Our SMTP server hasn't been updated for some time and is on Xeams 8.3 6233
I tried to manually patch it but things didn't go well the xeams.jar wasn't copied out of the patches folder to the lib folder and the services wouldn't start.

So my question is, should I just remove the current version and install the latest or how should I go about patching?
How do you retain the current configuration to restore to the new version?

Hi,

There is no need to reinstall. Most problems in Xeams can be resolved without reinstalling it. Check a couple of things:

1. Ensure your JRE is newer than 1.7. The latest version of Xeams will not run on 1.7 or older. To check, open a Command Prompt and type: c:\Xeams\jre\bin\java -version. If it is older, manually download the latest JRE 8 from adoptium.net and replace it with your existing C:\Xeams\jre folder. Note that you cannot manually upgrade to JRE 21. That upgrade needs some extra files/configuration. Therefore, upgrade to JRE 8 and then use the GUI to upgrade to 21.
2. Try manually copying Xeams.jar from "patches" to the "lib" folder. If that does not work, Xeams should have created Xeams.bak file in the "lib" folder. Replace it with that version. Once the older version comes up, try manually patching it again with instructions from https//www.xeams.com/manuallypatching.htm

Thanks for the reply
In regards to:
1. This is the version currently installed
java -version
java version "1.8.0_191"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_191-b12)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.191-b12, mixed mode)

Do I actually need to take any action?

2. When I previously copied the xeams.jar and workingset.jar to the patches folder and ran a restart the jar files disappeared from the patches folder but were not in the lib folder and the current xeams.jar file was deleted. Could this be because the installation path is C:\Program Files\Xeams\Xeams?
This install has never been upgraded before and is in a DMZ.
Here are the contents of the lib folder:

Directory of C:\Program Files\Xeams\Xeams\lib

27/05/2023 10:22 AM <DIR> .
27/06/2026 12:28 PM <DIR> ..
10/07/2004 04:13 PM 46,725 commons-codec-1.3.jar
19/04/2011 06:14 AM 2,668,112 derby.jar
19/04/2011 06:14 AM 539,656 derbyclient.jar
19/04/2011 06:14 AM 237,388 derbynet.jar
01/08/2022 03:08 PM 448,195 log4j.jar
21/01/2008 02:31 AM 664,675 lucene.jar
08/05/2018 02:17 PM 654,100 mail.jar
03/03/2015 02:30 PM 1,145 SynametricsCommon.jar
01/08/2022 03:23 PM 42,069,186 Xeams.jar

Regarding #1: JRE version 1.8.0_191 is fine. The latest version works with this JRE. However, once you get Xeams up and working again, it will most likely ask you to upgrade again. Wait for that to happen.

Regarding #2: The installation path is fine and not related to the problem. I am glad you pasted the directory content. Since I see a version of Xeams.jar in this lib folder, Xeams should start. You can also try downloading the latest Xeams.jar from the manual upgrade link I sent earlier.

By the way, there is no file named "workingset.jar". Did you mean "patcher.jar"?

Also, check the logs/Xeams.log file for the actual error that occurs when you attempt to restart. 

One other way to manually start Xeams is to execute the following command:

• Open a Command Prompt
• Change directory to the C:\Program Files\Xeams\Xeams folder using the command: cd "C:\Program Files\Xeams\Xeams"
• Then execute run.bat debug
• This will run Xeams in Command Prompt and display any errors in the console.

Sorry I meant the workfront.jar, do I need this one?

Sorry I was following the article below for patching
https://www.xeams.com/manuallypatching.htm

So I should only download the xeams.jar and place it in the patches folder?

I copied the workfront.zip and xeams.jar to patches and did a restart and it failed.
Here is the error
run.bat debug
Error: Could not find or load main class com.synametrics.xeams.ServerStarter
I have now rolled back to the old xeams.jar and it restarts fine.
Can you please tell me how to address the error above.

Ross,

The error message suggests that the contents of Xeams.jar were modified during download, which can happen if a proxy server scans a downloaded file for viruses, modifies it, and corrupts it.

Try downloading a fresh copy from https://host3.synametrics.com/app?operation=pubopp&id=1782726619820X273048954810000OCEXo. I have renamed Xeams.jar to Xeams.wasJar in the hope that your proxy server won't try to parse it. After downloading both webfront.zip and Xeams.wasJar, rename the file back to Xeams.jar. Then, copy both files to the patches folder and try it again. The MD5 signature of the downloaded Xeams.jar should be ed11add4f5d88f9391b0c899ae8df651.