After an update, a PDServer or PDAgent is not showing the correct version in Resource Manager

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After an update, a PDServer or PDAgent is not showing the correct version in Resource Manager

After an update, a PDServer or PDAgent is not showing the correct version in Resource Manager

After PDUpdate has updated the database, every PDServer and PDAgent updates itself. Until it has, Resource Manager shows its old version. This article explains how the self-update works, so you can find out why one computer has not updated and fix it.

How a PDServer or PDAgent updates itself

PDUpdate loads an updater for each component into the Print Director database. It does not update any PDServer or PDAgent directly. Each PDServer and PDAgent then does the following:

  1. It checks for a newer version each time it refreshes its settings: on its Settings refresh interval (10 minutes unless it has been changed), and straight away when you ask it to refresh in Resource Manager. It only checks while it is connected to the database.
  2. It downloads the updater to C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Updates\ (PDServerUpdate.EXE or PDAgentUpdate.EXE) and checks that the file is signed by Blue Swift.
  3. The updater runs. It stops the PD Service Helper and the PDServer or PDAgent service, closes the program files that are still open (including the PDAgent tray client), puts the old installation aside and copies in the new files.
  4. The service is started again. The new version reports itself to the database, and Resource Manager shows it the next time you refresh the list. On a PDAgent computer, the tray client is started again for the signed-in user about two minutes after the update began.

If the updater cannot finish, it puts the old installation back and starts the service again, so the computer keeps working on its old version. It waits 10 minutes before it tries again.

Step 1: Ask it to refresh now

  1. Open Resource Manager.
  2. In the tree, click PD Servers or PD Agents. Each list shows the Status (Online or offline), Version and Last Refresh of every PDServer or PDAgent.
  3. Right-click the PDServer or PDAgent and click Refresh (for a PDAgent the item shows its alias, for example Refresh RECEPTION-PC). You can also double-click it and click Refresh now.
  4. Wait a minute or two, click View > Refresh, and check the Version again.

If Resource Manager says the PDServer could not be reached on its web service, the computer running Resource Manager cannot reach that PDServer: check that the PDServer service is running and that a firewall is not blocking its web service port.

A PDAgent is asked to refresh with a network message that a firewall can block without any error in Resource Manager. If the PDAgent does not update after you ask it to refresh, wait for its next Settings refresh interval: it checks for the update then anyway.

Step 2: Check that it is online

The update is only found while the PDServer or PDAgent is connected to the database. If its Status is not Online in Resource Manager, fix the connection first (network, SQL Server, or the computer is switched off). Once it is back online it updates at its next settings refresh.

Step 3: Read the logs

The logs are in C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Logs\ on the computer that has not updated.

The PDServer or PDAgent log shows each step: that a new version is available, that the updater is being downloaded, and that the updater was launched. Look for these errors:

  • self-update not started: the updater is only started from a folder that administrators alone can write. Something in the Updates folder belongs to a user who is not an administrator. Remove what the message names from C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Updates\; the next settings refresh then updates.
  • A message that the updater is not digitally signed or not trusted. The download was incomplete, or something changed the file. Delete the updater from the Updates folder; it is downloaded again at the next settings refresh. If the error comes back, contact Blue Swift support.
  • is backing off: the previous updater run failed. The last attempt failed and the next one waits 10 minutes. Read the updater’s log (below) for the reason.

The updater’s log of a failed run is copied to the Logs folder as PDServerUpdate_FAILED.LOG or PDAgentUpdate_FAILED.LOG (the latest failure) and PDServerUpdate_FAILED_FIRST.LOG or PDAgentUpdate_FAILED_FIRST.LOG (the first failure in a row). Lines starting with LOCKED: name the files that another program kept open. After a successful update the updater writes INSTALL.LOG in the product’s installation folder, ending with Update completed successfully!.

Step 4: Fix what is blocking the update

The usual causes:

  • Antivirus software holding or blocking the program files or the updater. Allow the Print Director installation folder (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\Blue Swift Technologies\Print Director 2\) and C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Updates\ in the antivirus software.
  • Another program has a file open in the installation folder, for example a command prompt or File Explorer window open in that folder, or a backup or indexing program. The LOCKED: lines in the updater’s log name the files. Close the program.
  • A PDAgent without .NET Framework 4.8. PDAgents cannot update until .NET Framework 4.8 is installed. PDUpdate lists these computers on its checks page (see Updating Print Director).

When the cause is fixed, ask it to refresh again or wait for the next settings refresh (at least 10 minutes after the last failed attempt).

Step 5: Run the updater by hand (only if it keeps failing)

Do this only when the PDServer or PDAgent keeps failing to run the update itself, after you have dealt with the cause in Step 4.

  1. On that computer, open C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Updates\. The updater is there once the PDServer or PDAgent has downloaded it.
  2. Right-click PDServerUpdate.EXE or PDAgentUpdate.EXE and click Run as administrator. Click Yes when Windows asks for permission.
  3. Wait until the updater says the update is complete. It stops the service, updates the files and starts the service again.
  4. On a PDAgent computer, check two things afterwards:
    • The PDAgent service is only started again if it was running when the updater began. If it was stopped, start it in Services.
    • The tray client is not started again for you. Ask the user to sign out and back in, or start PDAgentClient.exe from the PDAgent installation folder (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\Blue Swift Technologies\Print Director 2\PDAgent\). If neither is done, the PDAgent starts the tray client by itself the next time it needs to show the user a popup.

If the updater fails, it puts the old version back and writes its log to the Logs folder (see Step 3).

Step 6: Confirm the version

  1. In Resource Manager, click PD Servers or PD Agents and click View > Refresh.
  2. Check that the Version is the version of the update and that Last Refresh is recent.

If it still has not updated, contact Blue Swift support and send the files from C:\ProgramData\Blue Swift Software\Print Director\Logs\ on that computer.

 

Document revision date: 2026/11/02
Software version: 2.5.15.3

After an update, a PDServer or PDAgent is not showing the correct version in Resource Manager