Customer GUI Installation

Posted by tuttleh on September 15, 2020

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Below are the steps that one of our customers can follow to install and setup the TCS application on a desktop computer. Ideally these steps are performed via a remote session by members of the TCS support team but sometimes that isn’t feasible.

The technical level of these steps are slightly above normal and should be completed by members of IT staff or individuals comfortable navigating directories, installing applications and copying files.

Pre-requisites

There are a handful of items that are required for a new installation of the software. In migration scenarios (switching from an old PC to a new one) the items will already be available on the old PC. It is necessary to contact TCS support to obtain files for a brand new setup.

  1. OpenVPN configuration files
  2. TCS application with pre-configured connection settings
  3. Local administrator rights to install and configure software

Obtain and Install Required Software

  1. Download the OpenVPN installer from here
    • Run the installer and select the Customize option.
    • Click the red X on OpenVPN Service and select Entire Feature will be installed on local hard drive
  2. Download the TCS application installer from here
    • Run the installer and click next throughout the process. Use the default option on all steps.

Obtain the Configuration Files (Migration Steps)

If migrating from an old PC to a new PC, the configuration files can be copied to a network share, usb thumb drive, etc. and placed on the new PC.

  1. Copy the C:\TCS Host (sometimes just C:\TCS) folder
  2. Copy the Host Connection shortcut from the desktop
  3. Copy the C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config and the C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config-auto folders
  4. Disable the OpenVPN service
    • Start > Services.msc
    • Right click the OpenVPNService and select Stop
    • Follow the steps in the Cleanup section once the new PC is confirmed working.

Obtain the Configuration Files (New Device)

Email support@total-computing.com requesting the VPN and GUI configuration files

  • Please include the name of the end user
  • Please include whether this is a brand new computer or if the user is migrating devices

Place the Configuration Files

The steps below cover the scenario where configuration files are sent via email. Essentially the same steps can be followed when copying from an old PC. Just use your thumb drive, network share, etc. as the source vs the emailed zip files.

There will be two zip files included in the email, Host Connection.zip and cust-user-vpn.zip

  1. Download both zip files to the destination machine and copy their contents to the correct directories.
  2. TCS application
    1. Open the Host Connection.zip
    2. Copy (or drag and move) the TCS Host folder inside the zip file to C:\
      • If you use the “Extract all…” option then set the path to C:\
      • The path to the tcs.exe executable file should be C:\TCS Host\tcs.exe
    3. Copy the Host Connection shortcut inside the zip file to C:\Users\Public\Desktop
  3. OpenVPN configuration files
    1. Open the cust-user-vpn.zip file
    2. Copy the contents to C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\Config
    3. Copy the contents to C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\Config-auto

Start and Test

  1. Set the OpenVPN Service(s) to start automatically
    1. Start > type services.msc and run Services with admin rights
    2. Verify the following services have a startup type of Automatic.
      1. OpenVPN Interactive Service
      2. OpenVPNService
    3. Restart the OpenVPNService
      1. Right click OpenVPNService
      2. Click Restart
  2. Launch and test the TCS application
    1. Double click the Host Connection shortcut
      • If any errors appear than this typically means the folder paths are incorrect
    2. Click the Padlock icon and select the Log on button
  3. The application should connect and display the regular login screen. If it does not than please contact TCS support.

Cleanup (Migration Only)

Each VPN configuration is assigned a static IP address. If both the old and new computers connect to the VPN at the same time it will cause a conflict and neither connection will reliably work.

  1. (Required) Navigate to c:\program files\openvpn and delete the config and config-auto folders
  2. (Highly recommended) uninstall the OpenVPN software via standard Windows mechanisms
  3. (Recommended) uninstall the TCS application via standard Windows mechanisms
    • Delete the C:\TCS Host folder and verify that c:\program files (x86)\tcs is removed as well.
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Updated on September 25, 2024