The plug-in installation was likely coincidental. We have seen the ASTSRV.EXE get deleted from the C:\Windows\System32 folder, but we're not sure why. It doesn't make a lot of sense that a file can be fully installed and working in Windows, then suddenly deletes itself from the System32 folder.
That being said, reinstallation of MetaStock will resolve the issue. We've also included a "Resource" folder on the MetaStock 11 CD that contains the ASTSRV.EXE, which needs to reside in the C:\Windows\System32 (or SysWOW64 on 64-bit OS's). Downloads will simply have to be reinstalled,
or you can also use this link to get a copy of the ASTSRV.EXE:
http://sf.equis.com/b1093695-2f9e-4f7c-ac02-4fa8a8b675d5_ASTSRV_MS11.exeNote: The above download will attempt to auto-unzip this file into C:\Windows\System32. Windows Vista/Windows 7 may have issues with this and it may be best to Browse and unzip the file to your Desktop, then manually Copy/Paste the file into the appropriate folder. If this sounds more complicated than its worth, just reinstall MetaStock :)
Additionally, we have yet to see the file go missing on the same PC twice, so reinstalling once should correct the issue permanently on that particular PC.
It also seems that the ASTSRV.EXE goes missing after the first reboot on some PC's. We'll continue looking for a logical explanation of this, but it has been a challenge to find a definitive explanation.