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Title
“Another instance of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI is started” error is encountered when trying to apply an auditing configuration change -
Description
Process of applying configuration changes fails with the “Another instance of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI is started” error shown in the information ribbon and old auditing configuration is retained
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Cause
In general, the information shown in the yellow ribbon here is the best path to resolving the issue. While there is more than one instance of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI running (connected to the repository), it will not be possible to complete configuration change and apply a new configuration to the audited server.This is a limitation of the tool which ensures that, when 2 or more users are working with the application at the same time, auditing configuration is retained and not overwritten multiple times which could result in losing part of the configuration and ultimately losing the audited data -
Resolution
Out-of-the-box solutionGeneral resolution is very simple, and as suggested as the information ribbon – ensure that only one ApexSQL Audit Main GUI is started at the moment and ensure that all users, especially on the virtual machines, have closed their ApexSQL Audit GUI instances in order to ensure that only one GUI is active and that changes to the auditing configuration can be applied successfully.Note: check Windows Task Manager to ensure there is only one instance of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI is running or close any additional GUI instances discoveredSolution for the “What if my Task Manager shows only one instance of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI and I still encounter the same issue?”In some cases, there can be “hidden” instances of ApexSQL Audit Main GUI running, and due to user permissions/privileges restrictions, it can be very hard or impossible to discover these other running ApexSQL Audit Main GUI instances.The resolution for this use case is to perform a quick reinstall of the ApexSQL Audit central application by running the “ApexSQL.Audit.Installer.exe” file in the installation directory (default install location is C:\Program Files\ApexSQL\ApexSQL Audit). An alternative is to run the full installation file for ApexSQL Audit – the result will be the same.Once this is completed, several quick steps need to be completed to ensure auditing job continues successfully:1. Once the (re)install process completes, run ApexSQL Audit Main GUI2. Select the audited server in the server view3. Click on the 'fix connection'4. Confirm credentials and complete the processNote: Repeat steps 2-4 for each audited server to ensure auditing continues successfully after the reinstallation process completes