Common User Problems and Solutions

Abnormal Termination

User turns off the terminal/PC without logging off, or the user presses the BREAK key and enters the debugger.

Solution

Depending on what the user was doing, you might want to solve the problem using one of the following methods:

• Have the user continue processing at the point the problem occurred.

• Log off the process from another terminal (use the LOGOFF command).

• Ensure that all transactions (that is, data that was being entered at the time the loss of power occurred) did, in fact, get entered correctly. In order to accomplish this task, you need the assistance of someone who is familiar with the application and its files.

See System Debugger for instructions on different ways to get out of the debugger.

If you are not sure what to do, call your local support representative for help.

Need to Add Space to an Existing Database

Use

mkdbase - N database-name -A numfiles

or

mkdbase -N database-name -a 

See mkdbase Command Line Interface for details.

Terminal Related Problems

Incorrect Terminal Operation (UNIX)

If a terminal, connected to a UNIX machine, seems to be working improperly, carry out the following and adjust as necessary:

1. Check the terminal configuration to ensure it has not been inadvertently modified.
2. Check that the terminal type is set correctly.

No Keystroke Echo

If keystrokes typed on your keyboard are not displayed on the screen, the solution may be one of the following:

• If the terminal and host system are using XON/XOFF flow control and the user presses CTRL+S (or on some terminal types CTRL+F5), an XOFF character is sent to the system, thereby stopping the flow of data to the terminal. To correct, press CTRL+Q (or CTRL+F6) to send an XON character to the system and resume normal communication between the terminal and the host system.

• The user may have inadvertently pressed the HOLD key. To correct, press the HOLD key again.

Keyboard Inoperative

If a keyboard stops working, check that the it is plugged in properly and that CTRL+S or HOLD (or on some terminal types CTRL+F5) have not been pressed (see No Keystroke Echo above). If necessary attach a different keyboard to the terminal and call your local support representative.

Terminal Inoperative

If a terminal stops working, and you do not have a keyboard problem, ensure that the monitor is switched on and the brightness has not been turned down. Try swapping terminals to determine whether the terminal or the line causes the problem. Then call your local support representative.

Tape Errors

Parity Errors on Tape

If you are getting parity errors on your tape drive, carry out the steps below until the problem is resolved:

• Make sure you set the tape drive at the proper density.

• Clean the tape drive heads.

• Use a different tape to see if you still get errors.

• If other tapes do not cause problems, have the problem tape(s) cleaned.

• If you still have tape parity errors, call your local support representative.

Cannot Attach to Tape Image Device

If, when you attach a tape image device, you receive the message:

RmiAssign: <3106> Device doesn't exist
[4005] UNABLE TO OPEN THE DEVICE ASSOCIATED WITH REQUESTED DRIVE.

check the following:

• That the path to the image file is valid.

• If using Reality on Windows, that the image file is not on a network share.

In the latter case, the problem may only occur when logged on remotely. If this is the case, refer to Tape Images on Windows for details of how to configure your network share.

Terminal/PC Locked

If your Reality terminal or PC is locked, carry out the steps below until the problem is resolved.

1. From another terminal/PC logged-on to the same Reality database, enter the following:

   :LOGOFF port-number

   where port-number is the Reality port number of the locked terminal/PC.

2. Switch the terminal off and back on again, or shutdown the PC and restart RealLink for Windows, as appropriate.

3. If Reality is running on a UNIX host continue with step 4.

   If Reality is running on a Windows host continue with step 5.

UNIX System

4. On a UNIX host, determine the UNIX process number of the reality process associated with the locked terminal/PC, as follows:

   If the terminal name or port number is known, enter:

   ps -t terminal-name

   at the UNIX shell or

   WHERE portnumber

   at TCL as appropriate.

   If the terminal name or port number is not known, list all reality processes by entering:

   ps -ef | grep reality

   at the UNIX shell. Once the process id is known, enter:

   kill -9 process-id

   at the UNIX shell.

Windows System

5. On a Windows host, determine the Windows thread process number of the reality process associated with the locked terminal/PC, as follows:

   If the process number is known, enter:

   WHERE portnumber

   at TCL.

   If the process number is not known, list all reality processes, by entering:

   rkill -l | more

   at the Windows Command Prompt. Once the process id is known, enter:

   rkill -e process-id

Permission Denied Message (UNIX Only)

If permission is denied when attempting to create a file or the message write failed: file system full  is displayed, check the amount of disk space which is being used with the Reality POVF command.

