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This article is to help you if you are having problems connecting to the inFlow database.  Typically, you are likely to receive one of the two common errors received when setting up a connection to the inFlow server in the Server Connection screen.

a) “The Password was not entered correctly.”  In which case you should double check the password you are using the connect to the system (using the steps described in step 7 below).

b) “There was an error trying to connect to the database.” In which case you should please proceed with the troubleshooting article below

A few things to try:

1. Ensure that you’re on the same network as the computer you’re attempting to connect to.  inFlow’s multi-user mode expects that you’re connecting computers on the same local area network.  For information on how to connect inFlow over the internet, please look at this article.

2. Try temporarily disabling any firewall programs on both the server and client computers.  Your Windows firewall can be found via START > Control Panel > Windows Firewall. Please also look at the programs you have running in the system tray at the bottom right (near your clock) for other programs to shut down.

3. Try temporarily disabling any anti-virus software on both the server and client computers.  If you are using Microsoft Security Essentials you should find it in your icon tray (bottom right).  Double click to open the program and choose the “Settings” tab.  Uncheck the first option (“Turn on real-time protection (recommended)”) to turn off the program temporarily.

4. Try switching your server back to single-user mode.  This can be done by going to Main Menu > Settings > Connection Settings and clicking the link at the bottom of the window to “Stop sharing”.  Once your copy of inFlow has completed the switch back to single-user mode, try enabling multi-user mode again (Main Menu > Settings > Multi-User Mode).

5. Ensure that you are connected to a Private (Windows Vista) or Home/Work (Windows 7) network. If you’re using Windows Vista or Windows 7 and you’re connected wirelessly, you need to make sure that your network is not set as a public network.  Windows blocks connections, including inFlow’s, when you’re on a public networks which may be untrustworthy.  To check this:

• Open your network and sharing center via the control panel (or by clicking on your network connection in the icon tray)
• Click the link below your network icon (in the "View your active networks" section on the left).  It should say which type of network is selected.
• This should open a window in which you can choose a home network, work network or public network.
• Once you've made or confirmed the selection on the first computer, proceed to check on the other computers in the configuration.

6. Ensure that your network sharing is on.  This can be done by going to the start menu and selecting “My Computer” and then clicking the “My Network Places” link on the left of the resulting window (XP).  In Windows Vista this can be done directly from the start menu by clicking “Network” and Windows 7 will allow you to simply search for “Network” in the start menu to find the appropriate link. If Network sharing is off it will be indicated by a warning alert along the top of this window which is also where you should click to enable network sharing.

7. Verify that the inFlow Server Name is correct.  The easiest way to get this information is to log into inFlow from the server computer and select Main Menu > Settings > Connection Settings.  The program should show you the server name and password as well as the IP address.  Please double check the server name.

8. Try using the IP address instead of the Server name.

More advanced things to try:

9. Temporarily shut down any 3rd party networking, file synchronization or database software.  Some programs will unexpectedly interfere with inFlow’s communications.  In addition to your firewall and anti-virus programs, temporarily shut down any software which fits this criteria on both the server and the client computer.

10. Try shutting down any existing VPN connection (other than one required to connect to inFlow if you’re connecting over the internet).

11. Disable any additional network connections that you don’t need.  Try disabling all network connections other than the one that you’re using to connect to your office network.  In Windows 7 you want to go to “View network connections”.

12. Manually try restarting SQL Server (INFLOWSQL) and SQL Server Browser services and ensure they’re set to Automatic.  This can be done by searching “services.msc” in the start menu and running the resulting program.  In this window (which is ordered alphabetically) please scroll down until you file the two services mentioned above.  One at a time select and restart them.  They should be listed as “Automatic” but if not please right click and select properties, then change the startup type to “automatic” and click okay.

13. Manually switch SQL Server to allow remote connections by TCP/IP.  This can be done by completing the following steps:

• Run SQL Server Configuration Manager. On Windows XP, click Start, Run, and type sqlservermanager.msc. On Vista, click Start and type sqlservermanager.msc.
• Open up SQL Server 2005 Network Configuration, Protocols for INFLOWSQL. Ensure that Named Pipes and TCP/IP are enabled.
• Open up SQL Server 2005 Services. Right click SQL Server (INFLOWSQL) and select Restart.
• Ensure that the SQL Server Browser service is listed and is Running. If not, right click it and select Start.
• Ensure that both the SQL Server (INFLOWSQL) and SQL Server Browser services are set to start mode Automatic. If not, right click, select Properties, and under the Service tab, set Start Mode to Automatic.

14. Can you see the computer on the network? Test if you can reach the server computer from the client computer by pinging it.  To do this open a command prompt and type ping <SERVERNAME> or ping <IPADDRESS> (swapping those placeholders for your actual server name and IP address).  If it can't even resolve it based on the hostname or IP address, then you have a problem with your network setup.  (i.e. you get an error message "Ping request could not find host <SERVERNAME>. Please check the name and try again.")  If you get the error message "Request timed out." then it may still be possible that inFlow can connect.  If you get a response that says "Reply from..." then your network is working.

If you’re still having trouble connecting to your server computer please get in touch with us at support@inflowinventory.com.