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jimmygonzalez
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Google Chome Extensions

So currently working on deploying VDI to out end users.  That being said we are primarily a Google Chrome shop (for default browser).  I have tried putting Chrome in both a AppStack or in the gold image, both ways are exhibiting similar behavior, which is that end users cannot install browser extensions.  We are doing a non-persistent environment with writable volumes attached, Horizon 7, AppVolumes ver 2.11 and end users are on zero clients.

If I install the extension into the AppStack or the gold image then I can get them to work, but our users have different extensions they use and trying to install 100's of different extensions into the gold image or AppStack is not practical.

The error when trying to add a google chrome extension is:

Could not install package: 'COULD_NOT_GET_TEMP_DIRECTORY'

RELOAD

CLOSE

Any thoughts?

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Lakshman
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Thanks Ray. This has been documented in the AppVolumes User Guide on page 41.The value of DriveLetterSettings is 4 instead of 6.

GoogleChrome.png

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massmans
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I can confirm we are are also having this issue and have a very similar environment.

We are persistent environment, linked clone dedicated with writable volumes attached for profile and UIA, Horizon 7, AppVolumes ver 2.11 and end users are using Horizon Client.


I would to see a work around for this and hopefully soon.


Thanks

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Ray_handels
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There is a workaround for this bahaviour, even better for as far as I know it is even documented Smiley Happy.

You need to add the following registry key. HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\svdriver\Parameters\DriveLetterSettings=6.

What this does is give the writable volume a drive letter and hide it for the operating system. After you set this registry key in the golden image and login with a writable (this only occurs with writables) check your disk management to see if your writable indeed has a drive letter. The fact that it is hidden has got nothing to do with Appvolumes in combination with Chrome but more so the user can't place information on the writable volume or accidentally remove information.

And for the record, this had got nothing to do with Appvolumes. It's more of a Google bug (that's been reported a few years ago but is still not fixed). If you install the application on a mounted drive (which the writable voluem and appstack are) Chrome sees it as an network drive and marks it as unsafe and says "you cannot install on thet folder". For as far as I know there is no way to bypass this in Google Chrome.

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Lakshman
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Thanks Ray. This has been documented in the AppVolumes User Guide on page 41.The value of DriveLetterSettings is 4 instead of 6.

GoogleChrome.png

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Ray_handels
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Hey Lakshman,

Although you are absolutely right we still go for 6 because 4 is hide drive letter for writable but give him a drive letter and 2 is remove driveletter for readonly disk (Appstack). I believe this changed in 2.11 right? So you could get the same result with 4 in 2.11 than you did with 6 in 2.9.

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jimmygonzalez
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That worked, thanks!

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jimmygonzalez
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FYI.  I tried setting the reg value to 4 adn then 6.  It works both ways, but iwth a reg value of 4, it shows the writable volume with a mapped drive letter.  When I set it to 6, it hides the drive letter/volume from the computer view for a user.

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massmans
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I updated our base image with the registry change in this KB article and then deployed.   The drive letter now shows up and users can install Chrome extensions. 

Setting up drive letter mapping for Writable Volumes for Chrome extensions on VMware App Volumes (21...

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Lakshman
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Hi Ray,

Yes, you are correct.

  • DriveLetterSettings 2 will assign drive letter to Writable Volumes and it will show under My Computer and will not assign AppStack Drive Letters.
  • DriveLetterSettings 6 will hide the writable  drive letter and will not assign AppStack Drive Letters.

Setting the value 6 makes more sense than 4. This has not changed with 2.11 and i guess it is the same in previous versions of App Volumes too.

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javier_roe
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I there,

This thread solved my problem, but... just for a while...

I have Horizon 7.0.1 and App Volumes 2.11

If I create a new Pool with any valid value (4 or 6) in DriveLetterSettings, in the golden image; the drive letter is assigned just fine... but just the first boot.

When we reboot our VMs (dedicated), the letter is gone... and I have to assign it mannually... Smiley Sad... and If I reboot... same problem... letter gone...

any advice?

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jimmygonzalez
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Are you running the windows firewall?

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javier_roe
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The "Windows Firewall" service is enabled but is not filtering anything in our LAN (I mean, the service is running but the Firewall is OFF)

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Ray_handels
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"If I create a new Pool with any valid value (4 or 6) in DriveLetterSettings, in the golden image; the drive letter is assigned just fine... but just the first boot."

Have you mounted the writable volume in the golden image? If so, please try to remove the mounted disk in the registry because this could cause the error.

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javier_roe
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Hi Ray,

Yes, I never mounted the writable in the Golden image. However, I checked there is no any incorrect entry in the registry.

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vitalsign0
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This doesn't work.

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Ray_handels
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This doesn't work.

uhm huh?? What doesn't work? What are you trying to do? It could be a good idea if you are posting a question to a forum to be a little more specific about your issue.

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Enctiong
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If you add an extension to the main setup of your software (called "AppStack" or "gold image"), it will work for everyone who uses that setup. However, if your users have their own preferred extensions, it's not practical to install hundreds of different extensions into the main setup. This is true for Google Chrome extensions, which are additional programs that can be added to the Chrome web browser for improved functionality.

 
 
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