GarageKeeper® FAQ

Install GarageKeeper onto your new computer using your original distribution CD. Then restore the latest backup of your GarageKeeper data files.
If you end up with no megadisk, you probably need to copy the two files INHMTR.MEG and INHINX.MEG from your old computer to your new computer.

I just bought a Windows 7 computer. How do I configure XP mode to work with GarageKeeper?

You can run GK2000 using the XP Mode of either 32 or 64 bit Windows 7. The hardware and software requirements for running in XP Mode can be found here. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7
For single user systems it is easiest to run GK2000 running entirely within XPM. The trick has to do with printing. The best thing is to set up an IP printer. Share it in XPM and set the net use command by adding a new first line in the \GKN\M1\M1.bat file like this NET USE LPT1 \\VirtualPC-xxxxx\Printer where VirtualPC-xxxxx is the full computer name of the XP virtual machine and Printer is the share name assigned to the XP printer. To insure the best reliability be sure to tear down the printer assignment when you exit by adding a new next to last line NET USE LPT1 /delete. If you install a local printer to port TS001 run a test print there to make sure that you have the correct printer (MS didn’t provide a way to see the name of the physical printers, there are ports shown as TS001 through TS008 and TS stands for Terminal Server). Once you get printout then click on printer pooling and check LPT1 (or other port that GK is set to use.) Guess what? It works!! The problem is that if you make changes to the XPM virtual machine then the TS printer may not be found in the same way after a reboot (now it comes out on TS002 instead of TS001 and fails when you try to print).
For multi–user systems where the Win7/XPM combo will be hosting the GK data for other stations the data needs to be on the Win7 side. Make a new folder GARAGE and share it. Open the GARAGE folder and create a GKN folder. Copy the current DATA and MEG folders as subfolders to GKN. Have all GK stations, including any local XPM users, map a drive letter to the GARAGE share and install the stations with programs to C and data to the drive letter mapped to GARAGE. If you have other workstations already setup on GK note the drive letter currently mapped to the GK data host by looking at the first character of the first line of the file \GKN\M1\M1.bat. Delete the current drive mapping and make a new one to the GARAGE share using the same drive letter as previously. If you do that you won’t have to change anything else on that workstation unless the printer you want is only available on the new Win7 host. You should set up your printers that same way as I described above for single user systems.
If you don’t put the data on the Win7 side other users will not be able to run GK if XP mode is not running on the data host and performance is slower because every data access is through the virtual machine.
You may or may not be able to run in full screen mode depending on how you set up the application in the virtual machine. You can configure XPM to show a regular XP desktop or you can set it up to launch GK2000 directly from a shortcut on your Win7 desktop. (see the link above for more information). In XPM you can set the properties of the GK shortcut to use the Lucida font and get the GK screen as big as you need if the 10x18 font is not big enough for you. Vertical lists of numbers might be a little wiggly since Lucida is a proportional font, but it is a good looking font, much smoother than the default font. Remember to check the properties of the shortcut to be sure that Layout tab shows both window sizes on the right as 80 wide and 25 high.
You may get the Virtual machine help popping up when you press F1 in GarageKeeper. There are two ways to stop this. First, you can run the XP virtual machine in full screen mode. Second, you can go to the Settings for the XP virtual machine and set the keyboard to virtual machine.

I need to install GarageKeeper on Windows 2003 server. What do I need to know?

Windows 2003 server will not allow you to share the root folder of the server. Here is how you take care of that problem.
On the C drive (or other drive if you prefer) create a folder GARAGE and give full permissions. Go to Network Places. Find this new share and Map Network Drive to give this folder a drive letter on the server. Run the GarageKeeper CD and install both programs and data to this drive letter.
From the workstations, map a drive letter to the GARAGE share on the server. Run the install CD and tell it to put programs on C and data on the mapped drive letter.
The GarageKeeper install will ask you whether you are running Windows 95/98/NT. The message should read are you running Windows 95/98/NT or later, so answer yes to this question. See other items in this FAQ for editing the CONFIG.NT file, mapping LPT printers with the NET USE command, and editing the registry to speed up the first page of printouts, if they are too slow.

