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Q: I get a database error, but I know the database is running.

A1: Please verify you entered all necessary data correctly. If not: remove the MDS preferences file and restart the MDS. You can now enter the data again. The preference file is called preferences.dat and is located in the directory you installed the MDS in. Bear in mind that the JDBC URL and driver names are case sensitive.

A2: Please check if you can connect to the database with other applications. For an ODBC datasource, try using MS Access to connect to the database, for other databases, try using the proprietary client side tools that came with the database. Please note that you need to be able to connect using TCP/IP when using PostgreSQL, Oracle, IBM DB2, MS SQL Server or your own JDBC driver, even if the database resides on the same machine as the MDS.

Q: I cannot connect to a MS SQL Server database

A: Make sure that you are using MS SQL Server authentication. Windows authentication will not work.


Q: Are ther any free databases that I can use?

A: For Linux, use PostgreSQL. For Windows, use MSDE, the free version of MS SQL Server database. MSDE hase some limitations. If you plan to use the Metatude software at a large site, please consider an alternative.

Q: I'm unable to connect to an Oracle database using the MPM

A: Please make sure the table name is in UPPERCASE.


Q: How can I avoid Virtual Memory Problem while running MDS?

A: This kind of problem may appear if there is less disk space that MDS uses as a virtual memory. The MDS uses a maximum of 250 MB disk space for its virtual memory operations. So, if you have less than ~250MB you may face a Low Virtual Memory problem. To avoid this problem you need more than 300MB free disk space all the time while the MDS is running. More than 400MB free disk space is recomended.


Q: How can I avoid "MDS is Halted" activity?

This may happen while you are running the MDS under the Windows platform and your console window is in "Quick Edit Mode". If your console window is in Quick Edit Mode and you click on the window you will see a selected spot on the console screen. This kind of activity halts MDS operations. You may get no response from the MDS even if you request it from the MPM. We call this state "MDS is halted". The same problem will occur if you select any area on the console window using your mouse. The selected area will be highlighted. So, it is very easy to see whether the MDS is halted or not.

To avoid this problem, just press "Esc" key on your keyboard and the MDS will be instantly activated. And you should uncheck the Quick Edit Mode option from the command properties of the console window to avoid unintentional "MDS is halted" activity.


Q: When installing the MDS I get the error "Database Initialization Error"

A: You are probably running the MDS on an older version of windows (NT). Some versions of Windows do not have the most recent database drivers installed. Please take the following steps to bring your system up to date:

1.	Upgrade your Windows version to the latest service pack.

2.	Install Internet Explorer 4.0 SP2 or higher (version 5.0 or above is preferred)

3.	Install Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.6 or higher. The most recent version can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/data/download.htm

4.	Install Jet 4.0 SP3 or higher. The most recent version can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/data/download.htm#Jet4SP3info

5.	Install the MDS.

Q: The MDS shows an SMTP error. What is wrong?

A: You may have this problem for 2 reasons.

·	Given information about the location of the SMTP server may not correct

·	SMTP server is down

Please check the information you provided for your SMTP server. if it is correct then check the SMTP server wether it is running or not.


Q: When requesting a dialogue I see an Internal server error instead of the requested dialogue

A1: You are using Microsoft IIS to serve dialogues. The default installation of IIS for Windows XP Professional SP1 and up causes this error. Please do not use IIS for Windows XP. Windows XP is not a server platform, its main use is for the desktop. You can use any other version of IIS, for example the version that is shipped with Windows 2000.

A2: You are using Apache / Tomcat to serve dialogues. There might be a configuration error or Tomcat is busy starting up. Please wait one minute and try again. If the error persists, then Apache cannot find Tomcat. Please check your mod_jk.log file to see what's wrong.


Q: When trying to submit a project in the Project Manager I get an error. Why?

A: An error could occur when you are submitting a large dialogue. This error probably arises because you are using an older version of PostgreSQL as the results database for the MDS. PostgreSQL 7.1.2 and up are able to handle large dialogues. To solve the problem, please upgrade PostgreSQL to the latest version.


Q: Directly after starting, the MDS hangs using Linux. Why?

A: Some Linux distributions come with a very new version of the 'glibc' libraries. Unfortunately, these are incompatible with the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) that the MDS uses. To fix this problem, try the folowing before starting the MDS:
Enter export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5 in a terminal window. After that, start the MDS again. Please note that you will have to export this environment variable each time before starting the MDS.


Q: The MDS won't install on Windows NT 4.0. How can this be fixed?

A: The MDS is compatible with Windows NT 4.0. Please set your colors to 256 or higher in your display preferences. The MDS won't install when 16 colors are used in Windows NT 4.0.


Q: I am getting submission error in the browser and MDS console and error log shows "maximum number of processes () exceeded".

A: Above error can be seen when MDS is running with Oracle 8i database and the number of respondents exceeds the number of default Oracle process. Oracle processes specifies the maximum number of operating system user processes that can simultaneously connect to an Oracle Server. This value should allow for all background processes such as Job Queue (SNP) and parallel execution processes. To increase the number of default Oracle process you have to change the Oracle initialization parameter.

To change the parameter value, open Oracle DBA Studio. Make sure you have 'SYSDBA' rights. Go to instance from the tree view and select Database. Now from the General tab open All Initialization Parameters. Now look for the processes from Parameter Name. Increase the value according to your need. Such action will prompt you to restart Oracle. You can also modify the value of processes directly from the init.ora file.


Q: After submitting a dialogue, the error 'Unknown Error' is shown when PostgreSQL is used as the results database

A: You may see this error if the submission rate is higher than the maximum number of allowed connections at a time by the PostgreSQL database. PostgreSQL has a configuration file postgresql.conf in the /var/lib/pgsql/data directory. Configure the max connection limit according to your need to avoid such an error.


Q: Why is the LDAP stakeholders count not displayed correctly?

A: You will see the correct LDAP stakeholders count if the LDAP server contains less then 5500 stakeholders. In the following cases, the stakeholder count may be displayed incorrectly:

1.	If you are connecting to a LDAP server with a size of more than 5500 stakeholders.

2.	If the server stakeholder size limit is set to less than the actual number of stakeholders the server holds.