Ninjatrader won't install -error message about needing to compile files, etc.

[michaelleemoore]

I use a mainframe for my trading, but I need to travel this week and tried to open my Ninja on my laptop. Got a message that I needed to get the new versions, so I downloaded it, installed it and tried to run it. Now I get repeated messages saying that some paths can't be found and other files need to be "compiled." When I click those messages, everything disappears and I can't get into the platform. How are you supposed to compile files if the platform doesn't work. Super irritating after using Ninja for 7 years. Thanks, Michael

[bltdavid]

You probably have previously installed one or more NT8 indicators,
probably from source code.

And, probably, those indicators are now obsolete ... and need to be
upgraded with newer versions.

I say 'probably' because several times an NT8 upgrade has made a
change that has (I think) broken the code of one or more previously
working indicators.

If, after an upgrade, you're having troubling compiling, this sounds like
your problem.

You have choices.
I'll discuss the easiest and fastest option -- nuke it completely and
then just start over.

The 'nuclear' option is to uninstall NT8, then remove (or just rename)
your existing "NinjaTrader 8" folder in Documents. Why do that? So
that when you re-install NT8, you get a completely fresh and pristine
user folder, brand new, free from any obsolete code from before.

The 'nuclear' option is extreme, because it removes a lot of things that
you may (or may not) care about -- such as your historical data, prior
performance data (aka, your trade history), ATMs, lots of things -- the
point is: if you remove it before you install, the installer 'repairs' every
thing back to a factory fresh condition -- and that's what you want
from the nuclear option, a factory fresh install, (almost) from scratch.

[Normally, a NinjaTrader upgrade to a newer version is (usually) never
supposed to touch anything inside your user folder, so that's why the
old obsolete code is persisting, even if you keep trying uninstall/install
multiple times.]

It sounds like your past reliance on NT8 has been minimal, so the nuclear
option might be your best and fastest way to fix your issue.

After installing NT8 is completed:
Only then, if you know which indicators are important to you, go find and
download them all again (don't just reinstall what you have -- re-download
every single one) so you know you are installing the latest versions of every
single thing you need for NT8 trading.

Good luck!

[bltdavid]

Some caveats.

Don't do the nuclear option if you don't have a good backup.

Don't do the nuclear option if you don't have ready access to
all your account credentials usernames & passwords.

You can salvage some good pieces from a good backup.
For ex, after the nuclear option and re-install is complete,
restore the Config.xml file from your backup.

[The point of salvaging your Config.xml from a recent
backup is because (I think) all your account credentials
(er, I mean, all your Connections), are in that file. So,
restoring it should hopefully relieve you from having to
gather those account usernames/passwords and rebuild
your connections.]

Have I tried any of what I'm suggesting?
On NT8, so far, only pieces.
On NT7, all of it.

[bltdavid]

I use a mainframe for my trading, but I need to travel this week and tried to open my Ninja on my laptop. Got a message that I needed to get the new versions, so I downloaded it, installed it and tried to run it. Now I get repeated messages saying that some paths can't be found and other files need to be "compiled." When I click those messages, everything disappears and I can't get into the platform. How are you supposed to compile files if the platform doesn't work. Super irritating after using Ninja for 7 years. Thanks, Michael

Are you able to take a screenshot of those messages and
attach to this thread?