[aiLotto Software] Customer Support -- Tech Note #1
Computer Appears To Be Hanging:
How To Make Certain Program Is Working
Applies to: LottoPirate All Active Software and Operating
System Versions
Last updated: Monday February 09, 2004.
SUMMARY
Users of the LottoPirate have observed that upon initiating several commands in the number creation modules after clicking the buttons the software appears to stop working. This is normal and depending on the speed of your computer a progress bar will be initiated that will provide a gauge on how complete the process is. The program does use up all of your computer systems resources and again depending on the processor speed will take several minutes or hours to complete all of the operations required. Users used to traditional software where immediate reaction is obtained upon clicking buttons will not observe similar performance with the LottoPirate software package. Our algorithms and detailed nature of calculations completed provide a more thorough analysis than other known lottery software packages. In order to do this it is necessary to use all of your computers system resources. We suggest you use the LottoPirate during time periods where you do not require the use of your computer for other purposes.
With certain operating systems it has also been observed that where power settings are set for hard drives to shutdown after a prescribed period the system will appear to have failed. The wakeup function will depending on the operating system not re-activate the software as planned. It is suggested that you set your system to have the hard drive(s) option set to never shut down while using the LottoPirate.
Similar concerns have also been noted for screen savers where the program appears to have stopped functioning when the screen saver is deactivated. Again the program uses all of the computer resources and the next stage of computations or computer screens will not appear until the current operation is being completed. The best procedure upon deactivating the screen save is to allow the current process to end. Upon ending a process the LottoPirate will provide the updated screen in the correct sequence used for all computations.
Note: We do not recommend shutting your computer off and attempting to start the program again unless it is known that your computer system has frozen. You can determine this by using control-alt-delete keystroke sequence. If this procedure does not produce any immediate changes or the Close Program dialog box you should then restart your computer as you would normally do when the system is hanging. Upon restarting the program we recommend you use the Repair Database Utility and Compact the Database Utility to reset the program. Failure to do this will give the appearance of the software being damaged. Unless the program is stopped prematurely by an electrical failure corruption of the LottoPirate program modules will not occur. Where corruption of the program has occurred we recommend you re-install the software program.
RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES
1. To assist you in making the correct settings for your hard drive(s) and screen saver please consult your Windows operating system manual or online help service. We continue to make improvements to our algorithms and methods of calculation to minimize the inconveniences caused by the software.
2. We recommend that you also defrag your hard drive frequently to improve the performance of the LottoPirate.
3. We recommend that prior to the use of the software you use the Compact Database Utility to insure the database does not exceed the 1.0 gigabit limit imposed on the underlying database size.
4. Should you require further assistance or explanation email support is available at support@lottopirate.com.