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Troubleshooting
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Browse through the headings in this section to find help in solving common day-to-day problems. |
Power down
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Power down means that the electricity supply to some of the 4XTRA processors or equipment has failed. When this happens unexpectedly, (a pick axe through the main power cable) recovery can be unpredictable. |
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If you know that engineers are going to take the power down for a period, for example, at the weekend to do some work, it is best to pre-empt problems by bringing the system down in a controlled fashion, then when the supply is returned, bring the system back up again. |
Controlled Power Down
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To take down the system and power off: |
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1 Logout all users. |
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2 Switch off all print servers. |
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3 Disconnect the rates feed and stop all batch machines. |
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4 On the Server Console type DOWN <Enter>. |
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5 Switch off the server. |
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Controlled Power Up
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Bring up the server first, watching the console on the way up for any problems. Power on the rest of the equipment in any convenient order. |
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Note: |
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When you turn on the power (Cold boot) on a 4XTRA machine, it will sometimes lock and not start up 4XTRA. In this case press <Alt><Ctrl><Del> at the same time to perform a warm reboot. This usually cures the problem. |
Power up after unexpected power failure
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The effects of a power up after an uncontrolled power loss are unpredictable, but the following areas can cause problems: |
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Most probably all machines will still have the power switch on. Some may blow up if there is a power surge when the power returns. |
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A server with mirrored disks may be out of step or you may have been caught in the middle of an update in which case you may need to use NOVELL VREPAIR to repair the server volume. See the NOVELL manual for instructions. |
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The server usually takes longer to restart than the batch and user machines. Thus if there has been an interruption in the power supply to all servers, batch and users, when the batch and user machines start they immediately try to access the server, which is still loading, therefore unavailable. In this case batch and user machines will need rebooted when the server is operational again. |
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Server |
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Restart the server first if necessary. If the server looks as if it is OK when power returns, you should not need to restart or repair it. |
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User and Batch machines |
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The user and batch machines may need attention once the server is active, as you may find they are displaying the C:\ prompt. |
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Warm boot each machine in turn using <Alt><Ctrl><Del> which usually solves the problem. As each user machine is brought up, it accesses the server and starts 4XTRA. |
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Mirrored Disks |
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If your server has built in fault tolerance you should refer to the supplier’s diagnostics and recovery procedures. |
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Error on user machine
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There are two main ways you may find that 4XTRA is giving the "wrong answer". Either a dealer reports that the figures he sees are not correct, or 4XTRA reports an error. |
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In the first case, try to make sure that the origin of the problem is not simply the wrong numbers being typed by the dealer before reporting it to HMW. HMW will require as much information as possible to identify and resolve the problem. |
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When 4XTRA finds a problem during normal operation, it shows the error on the 4XTRA system monitor and also displays a message on the screen of the offending PC: |
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at 13:13:13 |
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4XTRA found a value error |
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in program CHK_DATE |
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Please call the 4XTRA help line |
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..... |
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If you see an error message like this you will need to investigate the problem to see if |
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It is a bug, which you have noted before, in which case you should know its cause; have reported it to HMW; and been told how to handle it, and when to expect a fix. |
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It is a bug, which will need code changes to fix. If this is the case please report to HMW. |
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It has been reported as an error, but it is not. In this case you can restart by pressing F7. Note that if you can continue with F7, then once the routine is finished, exit and force the user to resign on again as the error reporting is turned off after the first error is reported. |
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Note that certain parts of code are sensitive, and if errors occur in these sections, they must be completed or backed out before continuing. This is especially true for updating files. If you are unsure of what to do, follow the call out procedure, letting HMW know what the error is. |
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If the machine is hung, use <Alt><Ctrl><Del> to restart, and then try again. If it will not respond to <Alt><Ctrl><Del> try powering the machine off then on. In most cases the problem will disappear. However, if the error occurs again, call HMW. If you look through the error log using the Monitor you can review events back through time. Repeated errors should be reported to HMW who can supply a fix. |
Error on batch machines
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The batch machines are less user-friendly and usually splash a raw error message on the screen, scream like a banshee and display: |
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error in 4XTRA Esc. for keyboard and any other key for 5 minutes quiet |
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You should press escape, and investigate the error, and try and fix it and or find why it has occurred. If necessary reboot or if the line is re-startable try F7 to continue. Cutting back using F5 and then F7 to restart is also worth considering, but you must check that this re-startable without bad side effects. If another error occurs, phone HMW. |
