Updates and uninstall

This page is for the administrator who installs new BioTrack versions or removes BioTrack from a PC. You need Windows administrator rights for both.

How updates are delivered

Updates are installed manually for now, and Settings → About & support shows Updates: Installed manually. Signed updates will be served from the BioTrack portal, which is coming soon.

To update, an administrator runs the signed BioTrack installer for the new version. Your organisation or Alcra installer provides it. There is one installer for the app and the collector service:

• biotrack-<version>-x64-setup.exe for Intel/AMD PCs
• biotrack-<version>-arm64-setup.exe for Windows on Arm PCs

Only install a package whose publisher signature and fingerprint match what your supplier gave you through a separate trusted channel. See Install BioTrack.

What happens during an update

1. Setup stops the BioTrack Collector service before replacing the application files.
2. It installs the new files, then recommissions the service with the settings you already approved: the same Windows user, terminal address and listener port.
3. It verifies the service is running and healthy before it reports success.

Attendance data, the database key and the collector’s local channel secret are preserved. You do not need to run the setup wizard again.

An update is not a transactional rollback. If an update fails part-way, you may need to run the installer again. Keep the previous signed installer until the new version is working.

Update checklist

1. Create a portable backup in Settings → Backup & recovery and confirm you see Backup created and verified. See Backup and recovery.
2. Run the new signed installer from the Windows account you normally use, and approve the Windows administrator prompt.
3. Wait for setup to report success. If it fails, it shows the reason and the path to its setup log.
4. Open BioTrack, sign in, and check Connection: the collector should be Ready and the terminal Reachable.
5. Make a real scan on the terminal and check it appears on Today.
6. Check Settings → About & support shows the new Installed version.

If Connection shows The collector service is older than this desktop, the service did not update. Run the installer again.

Uninstall

Uninstall BioTrack from Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps. The uninstaller stops and removes the BioTrack Collector service, its firewall rule and the shortcuts.

It keeps everything under %ProgramData%\BioTrack: the encrypted database, its key, the daily backups and the collector’s local channel secret. Reinstalling BioTrack on the same PC picks this data up again. Publisher trust for the BioTrack certificate is also kept, for reinstallation.

To remove the data as well, an administrator must delete %ProgramData%\BioTrack by hand after uninstalling. Take and verify a portable backup first if there is any chance you will need the attendance history. Deleting the folder, including attendance.db.key, makes the database and daily backups permanently unreadable.

Advanced: manual commissioning scripts

The installer runs all service setup for you. For controlled maintenance or recovery only, signed PowerShell scripts are installed under C:\Program Files\Biotrack\resources\commissioning\:

• Install-BioTrackCollectorService.ps1 commissions the service for a named Windows account. It is also the route for deployment tools that run without a signed-in desktop user, and for recommissioning with a new terminal address or listener port.
• Uninstall-BioTrackCollectorService.ps1 removes the service and firewall rule and keeps the data.
• Test-BioTrackWindowsInstallation.ps1 verifies an installation.

These scripts need an elevated PowerShell session, the publisher thumbprint obtained through a trusted channel, and a separately verified WinSW service wrapper. Use them only with guidance from your supplier.

Install BioTrack Run the signed installer and trust the publisher.