Troubleshooting Collaboration Issues

Follow these steps if you are having trouble using the collaboration features of Ancestral Quest. Keep in mind that most collaboration problems are related to your Internet or ODBC database connection. Try each step in order, then test it, and proceed to the next step only if your problem is not solved:

1. Check your basic Internet connection. If your Internet browser can't access a typical web site, then the collaboration server can't be reached either. If this is the case, fix your Internet connection. Check with your Internet Service Provider, if necessary, to be sure the Internet is currently accessible to you.
2. Use your Internet browser to go to www.ancestralquestonline.com/collab/test.asp. If you cannot browse to that page, or you see an error message, the collaboration server is probably down for scheduled maintenance. Try again in a few hours.
3. Check your Collaboration Preferences (from the menu bar, select Tools, then Preferences, and click the Collaboration tab) and make sure that within the Connection Options, Auto Connect section, the setting for 'Never Connect' is NOT selected. If collaboration is working but Check In and Check Out are not behaving as you expect them to, reset both of these Collaboration Preferences to 'Prompt and let me decide.'
4. Make sure you are using the latest version of Ancestral Quest by going to the Internet menu, then selecting Check for Latest AQ Release. If a more recent version exists, download and install it.
5. Download and install the latest Collaboration Setup for Ancestral Quest . This will be listed along with any updates to Ancestral Quest in step 4, above. If no Collaboration Setup is listed then you already have it installed.
6. If there was nothing to download in steps 4 or 5, repair your current installation of Ancestral Quest. Go to the Windows Start button on your taskbar (usually in the bottom left corner of the screen), select Control Panel, and then Add/Remove Programs. Select Ancestral Quest, then click the Change or Change/Remove button. When prompted, select Repair. If this doesn't solve the problem, repeat this step for the Collaboration Setup, if it is listed. (If Change/Remove or Repair is not available, uninstall and reinstall the program, then update it to the most recent version as described in steps 4 and 5.)
7. If you still see consistent  'ODBC Timeout,' 'Server Not Found,' or 'Unable to connect' errors, you may need to adjust your ODBC database connection:
1. If you use a third-party firewall program, make sure Ancestral Quest, ODBC, and the SQL driver are allowed to access the Internet. (Refer to the help file included with your firewall software for instructions on how to check this.)
2. If you are behind a standard firewall or use a proxy server, you may have port 1433 blocked. You may also have this problem if you use a satellite modem or other nonstandard connection. Check with your Internet Service Provider or network administrator to make sure port 1433 is available. (This is the standard port for SQL Server database connections.)
3. If port 1433 is unavailable, the collaboration feature can be set up to use an alternate port, 119. This port is normally assigned to news servers, so it should be available for your connection. Make this change as follows:
1. Go to Control Panel and choose Data Sources (ODBC). It may be located under a Control panel folder named Administrative Tools.
2. Select the System DSN tab.
3. You should see a System Data Source named AncestralQuest_Server. If you do not, your installation was incomplete or damaged and needs to be repeated.
4. Select AncestralQuest_Server and click Configure.
5. The name of the SQL Server it is connecting to should be ancestralquestonline.com.
6. Click the Next button until you see a Client Configuration button or similar option. It may be located in the middle of the page rather than the bottom. Click or select it.
7. Make sure this connection is configured for TCP/IP (not Named Pipes or any other protocol). Server alias and server name should both be ancestralquestonline.com. Uncheck the Dynamically Determine Port box if it is present and enter 119 for the port (instead of the usual value of 1433). Click OK to leave Client Configuration. NOTE: This change will only affect your connection to the collaboration server. It will not affect other programs.
8. Verify the connection by clicking the button for SQL Server Authentication and entering aqguest as the Login ID. Leave the password blank. Step through each of the following pages without changing any settings, then click Finish. Make sure your Internet connection is active. Then click the Test Data Source button. You should see a message indicating that your test was successful.
9. If this test is not successful, recheck your Internet connection by browsing to www.ancestralquestonline.com/collab/test.asp. If the connection is good, try Test Data Source again. If you can browse to this page but Test Data Source still fails, you have both ports 119 and 1433 blocked where you are located. This means you have an extremely restrictive firewall, and you need to talk with your system administrator. One of these ports must be opened or you may be unable to use Collaboration from that location.
8. If you still have a problem at this point, contact Incline Software for further help (http://www.ancquest.com/contacts.htm).