WebView2 and Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess

Question

WebView2 and Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess

Ed Mielcarek 21

Hello Everyone,

We have an ongoing issue with a small portion of users where some application keeps updating or in some way modifying WebView2 and it changes the install directory and breaking the functionality of the CCH Axcess program. CCH Axcess support states that their program works when the intended directory is there (uninstall and reinstall WebView2) and that this is not their issue. I'm posting this here because I'm really not sure what could be causing this.

It's not AV, though we setup an exception.

We found that Microsoft 365 was configured ages ago to push WebView2 (this was before the public Chromium Edge release). We disabled that.

We have a pretty plain Windows deployment - straight ISO from Media Creation Tool and installation of 3rd party applications. No OS customization at all.

Everyone gets the same GPOs.

Why is this only happening for a handful of users?

What is causing WebView2 to change install directories?

The C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application[version number]\EBWebView\x64 folder keeps getting emptied, and this is where CCH Axcess looks for the program. Their login form is dependent on this folder. When there is an issue, they launch CCH Axcess and are presented with a "the program could not find a compatible runtime" error.

Other programs that use WebView2, Microsoft Office applications for example, work fine whether this folder is populated or not.

Happens on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Affected users go to known-working computers and there is no issue.

We have reimaged the affected user computers and the issue returns.

Has anyone else had this specific issue, or a similar one? Anyone have any clues on how to track down what is causing this?

Cheers!

ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-02T02:40:20.897+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Please check whether it is the case where 32-bit Edge is installed on a 64-bit OS. Under that circumstance, x64 folder may be removed.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-11-02T18:00:04.523+00:00

Hello @ShiJieLi-MSFT ,

Thank you for your comment. I checked an affected user, and they are indeed using Edge 32-bit. I will install the 64-bit version of Edge and see what happens.

I'll report back on what we determine.

Cheers!
ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-03T01:43:46.793+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

You're welcome. I've explained more in the answer below. You can have a check.

ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-02T02:40:20.897+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Please check whether it is the case where 32-bit Edge is installed on a 64-bit OS. Under that circumstance, x64 folder may be removed.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-11-02T18:00:04.523+00:00

Hello @ShiJieLi-MSFT ,

Thank you for your comment. I checked an affected user, and they are indeed using Edge 32-bit. I will install the 64-bit version of Edge and see what happens.

I'll report back on what we determine.

Cheers!
ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-03T01:43:46.793+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

You're welcome. I've explained more in the answer below. You can have a check.

Answer 1

ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Microsoft Vendor

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

If 32-bit Edge is installed on a 64-bit OS, when WebView2 auto updates, the x64 folder and the EmbeddedBrowserWebView.dll thereunder gets removed and only the x86 remains.
Before auto update, we have following two folders:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\xxx.x.xxxx.xx\EBWebView\x64
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\xxx.x.xxxx.xx\EBWebView\x86
After auto update, only the x86 folder remains
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\xxx.x.xxxx.yy\EBWebView\x86
What's more, x64 folder is still missing even if we manually install the x64 WebView2 installer.

The solution is rather simple: uninstall 32-bit Edge and install 64-bit Edge.

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Best Regards,
Shijie Li

Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-11-03T19:22:15.877+00:00

Hello Again,

Thank you again @ShiJieLi-MSFT for the information. We're trying to uninstall Edge 32-bit and install 64-bit, but we are having a difficult time doing this. Anyone have any tips? I'm seeing registry hacks and commands in other MS forums, but they do not appear to work. I'm also fearing that there was an Edge update rolled into Windows updates, and we may have to do a system restore or completely reimage the computer to even attempt to get Edge 64-bit installed.

Any help is appreciated!

Cheers!
ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-04T06:28:08.963+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

What is the specific difficulty that you're having in re-installing 64-bit Edge? You can share with us, and we'll try our best to help you.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-11-07T21:56:19.397+00:00

Hello again @ShiJieLi-MSFT ,

We were able to get Edge 64-bit installed, and it looks like the issue may have been resolved. This is the first day we have not had to reinstall WebView2 for an affected user to get the CCH application working again.

I will confirm again after a few more days, but I believe this has solved our months long issue!

Thank you again for your help @ShiJieLi-MSFT !

Cheers!
ShiJieLi-MSFT 4,521 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-11-08T01:12:49.88+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Glad to hear that! If there should be any further issue, please feel free to contact us.

Best Regards,
Shijie Li

WebView2 and Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess

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