Printing is slow from some of my Windows 95/98/ME workstations.
How do I speed it up?

The default timeout for printing to a remote LPT port varies. A slow setting is common on Windows 95/98/ME systems. To speed up the printing you need to edit the SYSTEM.INI file. Get to it by clicking the START button. Choose RUN and enter SYSEDIT and then click OKAY.
Add the following lines to the appropriate sections of the file and then restart your computer. (This information from Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q140036)
[Network]
PrintBufTime=7

[IFSMGR]
PrintBufTime=7

If the [Network] or [IFSMGR] sections do not exist in the System.ini file, add the sections after the [386Enh] section of the file. Be sure to skip a line between the sections of the System.ini file. These settings are in seconds. The lower the value you use, the sooner the document is printed. If you do not receive any printout, or the document is printed over several pages, the settings may be too low. Increase the settings until documents are printed correctly.

How do I map LPTs in Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista or 7?

The system utilities for printer mapping in these versions of Windows are not reliable. To make a good printer mapping you need to get to a DOS prompt or COMMAND prompt and then enter the following:
NET USE LPTx \\servername\printername
The x is the GarageKeeper printer number as shown on the printer configuration page of GarageKeeper (F7, then 2, then 12). Servername is the name of the computer or print server attached to the printer and printername is the share name of the printer that you want to use.

NOTE: You cannot use a virtual printer in a NET USE assignment. This means that local and remote DOT ports and Virtual USB ports will not work. You have to change from a DOT port to a real local physical port like LPT1 or USB 001 or a network shared printer \\machinename\printersharename or an IP printer. If the printer attaches to a local USB port and the only USB ports you see are virtual USB ports you need to add a standard USB port. The first physical USB port is always USB 001.

Printing is slow from some of my Windows NT/2000/XP workstations. How do I speed it up?

The default timeout for printing to a remote LPT port varies. A slow setting is common on Windows NT/2000/XP systems. To speed up the printing you need to edit the registry. Follow this exact procedure to back up the registry and speed up printing. You may need to make this change at the print server as well.

Go Start | Run | Regedit

Click on File then Export

Click All in the Export Range

Enter a file name and then click Save

Click Hkey_Local_Machine

Click System

Click CurrentControlSet

Click Control

Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW

Click LPT timeout on the right side panel and change it to a 3

Close the registry and try printing from GK again.

If you experience single pages breaking into multiple pages you should try a number higher than 3. Increase it until page breaks stop. This should not occur on a simple network with a single server.

Printing has been unreliable since I added some wireless hardware to my network. What do I do?

This problem occurs because the local workstation is trying to establish the printer connection while booting up. If you enter NET USE at a command prompt it shows the printers as unavailable because they don't get found fast enough when the system is booting up.
The solution is to add some lines to the M1.BAT file of the local machine instead of entering NET USE from the command prompt. You need to tear down the old setting and re-establish it by doing the following:

Use MyComputer and navigate to the folder C:\GKN\M1

Right click the file M1.BAT and pick edit, if Windows asks you what program to use tell it you will pick from the list and choose Notepad

Click at the beginning of the file

Add the following line and then press Enter
NET USE LPT1 /DELETE

Add the following line and then press Enter
NET USE LPT1 \\servername\printersharename where

There should be no blank lines in M1.BAT. The old first line should now be the third line.

Click on File and then Save

Close Notepad

I want someone else to print mailing labels using Word. How do I do that?

Run Customer lists letters and labels. Change the output to disk file and the format to labels. Select your customers and run the report. It makes a file called CUSTS.ASC in the GKN/M1 folder of the local machine. The following details are for Word 2007, you will find similar settings in other versions as well. Open the CUSTS.ASC document in Word. Use Find and Replace to change ^p (space caret lowercase p) to ^ (a plain caret with no space) for the whole document. Next pick labels. The default company name is Microsoft. Change that to the manufacturer of the labels you are using and then find the part number that matches your labels. On the next screen change the label type to single and enter the number of rows and columns of labels you wish to print. This is to allow you to print less than a page of labels at a time.

