TMP214-53-58GN ProShield Plus Issue Does anyone have a download of this service?

Vanilla66

Hi,

I got this laptop recently and ProShield Plus doesn’t work. It shows an error on startup along the lines of “The related services are not available because the ProShield Plus service is not detected”. Acer support told me to reinstall the ProShield app and control center but that didn’t resolve the issue. The service is not listed on the driver website and Acer support could not find it either. They recommended a factory reset to restore it but I want to avoid that if possible. Does anyone have a download of this service?
 [Edited the thread to add issue detail]

JackE

>>> I would like to use Proshield as the specs of my model indicate it has facial recognition login that is enabled by this software.>>>>

Yes, @billsey , I think @Vanilla66 is already well aware that ProShieldPlus handles the Facial Recognition. But for it to work, a WindowsHello certified/capable IR enabled camera hardware must be installed. He only has the HD optical camera installed. So ProShield can't use it for Facial Recognition.

billsey

OK, I have a test version for you to try. https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/zm/gwlgd983vuy7.zip should get you an installer that will install the corrected version of the Proshield Plus service and if you follow that with the app from the Microsoft Store you will have the GUI as well. I expect that once they've done enough testing with this version of the service they will roll the whole package out to the store as an update.
It turns out that Jack is correct, Proshield Plus uses Windows Hello for authentication, so facial recognition is only supported if you have the correct camera. On my system, since I don't have the camera, I'm asked for my fingerprint instead.

JackE

If you have a Microsoft account, you should be able to re-install it for free from the store. https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/acer-proshield-plus/9NZ0NMHBKKGH?hl=en-us&gl=US 

Sounds good. But if it was mine,  I wouldn't bother with it due to possible adverse online side-effects. Defender and MaliciousSoftwareRemovalTool are all most folks need these days.

Vanilla66

Acer support instructed me to reinstall it as well. Unfortunately it didn’t resolve the issue. I would like to use Proshield as the specs of my model indicate it has facial recognition login that is enabled by this software. Can you please elaborate on the adverse side effects?

JackE

>>>Acer support instructed me to reinstall it as well. Unfortunately it didn’t resolve the issue.>>>

Does it install? Or does it fail to install with an error message?

Higher than normal CPU/GPU temps during some on line activities have been reported.  

Vanilla66

It does install, but it continues to show the same error mentioned in the first post on startup. Thanks for clarifying the side effects.

JackE

Sorry. Does the installer wizard itself yield an error message?

Vanilla66

The installer completes fine. The app produces the error when I open it.

billsey

Are you seeing this error message?

The service itself needs version of the .NET framework and VC Runtime that don't seem to be installed by default in Windows 11, and possibly not in later versions of Windows 10 either. If you go to the actual app folder (there are four and are hidden from most users without lots of hacking) and attempt to run the service by itself you get a series of errors that point to those missing files. It doesn't, however, tell you just exactly which versions aren't missing. Hopefully Insyde will get on the stick and do an update for Acer so it will work correctly. The current release is only a couple of years old, so I'd have expected it to just work out of the box. It certainly seems like it ought to be useful.

Vanilla66

That’s the exact error I’m seeing. Thank you so much! I know where the WindowsApps and appdata folders are. I’ll see if I can get those dependencies installed. 

Vanilla66

I did some research and these seem to be the dependency versions associated with the app. I’ll see if I can get them installed later. 

Vanilla66

Sorry that image didn’t attach properly for some reason.

JackE

Open Device Manager. If no red or yellow warnings, click show hidden devices in View tab. Then expand Biometic device folder if present. Please post screenshot of result.

billsey

Yeah, I was seeing errors on both 100 and 140 versions of the VC stuff. I've got a request in to Acer support and we'll see what they come back with.

Vanilla66

@JackE I’ll do it when I get home. I know the fingerprint reader works properly but I wasn’t able to setup facial recognition.
@billsey Thank you! Hopefully they’ll fix it.

JackE

>>>I’ll do it when I get home. I know the fingerprint reader works properly but I wasn’t able to setup facial recognition.>>>

OK. The reason being that the app packages in ALL models in theTMP214-53 series seem to come bundled with facial recognition software. BUT in order to use the facial recognition feature, an infra-red sensitive WindowsHello-certified camera hardware should also be installed.  Accordingly, I suspect that the 58GN model has an ordinary camera that the facial recognition software can't use. We should be able to identify the camera that's actually installed from Device Manager Biometric or Camera or 3rd party means.

billsey

Yes, the cameras used on the model line don't have the IR features needed for face recognition...

Vanilla66

@JackE Sorry for the delay. I have attached the screenshot below. It does have an ordinary camera. I suspected the same when I was unable to set it up. The spec sheet for this model mentioned "Facial Recognition Login" and a smart card reader, both of which my unit does not have. I opened a ticket regarding the lack of these features with Acer support a few days ago but they have not responded yet.
 

Vanilla66

@billsey I installed the dependencies and reinstalled Proshield but it showed the same error again. I tried earlier versions of the app but they didn’t work either. I was able to start the service manually but the app couldn’t find it and showed the same error. I guess I’ll have to wait for them to fix it.

JackE

>>>>>>>I’ll do it when I get home. I know the fingerprint reader works properly but I wasn’t able to setup facial recognition.>>>OK. The reason being that the app packages in ALL models in theTMP214-53 series seem to come bundled with facial recognition software. BUT in order to use the facial recognition feature, an infra-red sensitive WindowsHello-certified camera hardware should also be installed.  Accordingly, I suspect that the 58GN model has an ordinary camera that the facial recognition software can't use. We should be able to identify the camera that's actually installed from Device Manager Biometric or Camera or 3rd party means.>>>>

Sorry I think I might've been misunderstood earlier. You apparently don't have an optional extra cost IR Windows Hello camera hardware installed that facial recognition software needs to run. While your model's software package came bundled with facial recognition software, your model's HD optical camera hardware doesn't support facial recognition.

So this means that it can't be fixed per se. Unless  of course you're willing to pay for replacing the HD optical camera hardware with an optional extra cost IR Windows Hello camera hardware.

Again, sorry for the misunderstanding

billsey

It looks like the Facial Recognition is handled by ProShield Plus, not Windows Hello, so likely doesn't need to Hello compatible camera. The Smart Card slot is on the front edge near the right side. So, once we get ProShield working all the specced stuff should also be working. I like that some of this design have a SIM card slot, no need for a hotspot, just cell service.

JackE

>>> I would like to use Proshield as the specs of my model indicate it has facial recognition login that is enabled by this software.>>>>

Yes, @billsey , I think @Vanilla66 is already well aware that ProShieldPlus handles the Facial Recognition. But for it to work, a WindowsHello certified/capable IR enabled camera hardware must be installed. He only has the HD optical camera installed. So ProShield can't use it for Facial Recognition.