To solve the problem, you might:

• Remove files and accounts that are no longer needed.

• If this is not possible, increase the size of your database.

Unable to Logon

If users cannot log on to Reality, this may be due to the following:

Number of Licensed Logons Exceeded

If, when you attempt to log on, you receive the message <49017>: Too many connections, the number of licensed logons for the system has been exceeded. Try again later.

No Port Available

If, when you attempt to log on, you receive the message <49022>: No port, all the ports configured on the database are in use. Try again later.

Logons Inhibited

If, when you attempt to log on, you receive the message <49004> logons inhibited, do the following:

1. Log on to the host as super-user (UNIX only), or the database owner:

2. On Windows, start a Command Prompt.

3. Enter the following command:

   unlockdbase database-name

Cannot Connect to Reality on Windows

If you are unable to connect via telnet to a database on a Windows system:

• If you receive the message <30002> Open of partition failed, the permissions on the database are incorrect. This can happen if you were connected to a Windows domain when you installed Reality, but are attempting to connect while not connected to that domain.

  To solve this problem, you must create a user called "Reality User" on the host on which Reality is installed and then update the permissions on the database files. This can be done as follows:

  1. Logon on to Windows system as an administrator.

  2. Start a command prompt.

  3. Run the command

     c:\realman\ntinstall -l

     to create a local user called "Reality User".

  4. Run the command

     mkdbase -R databaseName

     where databaseName is the name of the database concerned. This will update the permissions on the database files.

     Caution

     Be careful to use the -R (upper case) option - the -r (lower case) option clears and rebuilds the database.

• If your database is on a Windows 7 or Server 2008 host, check that it has been created in a folder with unrestricted access, such as a dedicated subfolder within the root folder. A database in a user's home folder cannot be accessed remotely.

Other Logon Problems

If the problem is none of the above it may be necessary to shut down the database - use the following procedure:

1. If you currently have a logon to the database, log off all Reality users using the LOGOFF command.

2. Log on to the host as super-user (UNIX only), or the database owner, and enter:

   killreal -d database-name

Users should now be able to log on to the database again.

If more than one database is affected, all databases can be shutdown as follows:

1. Log on as the super-user (UNIX) or administrator (Windows) and terminate the Reality daemons or services:

   • On UNIX enter

     killreal

   • On Windows enter

     realserv -e

2. Restart the central daemon (UNIX) or Reality services (Windows):

   • On UNIX enter

     realstart

   • On Windows enter

     realserv -s

/etc/init.d/reality stop

/etc/init.d/reality start

Unable to Start Reality

If, when you attempt to log on to Reality, you receive the message <30020> Database needs checking, do the following:

1. Log on to the host as super-user (UNIX only), or the database owner:

2. On Windows, start a Command Prompt.

3. Enter the following commands:

   realdbck database-name
   unlockdbase database-name

Ethernet Problems on a UNIX Host

If Ethernet errors are preventing communication with the host, restart the Ethernet services by following the steps below.

1. Stop the Ethernet services by entering at the console:

   /etc/init.d/ethernet stop

2. Restart the Ethernet services by entering at the console:

   /etc/init.d/ethernet start

Hashes Returned when Reading from a File

If, when you read from a file, only hashes are returned, the file is encrypted and you do not have the encryption key. For details, refer to Giving Users Access to Encrypted Files.

Proc or TCL Macro Fails

A Proc or TCL Macro fails with one of the following error messages:

[265] Tried to run 'name1' Proc from within 'name2' Proc.

[264] Tried to run 'name1' Proc from macro invoked from 'name2' Proc.

This occurs if the TRAP.EMBEDDED.PROC environment option is set and your Proc uses the P command to call another Proc or to call a TCL macro that calls another Proc. Calling a Proc in this way can produce unexpected results, because the called Proc or TCL macro will not return to the calling Proc.

There are two ways to solve this problem:

• The recommended solution is to replace the P command with [ ]. Make sure that the called Proc ends with RTN.

• If the calling Proc has no commands following the P command concerned, you can clear the TRAP.EMBEDDED.PROC environment option.

Documentation Problems

Some topics are not displayed when selected from the index:

Solution

Configure your browser's popup blocker feature to allow popups from the location where you have installed the Reality documentation.