Reports are running off the page. What can I do about it?

In early 2010 operating system updates affected the PCL (printer control language) instruction to shift in and out of compressed print even at some locally connected printers. Before then the problem was limited to remote printers. We did research and can now provide a quality fix for this problem that works for both local and remote printers. It involves installing a new laser macro and manually updating the contents of your PARAMS file. The file modification has to be done here because we cannot distribute the software tool needed to make the change. We charge for this service and we have to co-ordinate the time with you because you will be locked out of GarageKeeper for half an hour or so while we alter your file.
This paragraph applies only to the remote printers and may still work in some cases if you are experiencing a problem where the compressed print command is failing. Be sure that your printer driver is correct and you are loading the proper macros. Be sure that your printer mappings are correct. If you are using an IP printer setup go to the printer in Control Panel. Right click the printer, go to properties and then ports. Be sure the IP port is highlighted and click on Configure. Change the printer output from RAW to LPR. Enter a 1 in the queue name. If you are using a multiport print server you will need to enter the queue number as specified by the manufacturer of that device. The first port might be labeled 1, or L1, or P1, etc. In some cases, you may need to enable the LPR Byte Count

My new computer does not have any parallel ports. How do I make a local USB printer work as LPT1?

These instructions are for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. If you are running Windows 98, just use the Map Port button in the printer ports section to map LPT1 to the USB device. If you are also changing printers see the FAQ item "I need to buy a new printer".
You must have networking enabled or you must install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter software to make your computer think it is running on a network. If you have a live internet connection you have networking running even if you only have one computer. If you disconnect from the internet your printer may fail unless you have installed the loopback adapter.
To install the loopback adapter for Windows 2000:
Go to Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, then Add/Remove Hardware.
Click Next. Select Add/Troubleshoot a device.
Click next. From the list of devices select the top item, Add a new device.
Click Next. Select "No, I want to select the hardware from a list."
Select Network adapters and click Next.
From the left column select Microsoft, on the right column choose Microsoft Loopback Adapter.
Click Next, and then Next again, and then Finish
To install the loopback adapter for Windows XP:
From the Start Menu choose Control Panel (or Settings, then Control Panel)
Click on Add Hardware or find the hardware section and then click Add Hardware.
Click Next. Select "Yes, I have already connected the hardware" and click Next.
In the list of devices, scroll to the bottom, select "Add a new hardware device" and click Next.
At the next screen, select "Install the hardware that I manually select from a list" and click Next.
In the list that appears next, scroll down and select Network Adapters, then click Next.
In the next screen, select Microsoft on the left and Microsoft Loopback Adapter on the right, and click Next.
Click Next again, and then Finish.
To set up a USB printer that you treat as an LPT (parallel port) printer under Windows 2000 or XP:
1. Depending on your Windows configuration, use Start/Control Panel (or Start/Settings/Control Panel), and choose Performance and Maintenance, then System (or go directly to System), then to the Computer Name tab, and write down the "Full computer name" (not the Computer description or Workgroup or any other name). Click Cancel to close the System window.
2. Go to Start/Control Panel/Printers and Faxes (or Start/Settings/Printers and Faxes, or Start/Settings/Printers) and right-click on the name of your USB printer. Select Sharing from the menu. If your USB printer does not already have a sharename, give it one. Names must have no spaces or quotes. You can use the default sharename assigned by the operating system if you prefer. Write down this printer share name.
3. Check any other printers that are set up on this computer to make sure that none of them are assigned to LPT1. If there are any, either delete the printer if not in use or change the port to any port other than LPT1. Close the printer window.
4. Use MyComputer and go to local drive C, then GKN, then M1. Right click the file M1.bat and choose edit and then pick Notepad as the program to do the editing. You will be adding a new first line and new next to last line to this file.
Position yourself at the beginning of line 1 and enter:
NET USE LPT1 \\FullComputerName\PrinterShareName
Substitute the full computer name and printer share name you got from the previous paragraph.
If you installed the Microsoft Loopback Adapter you can substitute 127.0.0.1 for the FullComputerName.
Make sure that the second line now starts with the words ECHO OFF.
Next position the cursor right before the CD\ on the last line. Enter
NET USE LPT1 /DELETE and press Enter.
Make sure the last line now contains only CD\ At the top pick File and then Save and then close Notepad.
If you run the GK file rebuilders from this station be sure to make the same edits to the file C:\GKN\GKFIX.BAT

