System information

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Troubleshooting
General Principles
Although most installations of Observer will proceed without any trouble, due to the vast
number of network configurations and PC hardware/software options that Observer
supports, sometimes trouble arises.
If you experience trouble in setting up Observer, keep a number of things in mind.
• Try to simplify your setup in any way possible. This means if you have a screen saver
loaded, disable it. If you are running some fancy network add on peer-to-peer jet
engine turbo stimulator, remove it. This does not mean that you will not be able to use
Observer with your other products, but if you can determine where the problem is,
you can focus on that piece of the puzzle and you may be well on your way to solving
the problem.
• Don’t trust anyone or anything. The only way to really know what your hardware
settings are is to have the card or device in one hand and the manual in the other.
Programs that try to discover interrupts and other settings only function properly
when everything is working correctly—exactly when you don’t need them. Don’t
blindly trust other network drivers—they may or may not be reporting the correct
information.
• Do not, under any circumstances, share interrupts, i/o ports, or memory addresses
between adapters. No matter what has worked before or what might work in the
future, sharing interrupts or memory settings is not a valid configuration.
Troubleshooting Checklist
• Does your network work without any Observer programs or drivers loaded? If not,
check your network installation instructions. Once your network appears to be
running correctly, try to install Observer again.
• Try installing Observer on a different PC to see if you experience the same problem.
This does not mean that you will not be able to use Observer on the desired PC. It may
give you some insight into the problem that you are having.
• Look on the Network Instruments’ Web site under “Support”—your problem may
already be solved and documented.