CFG & SSL Reader problem with Plotbase

I have seen the same thing and called tech support but no one has an answer. I’ve leave e-mails with Ratio, and then I get a call from Ricoh telling me not to talk to them. With over 60 units in the field, it would make me to get an answer to this minor problem.

Re-installing the software seems to work for a permanent fix. Sometimes it's just a matter of checking the Reader on in the Properties tab...An IT guy at a company where this occured told me a "de-bugging" program they run on weekends throughout their network may cause the readers to turn off.

Okay. I found that when adequate time was allowed for Plot Base to close before reopening the readers opened 100% of the time.

However, when insufficient time was allowed I received an error saying that Plot Base was already running and the CFG & SSL readers failed to open 100% of the time.

So, it's necessary to allow ample time for Plot Base to shut down before opening again. Also, if the reader is closed when shut down it will not open when reopened.

I talked with Mike from Ratio (the software developer) today and he said to also check in the C:Spool directory for the cfg and ssl readers. There should be only two files in them; in.use and default.ssl If there are others such as prn or other unsupported files this may jam things up. This is why reinstalling the software may correct the problem.

GREAT INFORMATION, jswinberlin...thanks for the follow up !

J I also spoke to Ratio and got the smae response. I think some customers or shuting down the PC before closing Plotbase.

quote:

I talked with Mike from Ratio (the software developer) today and he said to also check in the C:Spool directory for the cfg and ssl readers. There should be only two files in them; in.use and default.ssl If there are others such as prn or other unsupported files this may jam things up. This is why reinstalling the software may correct the problem.

FYI reinstalling the software won't delete unsupported files in this path. I was fighting this issue, Uninstalled and reinstalled the Plotbase software and still had a problem. Finally I uninstalled the software and then went and looked at the folders it had left behind. There was still a spool folder and in it I found the file that was causing the problem, a corrupted PLT file. I deleted that, reinstalled the software and everything worked fine.

I could have saved myself 2 hours by simply deleting this file without uninstalling and reinstalling over and over.

I have seen corrupted files in the Plotbase spooler. When I stopped and deleted them everything worked fine. I never had a situation YET where I had to remove a file from the SSL or CFG folder.

Neither had I, until I did

It seemed there was something so bad about the file that simply reading it crashed the reader. I would see the CFG reader pop up, then go away.

This happened over and over and nothing would fix it until I manually deleted the file.

v-tec:

Where is the plotbase spooler located?

Duh:

Disregard that. I thought about it and assume you are talking about the queue in the software where it changes from pending to plotting.

Heres another problem I sometimes see. Today I received 3 calls from customers, all in the farthest reaches of our area. All have expired licenses. I would suspect from previous post (see above) that power outages or improper shutdowns could be the reason. I would hate to think that this software is unstable as was the Repro for the 7030.

well, since the 7030 software was never supported as a ricoh product... always a third party

ALSO, 3 out of 60 - what, less than 5 %, AND, I think they were all demo licenses - those are the ONLY licenses that will ever expire.

3 out of 60 wide format plotters with the full Ratio print and scan licenses.

That's strange. I've seen this happen a couple of times (Unlimited, full version, no-expiration licenses suddenly expire). In both of my cases I reseated the PCI card and everything worked fine.

Of course, it could just as easily been the proper shut-down I did before reseating the card =).

I had a similar situation in our office. It didn't say expired, it said "unknown", a proper shut down did resolve the problem.

Jason, as you suggested earlier, “Corrupted files in the SSL CFG folders”. I deleted all the files in both folders, except the “default” file. Reboot and everything was fine.

Need to remember this one.