Question:
I had an unexpected error when installing OR using FastMaint. The Support Team asked me to send one or more of the following files:
1) Installer log file
2) Windows event log file
3) FastMaint log file
4) Screen shot of an error
5) FastMaint database
How do I get them?
Solution:
These files can be attached to an email sent to support@smglobal.com (or to a different email address if you have been specifically requested to do so) or to a support issue that you create. In case the files are large (especially the database file) you can use WinZip or Windows “Send To Compressed Folder” option to create a single compressed archive that can be attached to the email/ support issue.
Note: Please send ONLY the files that have been requested not all the files mentioned below.
How to get each of the above files?
Installer log file:
In case you get an error installing FastMaint you will need to run the installer with logging enabled. To do this click on the Start menu, Run sub-menu. Click on the Browse button and look for the installer file (normally FastMaintSetup.exe for Basic/ Standard/ Professional editions and FastMaintWebSetup.exe for Web edition). Once you locate the installer file select it and click on the Open button in the browse window. The full path and file name will now be shown in the Run window for the Open field. Now you add the command /LOG=./fminstall.log as an parameter to the installation program. Click on the Open field and add the log command as follows (for example we assume you have downloaded the installer to a folder called c:\downloads).
Remember to keep a space between the installer name and the /LOG parameter. Click on the OK button to run the install program. After you get the error and exit the installer, a log file called fminstall.log would be created in the directory where the installer is (e.g. c:\downloads in this case).
Windows event log:
Run the Windows Event Viewer application (click on the Start menu, Run sub-menu, enter “eventvwr” in the Open field and click on the OK button). In the Windows Event Viewer application, right click on Application in the left hand side pane. In the pop-up menu that comes up, select “Save Log File As”. In the file save dialog window that comes up, select a folder to save it to, give it some file name and in the “Save As Type” field right at the bottom of the window select “Text” or “CSV”. Save the file to some folder that you can access.
FastMaint log file:
In the case of Basic/ Standard/ Professional editions, the log file is calledFastMaint.log The file will be found in the program install directory (usually “c:\program Files\FastMaint” OR “My Documents\FastMaint” if you do not have computer administrator rights). In the case of the Web edition, the log file is called fmweb.log. The file will be found in the program install directory (usually “c:\Program Files\fmweb” OR “My Documents\fmweb” if you do not have computer administrator rights)
Screen shot of an error:
Send back a screen shot of what you see in FastMaint. Press the Print Screen key to copy the screen. The Print Screen key is usually found on the right of the keyboard above the number pad. Paste the screen shot into the email message OR open the Paint program (found under the Windows “Start” menu, “All Programs” sub-menu, “Accessories” sub-menu) and paste it to create a new file that you can attach to the email.
FastMaint database:
Basic/ Standard editions: The database data file is called FastMaint.mdb. It will be found in the program install directory (usually “c:\Program Files\FastMaint” OR “My Documents\FastMaint” if you do not have computer administrator rights).
Professional edition: The database can be either the built-in Microsoft Access/ Jet database or an external Microsoft SQL Server database (using ODBC). The built-in database data file is called FastMaint.mdb. You can find out if you are using Microsoft SQL Server or the built-in database file by using Notepad to open the FastMaint.ini file in the program install directory (usually “c:\Program Files\FastMaint” OR “My Documents\FastMaint” if you do not have computer administrator rights). Make sure not to modify this file! The FastMaint.ini file will also contain the location of the built-in database data file (FastMaint.mdb) if you are using the built-in database.
Web edition: The database can be either the built-in Microsoft Access/ Jet database or an external Microsoft SQL Server database. To find out which database is being used, go to the “fastmaint” sub-folder in the program install directory (usually “c:\Program Files\fmweb” OR “My Documents\fmweb” if you do not have computer administrator rights). In this sub-folder look for the file named “Web.config”. Open this file with Notepad. Make sure not to modify this file! Look for the following line (search for DBPath):
<add key=”DBPath” value=”…. />
The contents of value will tell you if it is using the built-in Microsoft Access/ Jet database or an external Microsoft SQL Server database (value will contain a reference to SQLOLEDB). It also will have information about the database server, database name (on the database server), etc. If using the built-in Microsoft Access/ Jet database it will contain the file path to the database file (fmweb.mdb).
How to send the Microsoft SQL Server database backup file:
You can get your database admin to create a database backup file (has a BAK extension). This option is available by right clicking on the database in SQL Server Enterprise Manager/ SQL Server Management Studio and selecting the Tasks sub-menu in the pop-up menu that comes up. The database backup file can be compressed (into a Zip file) and sent as an email attachment.