NOTE: You cannot use a virtual printer in a NET USE assignment. This means that local and remote DOT ports and Virtual USB ports will not work. You have to change from a DOT port to a real local physical port like LPT1 or USB 001 or a network shared printer \\machinename\printersharename or an IP printer. If the printer attaches to a local USB port and the only USB ports you see are virtual USB ports you need to add a standard USB port. The first physical USB port is always USB 001.

I need to buy a new printer. What should I get?

GarageKeeper is designed to use a printer that supports the HP PCL 5 or PCL 6 standard. Earlier versions of PCL printers will work with limitations. GarageKeeper will also work with a dot or inkjet printer that supports the IBM/Epson ESC commands. A printer that is listed as using only LIDIL or GDI or Host Based Printing will not be usable. With a special driver specifically made to handle PCL 5 or 6 and/or standard ASCII text they will print too slowly, at about the same rate a photo printer does.

As of February 2010 the least expensive HP LaserJet that will work is the model 2055. The 2055DN model is a stand alone print server that connects directly to your hub or switch. The older model 2015 requires the optional CB456-67901 font chip. We also recommend the Brother 2170 and the Brother 5200/5300s. The Brother 5200/5300s series are the least expensive PCL printers that have a parallel port. This is currently the best printer you can plug in directly replacing an older HP LaserJet that has been working properly. The last two digits of the part number vary by seller (same printer, different numbers at different resellers). In general printers with a part number ending in N can be used as stand alone print servers.

We recommend using an IP print server directly connected to your hub or switch for multi-user installations. Set the printer up as a local IP printer, give it a share name, and set the NET USE command to map the LPT to the share. This setup has proven to be the most reliable way to map the printers. IP printer installations should not be hosted by any PC. Each workstation uses a local printer driver.

It used to work but now the printer with the Alldata dongle won't do compressed print. What should I do?

Alldata made some change in their software that causes this problem for some users. Take off the Alldata dongle and test. If you still have a problem go into Control Panel then Printers. Right click your printer and pick Properties. Next go to ports and unclick the box in the lower left for bidirectional printing and test. You need to restart GarageKeeper before each test so it can send the compressed codes to the printer again.
If your computer has an unused USB port you can get a USB security device from Alldata. If you don't have an available USB port, check the documentation on your motherboard to see if it supports two parallel ports and change either GarageKeeper or Alldata to use the other port.

I got some kind of error message. What should I do?

You need to make a note of the exact error message. Then look in the Messages chapter of your User's Manual, where the messages are arranged alphabetically, for details on what to do.

How do I fix an error 12?

Error 12 means that your data files are not where you told GarageKeeper to look for them. This happens most often at a workstation after changes have been made to your network or you have had a power failure or disk crash. Check the entries in My Computer to be sure that you have a drive letter mapped to the location of your GarageKeeper data files. For example if you set up that workstation to look for GarageKeeper data on drive F: you should see an entry like this: shared_drive on servername (F:). Shared_drive is the name you would see if you checked the sharing properties of the drive on the server. Servername is the machine name of the server. Re-create the missing drive mapping in Network Neighborhood or My Network Places. To find out what drive letter to map to, look at the file GKDRIV.DOC in the local GKN/M1 folder. The first letter in the first line of this file is the drive letter that you have told this machine to use to find GarageKeeper data files.

When I try to set up the NET USE command I get an error 66. What should I do?

You will always get this error sharing a local resource in Windows 95/98/ME. In those versions you should be using the Capture Port button in the printer settings. Under Windows 2000 and XP, in theory you should not get this error. In practice, some network configurations still raise this error when you assign a share to a local resource. To fix this you need to use a remote resource in the NET USE line.
If you get the error 66 with this syntax
NET USE LPT1 \\localmachine\localsharename where localmachine name is the full computer name or you are using the 127.0.0.1 IP address
change it to this syntax
NET USE LPT1 \\remoteserver\remotesharename where the remoteserver is a print server or another computer that hosts the printer.

