PracticeWorks: Startup Problem - No Data Dictionary Files

[#1]

Startup Problem: No Data Dictionary Files

This error refers to:

PracticeWorks fails to start-up due to not being able to reach the server.

 

Cause:

There can be many causes but most issues can be resolved by making sure your mapped drive is connected, rebooting your computer and retrying a workstation setup (Wsetup).

 

Displayed message: 

Startup Problem: PracticeWorks has detected a problem during the startup process and cannot locate the proper help file for instructions. 'STARTUP PROBLEM - NO DATA DICTIONARY FILES'. The data dictionary files were not found at ...'

 

Solutions:

No Data Dictionary Files - Mapped drive check

1. Click OK on the error message to close it

2. Open File Explorer from the taskbar or the Start  menu, or press the Windows logo key  + E.

3. Select This PC from the left pane. Confirm the existence of a drive that points to the shared Pworks folder on the server.

4. Double-click on the mapped drive to see if the location is accessible. The actual mapped drive letter can vary.

5. If the network location is accessible, close the folder and open PracticeWorks. PracticeWorks should open normally

6. If the network location is not accessible , you will get any one of several Windows Networking errors.

7. Turn off the computer for 5 seconds and reboot.

8. NOTE: In cases where the network location is accessible and the problem persists, run a Workstation Setup (WSetup) on the affected computer.

9. NOTE: If neither a WSetup nor a reboot solves the issue, work with the office's local computer tech to address network problem. Also, see article related to the specific error received.

 

 

Startup Problem: Cannot Connect to Server

1. Verify that the server is turned on and is running properly. (On networks running PracticeWorks v5.0 and higher, when the Server Key is not visible in the Server's systems tray, it may be necessary to reboot the server.)

2. Determine whether the server really is a server. What is its Operating System? Does it use a server-class Operating System? 

3. Verify that no personal firewalls or other security protection is actively blocking the workstation's connection access. Also check the other icons in the System Tray to be sure that the LAN (Local Area Network connection) has not been disabled.

4. Verify that the data on the server is properly shared and there are no permissions restrictions.

5. Find out how many different devices (computers, scanners, printers, etc) are directly connected to the server. Often there is a limit of 10 connections (not users, connections) at any given time.

6. Restart the workstation.

7. Login in to the workstation normally and open PracticeWorks.

8. In cases where the program still does not open, log out and then log back in again using an Administrative name and password (or the doctor's, or practice owner's). When the program opens under such conditions, the issue is clearly a password/permissions problem which a qualified local network tech should resolve.

9. On the workstation's desktop, double-click the "My Computer" icon.

10. Examine the mapped drive (the data path to the server) and check for a red "X" by it. This "X" indicates that the drive is not accessible.

11. In cases where the "X" does not appear, double-click on the mapped drive to check its accessibility.

12. When the mapped drive remains inaccessible, check the cabling and the connections between the computer and the wall, between the computer and the hub, between the computer and the server, between the hub and the server, etc.

13. Reboot the hub, if possible.

14. Restart the workstation.

15. Open PracticeWorks on the workstation.

16. In some cases there may be a rare variant error message which says the drive "is already connected." To resolve this specific form of the problem, run a Workstation Setup (a "WSetup") from the affected workstation to the server, using the drive that is connected.

17. When all cable connections are tight, the server is running, the drive to the server is properly mapped, an Administrative name and password were used, and now the rebooted workstation still cannot access the program, it may be necessary for a qualified hardware technician to make an on-site visit in order to rectify the connectivity problem.

 

 

Startup Problem - No Read/Write Access in PracticeWorks
 

 

 

Section 1:

QUICK LOGON PROBLEM

In this variation of the problem, the practice cannot open PracticeWorks on the first try, but often when they try rapidly several times in a row, they will get into the program on the second or third attempt. Sometimes they must reboot the workstation before they can get in. In all these scenarios, the problem is an issue with Microsoft settings. The "Quick Logon" feature should be disabled there.

1. Open "Network Neighborhood."

2. Select "Config."

3. Highlight "Client for MS Network."

4. Select "Properties."

5. Change "Quick Log on" to "Log on."

6. Save the changes.

7. Close all these windows and reopen PracticeWorks.

 

Section 2:

"READ/WRITE" PERMISSION IS LITERALLY DENIED

1. Right click on the Pworks folder and go to properties.

2. Select the Security Tab.

3. Highlight the group users and everyone and ensure that Full Control is selected/checked.

4. Open PracticeWorks, if this fails note any messages and contact support.

In cases where the workstation cannot get into PracticeWorks despite rapid repeated attempts to do so - and even after rebooting the workstation -- this message may be literally true. "Read/write" access may be turned off for this user.

The practice should first attempt logging into Windows on this workstation using a different name and password, such as the doctor's or an Administrator's. (If a higher password is not known, it may be necessary for the practice to consult their local network/hardware technician for assistance.) When they are successful logging into the computer under another name and they can then open PracticeWorks without the error, this confirms that problem is indeed a Microsoft permissions issue.

While logged in under an Administrator's name and password, the practice (or their qualified local network tech) should share out all the PracticeWorks folders and sub-folders on the server, granting full access and read/write permission for all users. This is essential for proper functionality of the program.

Section 3:

ADDITIONAL STEP FOR SEVER 2003 - TOO MANY TEMP FILES

In an environment using Windows 2003 Server as the operating system, the "No read/write access" message may indicate that that the 1-gig quota limit on the server has been met. In these cases, it will be necessary for the office to turn off the server's 1-gig limit so that additional information may be saved to the master DATA folder.

