Contents
 Book-It Troubleshooting Contents

The following Help topics are available. Use the scroll bar to see entries not currently visible in the Help window. You should use this help file if you are having difficulty installing Book-It or if you have installed it but things do not appear to be working as they should be doing. The troubleshooting help file will be updated regularly with common problems reported by registered users. You should always consult it before trying to contact Instinctive Systems Ltd.

DOS Errors

Fatal Errors

General Protection Faults (GPFs)

Printer Problems

Registration Password Problems

Segment Load Failures

System Freezes

The errors listed in this help file are by no means comprehensive, they are simply the most common problems reported to us to date. Please consult your DOS, Windows and PC Hardware manuals for any errors not listed.


 DOS Errors

There are many DOS Errors that can occur on your system. These errors are reported by your DOS operating system, not Book-It. You should consult your DOS manual for an explanation of the error reported. The most common DOS errors experienced to date whilst using Book-It are listed below.

DOS Error 4 - Too Many Files Open

DOS Error 4 is generated when you try to open more files than you have configured your system to allow open simultaneously. The most common solution to this is to increase the value of your FILES command in your C:\CONFIG.SYS. DOS itself requires 5 files, Book-It requires approximately 40 files and Windows and any other applications open may require more. The following is usually adequate but some users may need to increase this further.

FILES=99

Network users should be aware that even though they have set their FILES command to a high value, their network software may also need configuring. Novell Netware 3.11, for example, also needs a FILEHANDLES entry in a NET.CFG network configuration file. See your network manual for further information.


 Fatal Errors

Fatal errors are generally errors reported directly by Book-It when it comes across an unexpected situation. They typically appear in a red box headed Fatal Error. There can be many reasons for these errors, most of which will require investigation by Instinctive Systems. When you come across one of these problems a file of the format 12345678.ERR (where 12345678 is a random number) will always be produced in your Book-It directory. This file will contain information that Instinctive Systems will require in order to work out what you were doing when the error occurred and why it occurred so that it can then be corrected. In all instances of receiving one of these errors, you should send a copy of the entire file on disk or paper by mail or by email to Instinctive systems. In order to obtain a faster resolution to your problem you should can also fax the first page of the file (please do not fax the entire file as it is a very big file when printed) with a note of what you were doing to produce the problem. In many instances we may also request a copy of your data in order to replicate the problem. You can also speed things up by sending a copy of your data with the error file - acceptable formats include PKZIP204g or below, MS Backup or MS DOS Backup.

Please do not try to continue with Book-It without informing us of any Fatal Errors you receive or the system could become unusable later unless the problem is resolved.

Several Fatal Errors can be resolved by running a Reindex from the Miscellaneous menu.


 General Protection Faults (GPFs)

Book-It can be prone to general protection faults (GPFs) with certain software hardware configurations. GPFs typically occur when there is a clash between two applications that are running or between Book-It and a hardware device driver. GPFs are often preceeded by Segment Load Failure error messages. Most GPFs reported to date have been due to memory clashes between Book-It and buggy video driver software. Some require special action as described below, others can be simple bugs in other applications running that prove very difficult to replicate again. Whatever the solution to your GPF - ALWAYS RESTART WINDOWS.

Non-Standard Video Drivers

Many new Windows accelerator video driver software are not as strict as they should be in the areas of system memory that they use. This can lead to Book-It writing to an area of memory that a video driver is using which it should not be using or the video driver writing to an area that is in use already by Book-It. These GPFs can usually be resolved in the short-term by changing Windows Setup to use a Standard Windows VGA  driver instead of the 3rd party video driver. This may lead to a reduction in performance but can be resolved in the medium-long term by contacting the 3rd party video driver manufacturer directly and asking for the lastest version of the video driver available. This has been successful in all problems of this type reported to date.

CD ROM And Network Card Clashes

Some CD ROM systems and network cards require to use certain areas of system memory. You should check your CD ROM or network card manual and Windows manual for instructions of how to tell Windows to reserve those areas of memory and exclude them to other applications.

If All Else Fails

If all else fails, you can tell Book-It and other Windows applications not to use certain areas of Windows memory even though it may be available. This will certainly slow down system performance but may overcome your problem. To do this simply load Windows with one or more of the following parameters whenever you wish to use Windows

WIN /D:[F][S][V][X]

See your Windows manual for an explanation of the various troubleshooting options available here.