What is an error 85?

You get an error 85 if you are trying to install or re-install GarageKeeper when the GarageKeeper data files are in use. Exit temporarily from GarageKeeper at all stations and re-run the installation.

What's that error 6417 about?

Your CONFIG.SYS file needs to have a higher number in the FILES=line. For GarageKeeper 2000, it must be at least FILES=99 at every station.
If your CONFIG.SYS looks ok, remember that it takes effect only when you boot your computer, so you may need to reboot.
If your CONFIG.SYS contains more than one FILES= line, DOS pays attention to the last one. You should edit your CONFIG.SYS to have only one FILES= line to avoid confusion.
The FILES= line tells DOS how many files can be open at once. Since GarageKeeper uses lots of disk files, DOS needs to be able to open more files than DOS's standard limit of 8.
If you are running Windows NT, 2000, or XP you need to add the FILES=99 line to CONFIG.NT in the Windows or WINNT folder.
If you are running Windows Me, you need to add the following line to your SYSTEM.INI file, at the end of the [Enh386] section:
PerVMFiles=99

What files do I need to backup every day?

GarageKeeper 2000's data files are usually in \GKN\DATA. The megadisk is usually kept in \GKN\MEG. Many users find it easiest to backup the entire \GKN folder.

What do I do if I get errors under Windows XP Pro, after editing Config.NT?

GarageKeeper works fine on most 32 bit versions of Windows XP. Some manufacturer's OEM versions of XP Pro have settings that give errors running GarageKeeper. XP Pro provides compatibility settings using the Program Compatibility Wizard. Settings are also available from the Compatibility tab on the Properties form for each individual program. You can view this Microsoft Knowledge Base article for details on configuring the MS-DOS environment for Windows XP.

Sometimes I get duplicate invoice numbers, what do I do about that?

The write caching algorithms in Windows are not very good. Microsoft has acknowledged this by changing the default operation of Windows XP to write caching disabled. On earlier versions of Windows you have to do this yourself. This setting is in different places in different versions of Windows. In Windows 95/98 go to Control Panel, Systems, Computer, Performance, File System, Troubleshooting and check the box Disable Write Behind Caching. For later versions it is trickier. Windows NT was made for SCSI drives and the control of this parameter is in the SCSI manufacturers hands. Adaptec controllers have a drive by drive setting for this. If you don't find a setting in your manufacturer's SCSI software, you may need to change drive controllers. IDE drives are not recommended with Windows NT.
Windows 2000 machines have a problem. You turn off the write caching by going into MyComputer, then right clicking the hard drive and choosing properties, then hardware, then tools, then policies. Unfortunately making this setting does not survive a reboot. You need to install Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000. Go to microsoft.com and enter W2K SP3 in the search field. The first item in the resulting list will be the one you need. You can download the 22MB Service Pack 3 files or you can order a Service Pack 3 CD from there.

I am getting an error "files in use by another process". What do I do?

First, make sure that you are not trying to run two copies of GarageKeeper using the same M1 folder at the same time. If your system has been working okay, this is not likely.
The problem is that you are getting a conflict between different versions of Pervasive data engines. They tried to make Btrieve and SQL versions of the data engine work at the same time. The default installation of Pervasive SQL breaks Pervasive Btrieve. You have two choices. First, you can decide not to run both the Btrieve and SQL versions of Pervasive on the same machine at the same time. Second, you can contact Pervasive support and they will help you to set up an item in your Windows system tray that handles the request from both the Btrieve and SQL engines at the same time.

We changed over to Windows XP and the screen does not look right. Do you have any tips for me?