Our techs have also found that, when this issue occurs in a Windows Server 2003 environment, there is an additional step which can overcome the error. They discovered that on a Server, where the permissions were located and the disk quota was not enabled, the problem was due to having too many temp files (with a ".tmp" extension) in the DATA folder.

After these temp files were removed, the PracticeWorks Software opened with no errors.

 

Section 4:

NO READ/WRITE ACCESS WITH A GARBLED DATA PATH (MISSING CHARACTERS, ETC., INSTEAD OF A DRIVE LETTER)

When there is no Read/Write Access and the data path is corrupted, check to see if the host name is not resolving. Ping the Server by name and then ping it again by IP address. If the ping-by-name fails to find it but the ping-by-IP does, this may be an indication of malware on the Workstation.

 

The office should also check the affected computer's browser service (the service which handles name resolution) to see that it can be started and is functioning properly. The browser service raises and lowers the firewall; it may be possible to allow communication by leaving the firewall down, but this creates a potential security breach. It is preferable to repair or replace any necessary components. Try restarting the "Computer Browser" service; if this cannot be done, the problem is likely outside the realm of PracticeWorks Support.

Error Codes: 

"Start-up problem: No read/write access."

 

Startup Problem: The Server and/or Share Name Has Changed

Client's network drive is disconnected for some reason. Checking Computer and looking under Network Drives can verify this. If the data path has a red "X" over it, that means it is disconnected. The network drive letter can vary.

Solution:

1. Click OK on the error message to close it

2. Open File Explorer from the taskbar or the Start  menu, or press the Windows logo key  + E.

3. Select This PC from the left pane. Confirm the existence of a drive that points to the shared Pworks folder on the server.

4. Double-click on the mapped drive to see if the location is accessible. The actual mapped drive letter can vary.

5. If the network location is accessible, close the folder and open PracticeWorks. PracticeWorks should open normally

6. If the network location is not accessible , you will get any one of several Windows Networking errors.

7. Turn off the computer for 5 seconds and reboot.

8. NOTE: In cases where the network location is accessible and the problem persists, run a Workstation Setup (WSetup) on the affected computer.

9. NOTE: If neither a WSetup nor a reboot solves the issue, work with the office's local computer tech to address network problem. Also, see article related to the specific error received.

PracticeWorks Startup Problem Message - An Entry for the Device Is Already in the User Profile. (Device N: Device P: Device X: Device Z:, etc.)

1. On the affected computer's desktop, double-click the "This PC" (or "Computer"/"My Computer") icon.

2. Locate the icon for the drive that was mentioned in the error message ("Device P:" or "Device X:" or whatever it was) and double-click on it.

3. In cases where a red "X" or a pop-up error message indicates that the desired drive is not connected to the server, it will be necessary to remap this drive.

4. If the mapped drive goes straight into the C:\PWORKS\DATA folder, remap it so it goes into c:\PWORKS instead, and also reset the PWClient.exe on the local workstation to reflect this mapped drive.

5. In cases where remapping the drive proves to be impossible, the problem may be due to a physical break in the connection between the workstation and the server. Reseat all cabling, reboot the hub if necessary, etc. (NOTE that any such problem is NOT a PracticeWorks Support issue, so be careful limit any such efforts to a reasonable amount of time; this is really a matter for the office's network tech!)

6. Once the chosen drive is successfully remapped and the network connection is restored, run a fresh WSetup on the affected workstation over the newly mapped drive.

7. After the WSetup is completed, open PracticeWorks on the workstation.

8. If the issue persists, rename the local PWORKS.ini file on the local workstation, then also rename the local PWORKS folder, and re-run the WSetup once more via the newly mapped drive.

 

Bad Device - Error Message: Startup Problem - PracticeWorks Has Encountered a Problem Trying to Get a Drive to Connect

This very rare error can usually be resolved by restarting the computer, running a fresh WSetup to re-install PracticeWorks, and then rebooting again.

This will allow the software to open normally, without any errors, and let the user read the imported data.

[inlining]

I've installed PracticeWorks on Windows 10 workstation and the all went smooth including the Pervasive DB installation. Upon launching PW for the first time I'm getting an error "PWSvr.exe was not located in the directory"

I had P drive mapped correctly and ran the setup from P:\PWORKS\DATA\WSETUP SETUP.EXE

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
Patrick 

[inlining]

A little more info... this is a PW 9.1 environment...

[jdowner]

@inlining 

Good morning, 

The message "PWSvr.exe was not located in the directory" indicates that the installer did not fill in the path for where the software is looking for the license.  You can do this manually.

Bring up the windows file browser on that workstation and go to C:\Windows\Syswow64 and open the pwclient.exe application. 

Once open, click on the Options button on the right.  This will bring up the PracticeWorks client options window

In the PracticeWorks Server Path field enter the path to the Pwsvr folder on the server.  This can use either the mapped drive path (going off the path you mentioned P:\pworks\pwsvr)  or it can be the UNC path (\\servername\pworks\pwsvr  or whatever UNC path is accurate for your setup). 

Make sure that the File system Message Timeout and the Mailslot Message Timeout boxes have a minimum of 15 and 5 respectively. 

Click OK to the changes. 

Click Close to close the PWClient app. 

Test opening the CS PracticeWorks Software to confirm it can now open without the message. 

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to reply here or reach out to our phone support.  If needed you can find the current contact information here.