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This error will also be shown through the 4XTRA monitor screen, where you can use the remote repair facility to repair the fault. |
Laser disk will not eject
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This can occur if the drive becomes corrupt or it runs out of space during a write operation. |
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Use the Corel utilities to try and repair the cartridge before attempting the release procedure again. |
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If this fails you must take the server down to release the cartridge. After you have warned all 4XTRA users and others who may be using it, follow the Controlled Power Down procedures described later. Once the server is down, pushing the cartridge release button on the Laser drive should release the cartridge. |
Overnight Batch does not start
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If the Overnight Batch does not start at its normal time, it is usually because some deals have not been completed, and so there are NNN deals or deals without instructions to be completed. In this case you must find a dealer to add instructions to the deal. You can find out which deals need instructions by using the Deal Instructions option in the Operation, Spot Blotter or Deals pull down. When asked for Dealer initials, type in ALL and press <Enter>. |
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Experience has shown that it is best to start identifying dealers who have still to complete deals an hour before they tend to leave the office, and monitor the situation until all deals have been completed. The batch will not start if there are unconfirmed deals, and only a dealer can complete them. It is thus vital that the close of business status is monitored closely. If all the dealers have left the office, and there are still unconfirmed deals, you must contact a trader to come back and complete them. This will cause such troubles that hopefully it will never happen again. |
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The 4XTRA monitor option screen shows the number of outstanding NNNs and deals without instructions. In addition, between the time the close of business rates are taken, and the start of the overnight batch, the Monitor screen issues an ascending tone noise to alert the operator that there are outstanding deals. At this stage, go on to the floor and get someone to take the responsibility of completing the instructions, or if this is impossible, to reverse the deal. Reversed deals, or deals with incorrect instructions, can usually be corrected tomorrow. |
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If there are no deals outstanding, it is best to use the 4XTRA Monitor option to highlight the problem. For example, this may show: |
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A machine or software fault |
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The batch time has been rescheduled |
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COB rates process has failed |
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The start or end of British Summer Time or other clock change process which makes the system differ from actual time. |
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Rate feed may be down
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The rates supply (Knight Ridder and/or the money centre and/or Reuters) and/or 4XTRA will issue this warning message if it looks as if the rate feed may be down. If it is true you should contact the supplier and be patient and await the return of service. |
Clock change
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If the server (and hence all 4XTRA machines) time is incorrect, perhaps due to clock changes for Summer Time, it is necessary to reset the server's clock. |
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On the server console at the colon prompt type: |
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SET TIME 07:20:00 to set the time to 7:20 A.M. |
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As each 4XTRA machine starts up, it takes the new time from the server. You may need to interrupt then boot the background and user machines to let them reset their own clocks. |
Static Editor Browse Only
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All users can browse the Static data, but only one user can be editing at any one time. If the user machine which is actively editing static data looses contact with the network, the user is treated as still logged on with edit access until they reboot and contact the system again. In this case, to release the static editor feature: |
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1 Restart the user machine. |
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2 Log on, choose Static Edit and exit normally to finish the session. |
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Or |
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The 4XTRA Monitor shows which user currently has the edit access. (Static update field shows the user initials and time started in static edit). Contact them and find out their current status and, if necessary, use the Control Flag Reset option in the Static pull down to clear their control. |
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Deals locked queue
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As dealers enquire on deals, and investigate deal details, 4XTRA locks the particular deal. When the dealer stops viewing, or completes reversing the deal is unlocked. If a user crashes or remains viewing the deal, the deal will stay locked and will need to be reset before anyone can get hold of it again. By selecting the DEALS LOCKED QUEUE in the Systems pull down it is possible to see which deals have been reversed, cancelled or are still held, and by whom and at what time. Select the held deal to be unlocked and then OK and the deal will be unlocked. The usual requirement to use this facility is either because the dealer has forgotten his password when reversing the deal (and thus is logged as a security violation and asked to re- log on) or a system crash on the dealer machine when the deal was locked. |
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Making a PC a 4XTRA machine
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4XTRA machines have a special set-up. i.e. |
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CONFIG.SYS |
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AUTOEXEC.BAT and called .BAT files |
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C:\4XTRA directory with #REENTRY.BAT, 4XTRA.BAT and various network contact files etc. |
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C:\4XTRA\BGND\ etc. to hold user produced report images or copies of the system if a batch machine |
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If all 4XTRA machines are the same (i.e. version of DOS, memory size etc.) then there will be one version of the files (CONFIG, AUTOEXEC etc.). If there are a range of machines, each type may have its own special version of the files. For further information for your site see Appendix . |
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