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Technical FAQ's

Select the common issue below which best matches your problem. If the issue you are having isn't listed, click here

The Viewing Station cannot find the server
I am unable to save my shopping cart or change my shopping cart name but I am able to view photos
I get errors when installing upgrades or patches
The list of events on the viewing station screen goes blank for long periods of time.
Images load very slowly when an event is selected.

The Viewing Station cannot find the server

First check the following:

Loader PC/Server is turned on.
All network cables are plugged in and in good condition.
Network router or switch is turned on.
Be sure to disable any third party firewalls or security software (Norton, MacAfee, etc.)
Make sure the loader/server name is not "Server" and that the Server name does not include any slashes (/), backslashes (\) or IP Addresses - just the computer name of the Server.

Ensure the computer name of the loader is correct. On Loader/server select: Start, Right Click on My Computer > Properties.

(XP Home Users) If all of the above is correct, go to the "5MinutePhoto" Folder (normally on the C: drive) on the loader/server and right-click on "viewing" folder.
Select Sharing & Security.
De-select "allow users to change my files" and click on APPLY. De-Select "share this folder on the network" and click on APPLY. Re-select "Share this folder on the network" and change the "share folder as" name to EventView instead of Viewing then click APPLY. Re-Select "allow users to change my files" and click on APPLY and then OK.

The Viewing Station should now be able to reach the server. (Note: You will continue to get an error if there are no events that have been processed. This error message will disappear when you process your first images and the processing is complete.)

If you still cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the workgroup click here

If you have only a few viewers randomly losing connections, the Operating System or hardware on the Loader/Server could be denying their requests because it is too busy supplying information to other viewing stations or processing images or other tasks running on itself. Be sure you are running an operating system that can handle the number of incoming connections and that there is enough hardware to support such work. (XP Home= 5 Connections, XP PRO/Vista/Windows 7 = 10 Connections, MS Windows Server 2003/2008= Depends on CAL's purchased. Note: Just because an operating system has sufficient allowable connections does not mean that the computer will allow them all to connect successfully. Windows has and will sometimes knock off viewing stations even though there may only be 7 or 8 connected under extreme stressed network activity.)

Does this fix your problem? YES   NO

I am unable to save my shopping cart or change my shopping cart name but I am able to view photos

Be sure to disable any third party firewalls or security software (Norton, MacAfee, etc.) and make sure that the Viewing folder shared has EventView is properly setup to allow Everyone full control (see addendum of User Manual for more details and configuration steps)

If the above is correct, go to the "5MinutePhoto" Folder (normally on the C: drive) on the loader/server and right-click on "viewing" folder. Select Sharing & Security.
De-select "allow users to change my files" and click on APPLY. De-Select "share this folder on the network" and click on APPLY. Re-select "Share this folder on the network" and change the "share folder as" name to EventView instead of Viewing then click APPLY. Re-Select "allow users to change my files" and click on APPLY and then OK.

You should now be able to save and change the name of your shopping cart.

Does this fix your problem? YES   NO

I get errors when installing upgrades or patches

Be sure you are running a compatible Operating System for the version of 5 Minute Photo you are trying to install. Current Recommended Version of Windows are 32-bit and/or 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Windows XP Home/Pro running SP2 or SP3, Windows Vista SP1/SP2, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (SP1).

Before installing any upgrade or patch, be sure to uninstall any previous installation of 5 Minute Photo by going to "Control Panel" on the start menu and selecting "Add/Remove Programs."

If you still get an error right-click on "Start" and then "Explore." Go to the C: drive and click on "Documents & Settings."  Open the folder that is the user name of administrator for the computer, or the user that the 5 Minute Photo Software was installed under. Go to "Tools" on the menu bar and select "Folder Options." Select the "View" tab and select "Show hidden files and folders." Click on OK. Select on the dimmed-out folder called "Local Settings." In the Local Settings folder DELETE the entire folder called "Apps." Attempt to install the software again.

Does this fix your problem? YES   NO

The list of events on the viewing station screen goes blank for long periods of time.

This issue is normally caused with slow or marginal network setups and network cards that have 'Flow Control' enabled.

To determine your network card settings: Click on "Start" and then "Network Connections."  Right click on the network connection for your set-up (normally Local Area Connection) and select "Properties."  On the 'General' tab, near the top of the window that opens, the type of network card is listed with a Configure button to the right. Click on the "Configure" button. Select the 'Advanced' tab at the top of the new window. If there is an option listed as 'Flow Control,' it should be disabled.  If there is no such option listed, Flow Control is not a feature of your network card and can not be changed. Check this on all computers, especially the 5 Minute Photo Loader/Server

If you continue to have slow network response, load times, or the main screen goes blank for longer than a second or so, consider upgrading your network hardware. Remember that if using Gigabit network devices, ALL links in the chain must be Gigabit (i.e., networks cards, switches, routers, etc.) or the network will not be fully capable of producing faster network speeds. Another issue with slow speeds could also be memory/RAM. 1GB is recommended for Viewing Stations and 2GB is recommended for Loader/Server. Processors with at least 1GHz speeds are required on Viewing Stations and 2GHz or higher for Loader/Server computers. These recommendations/requirements do not apply to computers running virtual devices.

Does this fix your problem? YES   NO

Images load very slowly when an event is selected.

This problem can occur from the following issues. Be sure that these are not the issue:

• # Images/Image Size - There are limits to the amount of images and their file sizes that a computer can handle. To maintain optimum performance a good rule of thumb is to limit the number of images in a folder to 125-150 and be sure that the originals are not extra large format file sizes (3MB+). If you require a larger file size, reduce the number of images per folder to compensate. These figures are based on having at least 1GB RAM and 1.2 GHz processor on a 10/100MB network. This could also cause slow processing on the Loader/Server.
• Network traffic/reliability - Be sure that your network and all components therein are in good working order and have the proper settings for maximum effectiveness (see Flow Control above).
• There is not enough free memory on the Loader or the Viewers and/or the processor speeds are not adequate for the number of images/file sizes being processed/viewed.

Does this fix your problem? YES   NO