FAQ: Why do I get an "Unable to Logon to Database"

Q. When I try to logon, I get a message which says something like :-

Unable to Logon to Database
Could not find a valid clinic database in “\serverclinicdb”
It is possible that this is a network path which is currently unavailable.

A. The most common cause for this is that you are trying to connect to a database over a network, and for some reason your computer cannot access the network.

To verify whether this is the problem, please try the following :-

1. Look closely at the error message and note the location where ClinicOffice is trying to find the database (in the above example it is “\serverclinicdb”)
2. Click Start and then Run
3. Type in the expected database location exactly as it appears on the message, but without the quotes (e.g. \serverclinicdb)
4. Click OK

If a window opens showing you lots of database files, then your computer can connect and all is OK. If this is the case, try restarting ClinicOffice (or even your computer) to see if the problem is persistent. If it is then the FAQ on Resetting Troublesome File Sharing may solve the problem.

Most likely however, you will see a message which says something like…

\serverclinicdb
The network path was not found.

…which means that your computer cannot find your server computer and/or the shared folder on it.

At this point, we have identified that the problem is a networking issue rather than a ClinicOffice problem. Here are some things to try:-

– Check that your network hub is turned on
– Check all network cable connections
– Temporarily disable any firewalls to see if they are blocking access
– If the fault is intermittent, try swapping network cables over with another computer
– Try accessing different computers on your network, not just the server

If you have a ‘techie’ available (i.e. someone technical who knows all about computers), it would probably be good to get him to look into it, as networking problems can be notoriously difficult to fix.

Where can I get more information on network troubleshooting?

We have another FAQ entitled Resetting Troublesome File Sharing which may solve the problem for you.

And here are a couple of 3rd party articles which may prove helpful in troubleshooting network faults :-

Microsoft Knowledgebase article

About.com article
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/windowsnetworking/tp/winfilesharing.htm