Skip to main content
Skip table of contents

Install Personal Desktop Client on Windows

This article is valid from Nexus Personal Desktop Client 5.1.

This article describes how to install Nexus Personal Desktop Client on Windows.

MSI-based installers are available for x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) Windows platforms. The installers include standard operations such as install and uninstall along with the option to install silently.

Install Personal Desktop Client on Windows

  1. Double-click the appropriate MSI-file for 32-bit or 64-bit Windows.

  2. Follow the instructions in the installer wizard.

Install Personal Desktop Client using Firefox

If you are using Firefox, follow the steps below to install Personal Desktop Client.

Prerequisites

  • Firefox installed

Step-by-step instruction

  1. Install Personal Desktop Client as described above. This will install the Firefox add-on as well.

  2. Allow the Add-on in Firefox:

    1. Click the yellow triangle in the upper right corner.

    2. Click on Details.

    3. Click Enable to allow the Add-on in Firefox.

  3. Start Personal Desktop Client.

  4. Insert a card with valid certificate in the reader and check that is is visible in the Personal Desktop Client.

  5. In Firefox, go to Options > Privacy & Security > Security Device and check that the correct PKCS#11 Add-on library is set.

  6. Go to your TLS authentication page or to the https://prod.idrix.eu/secure and test that TLS authentication can be correctly done:

    1. Select certificate.

    2. Enter PIN.

    3. Check that SSL Authentication is valid.

  7. If this fails, make screenshots of the installation and send logs from %APPDATA%/Roaming/Personal/log to Nexus Support, see Support articles.

Reverse installation

If Personal Desktop Client is already installed (before Firefox is installed), follow these steps:

  1. Install Firefox.

  2. In Firefox, go to Options > Add-ons.

  3. Select Install Add-on from file.

  4. Select the file C:\Program Files (x86)\Personal\firefox\nexus_personal_pkcs11-1.0.0-and+fx.xpi and install it.

After the installation

File structure

This is the file structure that is created when installing Personal Desktop Client.

Directories

Contains

-- Personal

  | -- bin

Executables and shared libraries. For example:

  • personal.dll, which contains APIs for:

    • PKCS#11 (Public-Key Cryptographic Standard) and

    • CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider).

  • minidriver.dll, which contains the Microsoft minidriver.

  | -- bin64

64 bit versions of executables and shared libraries. For example:

  • personal64.dll

  • minidriver64.dll

  | -- config

Includes a configuration file for an admin user with information about specific options. Read more under heading "The configuration file" below.

  | -- doc

End user help files. 

Additional directories and files

  • The cache directory is created in user profile directory when needed (that is, under %APPDATA%\Personal\).

  • Firefox add-ons are installed into HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions and native manifest into HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\PKCS11Modules. This is required for using Personal Desktop Client PKCS#11 in Firefox. You must allow the add-ons in Firefox, see above under heading "Install Personal Desktop Client when using Firefox".
    The firefox directory is added in the file structure: 

    | -- firefox Nexus Personal PKCS#11 add-on for Firefox.

Shortcuts

Personal Desktop Client installs these shortcuts in the Programs menu:

  • Personal

  • Personal Help

A shortcut is also created under the Startup menu so that Personal Desktop Client will start when logging into the machine.

List of event log and return codes

Event ID/Return Code

Text

2000

<product name> <program version> successfully installed.

2001

Operating system version not supported by installation program.

2002

Installation program requires administrator privileges.

2003

Uninstallation program requires administrator privileges.

2004

A newer version of <product name> exists.

2005

Upgrade of <product name> declined.

2006

Reinstall of <product name> declined.

2007

Upgrade started.

2008

Upgrade failed.

2009

Uninstallation started.

2010

Current installation of <product name> cannot be upgraded to current version (<program version>). Uninstall it and run this installation program again.

2011

Uninstallation started, no installation to uninstall.

2012

Installation started with unknown arguments.

2013

Installation of <product name> is already running.

2014

Failure communicating with operating system.

2015

Out of memory.

2016

Failed to create installation directory.

2017

Failed using temporary directory for installation.

2018

Modular upgrade installation does not support switch given to modular upgrade program.

2019

Modular upgrade successfully performed.

2020

Modular upgrade requires administrator privileges.

2021

<product name> not installed, modular upgrade cannot be performed.

2022

Modular upgrade of <product name> declined.

2023

Modular upgrade of <product name> denied. Installed version of <product name> was not <program version>.

2024

Uninstallation of <product name> successful.

2025

Uninstallation of <product name> successful. Reboot needed.

2026

Installation could not proceed due to problems regarding an existing installation.

2027

Modular upgrade could not proceed due to problems regarding an existing installation.

2028

Operating system version no longer supported by installation program.

2029

Installation could not proceed since a Personal Desktop version with incompatible classification is already installed on the system.

4000

Installation of <program version> failed. Contact support.

Configuration file

Config file shipped with the product

The configuration file that is shipped with the product is included in the config directory. It includes information about specific options and comments and is intended for an admin user.

Private user config file

When you start Personal Desktop Client, a private configuration file is created. The location for the private configuration file is normally %APPDATA%\Personal\config.

Priority of config files

For most configuration parameters, Personal Desktop Client first checks the user config file and then configuration file shipped with the product.

Sample configuration file

You can download a sample configuration file that includes all available options, see Sample configuration file for Personal Desktop Client.

Uninstall Personal Desktop Client on Windows

  1. To uninstall Personal Desktop Client, use the Add/Remove programs buttons.

Upgrade Personal Desktop Client

You can upgrade from older versions of Personal Desktop Client to the current version.

  1. Follow the instructions in Install Personal Desktop Client above.

  2. All settings will remain untouched.

The installation program will not uninstall iD2 or SmartTrust versions of Personal Desktop Client. It is possible to migrate soft tokens from those versions to the current version of Personal Desktop Client.

Additional information

JavaScript errors detected

Please note, these errors can depend on your browser setup.

If this problem persists, please contact our support.