rename the subfolder 'CCR' (for example to CCR.OLD)

    4. Test.

    Method #2 - Manual (quick and easy, assuming that user can open Controller successfully)

    1. Launch Controller

    2. Acknowledge error message, and continue into the main Controller client

    3. Click "Maintain - Special Utilities - Clear Local Cache'.

    Method #3 - Manual deletion of individual cache files.

    1. Launch Windows Explorer

    2. Browse to the folder location mentioned in the error message

    • For example: C:\Users\BADUSER\AppData\Roaming\Cognos\ccr

    3. Delete all the files in the folder *except* for the file "ccr.config"

    • In other words, delete all the *.DSS and *.DSD files (do not delete "ccr.config"):

Longer-Term Workaround:

Reconfigure Controller so that it always deletes its local cache files (on the client device) each and every time that the user exits Controller.

  • NOTE: This method only works for Controller 10.1.364 or later.


    1. Launch Controller

    2. Choose the relevant database (for example "production")

    3. Logon as an administrator

    4. Click "Maintain - Configuration - General"


    5. Click tab "Server Preferences"

    6. Inside "Variable Name" type "CLEARCACHEONEXIT"

    7. Inside "Variable Value" type "TRUE"


    8. Click Save

    9. Close Controller

    10. Repeat the above steps for each and every database connection where you want this behaviour to occur.

    • TIP: For more details, see separate IBM Technote #1499456.

[{"Product":{"code":"SS9S6B","label":"IBM Cognos Controller"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Component":"Controller","Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"10.2.1;10.2.0;10.1.1;10.1","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB10","label":"Data and AI"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
15 June 2018

UID

swg21516661