Under Windows XP, GarageKeeper 2000 can run full screen or in a Window, and the window size is also controllable. Right click the shortcut and go to properties. On the layout tab, make sure that both buffer size and window size are set to 80 wide and 25 high. Next click the font tab and choose a font that looks good on your machine. If your screen is 17 inches or larger you should be able to use the 10x18 font unless it is too wide for the screen in which case try the next smaller font until it does fit. If you want full screen then pick the options tab and set the display option to full screen instead of the default selection of window. If full screen mode does not work right with your video hardware/software change to the Lucida console font if it is available on the font tab of Properties. You can pick any font size in the list.

I changed to Excel 2002 or 2003 and now I can't see the button to run my GK 2 Excel program. What should I do?

The Install Shield program looks for the default Office folder to install the file GK2Excel.xla into your Excel program. The installer program will pick up on the folder Program Files | Microsoft Office | Office | XLStart as the default installation. Late versions of Office make a plain Office folder to maintain compatibility with earlier versions of Office. You need to copy the GK2Excel.xla file to Program Files | Microsoft Office | Office10 | XLStart for Office 2002 or to Program Files | Microsoft Office | Office11 | XLStart for Office 2003.

How does the GarageKeeper interface to CustomerLink work?

Click here for details.

What are the improvements in GarageKeeper 2000?

Click here for details.

How can I run the Resort utility?

The GarageKeeper 2000 installer did not make a shortcut to the Resort utility, so you'll have to run it manually. Navigate to your GKN folder and run GKRESORT.BAT.

Why isn't my GarageKeeper date changing?

You need to Exit (F10) as End of Day or End of Week. The next time you come into GarageKeeper after closing a day or week, the program will ask you to set a new date. This new date must be later than the old date.
GarageKeeper keeps its own current date, which is separate from the system date.

I'm trying to exit from GarageKeeper, but my cashbox doesn't balance. What should I do?

First, try recounting your cash. You may have been entering incorrect amounts.
Second, you may have forgotten to pay off an invoice in F1. Press F10 to exit from the cashbox, then go into F1 and pay off any invoices, which were actually paid today. Then try balancing your cashbox again.
If the first two remedies fail to make your cashbox balance, you need to make a cashbox adjustment. Answer No to the DO YOU WANT TO RE-ENTER YOUR CASHBOX TOTALS question, and GarageKeeper will move to the adjustments area. Then enter an adjustment, consisting of an amount under CASH, CHECKS, and/or BANKCARD, plus a reason. You may enter several adjustments, if required. These adjustments will print on your next weekly report.

I run under Novell Netware 3.12 or 4.x. How should I mount a CD-ROM device as a Netware volume?

Load the driver for the Host Bus Adapter (HBA) attached to the CD-ROM player. (For example, LOAD AHA1740.DSK.) You can load this driver automatically by placing the LOAD statement in the STARTUP.NCF file, or load it manually from the server console.

Load ASPICD or CDNASPI. This driver can also be loaded automatically by placing the LOAD statement in the STARTUP.NCF. Some HBAs, such as Future Domain and Buslogic, do not require these drivers. If you are using one of these HBAs, omit this step.

Load the CDROM.NLM that shipped with your version of NetWare.

Type "CD DEVICE LIST" at the server console to list the volume name of the CD-ROM. If a volume name does not appear, unload and reload the CDROM.NLM. If a volume name still does not appear, this particular CD may not be mountable as a NetWare volume using the CDROM.NLM. Other third-party solutions may have a workaround for this situation.

Type "CD MOUNT volume name" or "CD MOUNT device#" at the server console to mount the volume. The volume name or device number can be derived from step 4.

Additional Tips:

CDROM.NLM supports ISO 9660 and High Sierra CDs. However, there are some known problems with CDROM.NLM's support for High Sierra CDs. Novell is working on a solution.

Not all CDs sold as ISO 9660 and High Sierra CDs strictly adhere to the format specifications. If your CD does not adhere to the standard, it may not be mountable as a NetWare volume.

A long string of error messages and beeps will be seen, heard, and possibly broadcast to clients when the CD-ROM mounts in NetWare 4.x. This happens because the operating system tries to write to the CD-ROM but cannot. Novell is aware of the problem and is working on a solution.

(Excerpted from NetWare Connection, January 1994, with permission.)