 Printer Problems

Book-It does not print directly to printers, instead it uses Windows to print to your printers. This has the advantage that there is no printer specific programming within Book-It itself and Book-It will therefore support any printers that are supported by your Windows software. If you are experiencing printing problems from Book-It you should always start another Windows application (eg Word, Window Write etc) and try printing from that application. Ensuring that your printer is switched on, connected properly and configured properly in Windows should resolve most printer conflicts. See you Windows and printer manuals for more information. The following common problems may also occur.

Nothing Will Print

This is generally because the printer is not switched on, connected properly or is paused because it is off-line, has had a paper jam or is out of paper. Windows 3.1 and 3.11 users should open their Windows Printer Manager, select the required printer and then select the option to restart the paused printer (see your Windows manual for detailed instructions). Windows 95 users should find that paused printers will restart automatically.

Garbage Is Printed

The most common cause of this is having the incorrect printer driver loaded for your printer in Windows Control Panel. Consult you Windows manual for instructions of how to install the correct printer driver. Another cause might be that printing was interrupted part way through printing by a power failure for example. To resolve this first delete all printer jobs in your Windows Print Manager then reset your printer using a reset button or by powering off and on.

Printing Does Not Fit On Page

If printing appears to be cut off at the edges of the page, you are probably using a print driver that is close to the one needed by your printer but is still not the correct one. See your printer supplier for details of the correct driver. If you are using the correct driver then send a copy of the report experiencing the problem to Instinctive Systems along with a photocopy of sections of your printer manual relating to your printer specification in particular printable area and we will see if any reports can be adjusted to work with your printer.

Printer Driver Corrupt Or Printer Not Ready

There is a known conflict between Adobe Type Manager and the Windows Generic print driver. You should only be using the Generic print driver if you wish to print single labels (see Tips And Tricks in Book-It Help System). If you must also use Adobe Type Manager please contact Microsoft and Adobe for latest information.


 Registration Password Problems

In order to ensure that you are a registered user of Book-It, upon registration you will be sent a unique registration password. Several users to date have had problems with their registration passwords. The most common problems are listed below.

New Registration Password Is Rejected

The registration password is generated from an encryption of your name and your company name (if applicable). You should ensure that you have set up your name and company name in the Miscellaneous, User Details screen exactly as they are displayed on the registration letter received from Instinctive Systems. If the registration letter is incorrect you should contact Instinctive Systems with the correct details (in writing please to avoid further mistakes).

Another cause for rejection could be that you have been sent a registration password for a version of Book-It other than the one you are installing. Please be sure to install the correct version if you have been sent an updated version. All versions should automatically upgrade any existing data files you may already have.

Version 1.0 registration was case-sensitive but later versions are not.

Changing Your Name Or Company Name

If you wish to change your name or company name in the Miscellaneous, User Details screen then your registration password will become invalid, you should contact Instinctive Systems Ltd in writing for a new registration password. Please enclose your new headed stationary if your company name has changed. There is no charge for this service.


 System Freezes

From time to time you may experience system freezes when using Book-It. The most common occurrance of this to date has been when starting Book-It from the Windows menu as it tries to open its data files. It generally follows a power failure or some kind of system failure that has managed to corrupt one or more of the applications data files. More often than not the file that gets corrupted in these instance is the index file (.CDX file). Book-It provides two ways to rebuild index files in the event of corruption which are described below. In the unfortunate event that a file other than the index file has been corrupted then your best option will generally be to restore from your most recent backup. Instinctive Systems may be able to recover some other corruptions if you send a copy of your data but this can be a time consuming process, cannot be guaranteed and must therefore be chargeable.

Rebuilding Index Files Within Book-It

To rebuild index files from within Book-It simply selected the Miscellaneous, Reindex Files menu option. This will rebuild all index files within the application. The facility will never harm your data and can be run as often as you like, however, it is only generally necessary when you suspect a problem with your system.

Rebuilding Index Files From Outside Book-It

If your index files are so corrupt that you cannot even get into Book-It to run the menu option, then you should run Book-It with the REINDEX parameter. Windows 95 users can do this by simply typing BOOKIT REINDEX from the MS-DOS prompt within their C:\BOOKIT directory, other users may have to amend their program manager item properties to include the word REINDEX after BOOKIT on their icon command line prompt. Some users may even already have a Book-It With Reindex icon set up which they can use.

Beware when using this option that there are currently no network users already using Book-It and remember that once you have fixed the problem, you no longer have to run a reindex every time that you use Book-It.