Support

Dobbie73, We are currently discussing this with you via email. This issue is somewhat different from the one discussed here, because program freeze is the issue of the main admin module which runs on administrator machine or a server, while prolong scanning is an issue of client computer which is being scanned. The program actually does not require too much CPU power or too much memory, a relatively modern workstation can make the job as good as a powerful server. However, this case seems to be about some peculiarities of the hardware+OS combination. Vanith, Do these computers have some uncommon configuration of storage media? (as the issue is in Win32_LogicalDisk class). Do they have the latest updates? You can try to make local scan with the standalone tool "tniaudit.exe" (It will generate an XML file which should be put to the "Data" folder of the program. This newly scanned computer can be added to the network tree by selecting "Tools - Refresh data storage folder" menu option).

Vanith, A scan thread can sometimes hang forever if, for example, the scanned computer was shut down or the connection was lost. This issue will be addressed in the next release of the program, where all scans will be checked for activity constantly and they will stop with "Connection lost" status if that happens. Meanwhile you should use "Stop" button and it will close all hanging threads in 3 minutes. This can also be caused by some problem in the computer's WMI configuration, however it happens very rarely. In this case, you should set the program to use direct WMI scan only ("Options - Connection", set "Connection method" to "Agent-free connection" and uncheck the option "Try another method"; also open "Options - Inventory" and set the option "Show detailed status messages during scan process"), then try to scan that computer again. Tell us the status at which the program will stop scanning.

It's true, such possibility would much simplify the network tree management. We are currently working on this and it will be possible with either the nearest or the next program update.

The first question of the FAQ was expanded and now includes this information.

Ok, I got it. So if the comment field contains URL, it should become clickable. Okay, we'll try to do that soon, that should not be complicated.

Unfortunately no, at this moment I'm not able to specify the period of time which these functions will take us to implement. We understand that currently SAM features in TNI are very simplistic and we are keen to improve them. However we have no experience with Sharepoint, so I would ask you for more explanation. Do you mean that the program could open a URL that is provided in comment field, and just get a number without HTML formatting from there, and put this number to the "Licenses" field?

We will add service tag and asset tag, but I can't say anything about customization of what fields are extracted. I don't think WMI is capable of this. AD integration is actually planned for future versions. This is also something we are looking at seriously for the next versions. Can you please explain this more detailed? As for the new versions, we are going to release an update in about one-two weeks. It will feature an updated reporting engine, new security applications detection system (antiviruses, firewalls, antispyware, Windows updates), multimonitoring support and several other minor improvements and fixes.

No, I didn't mean devices with SNMP support. That phrase has just stuck to a mouth :) Actually networked SNMP devices can be scanned right away. But first of all I have meant networked devices which cannot be scanned but are still on the network and have IP address (like Linux boxes or IP phones), thus can be at least pinged. But we also plan to implement adding any devices, including those not connected to network, that probably means possibility to add virtually anything to the "network tree", even tables and chairs :)

It is possible to add custom records attached to specific computers: in "Options - Misc." you define custom fields, then select a computer, press "Edit", open "Custom information" and fill the necessary fields. You can also add a unique field for this particular computer there (as opposed to the common fields which are common for all computers, but may be either filled in or not filled in). In the future versions we also plan to add possibility to define custom network devices which will be represented by separate items in the network tree and thus not connected to certain computers.

I agree. Some software like Everest uses direct hardware access (by querying driver or something like that), others rely on WMI. It seems that even Vista doesn't have too many improvements in this area...

Obviously the tool which didn't get the number uses WMI too, like our product. And other one which did, doesn't use it.

Who is the manufacturer of this drive? (it usually can be understood from the product ID, post it fully if you are in doubt). We have noticed that WMI cannot get WD's SATA drives numbers, while other manufacturer's SATA drives do show their numbers.

The new release is expected in about 2-3 weeks.

The problem is that all Windows XP and Vista systems has very restrictive firewall and remote access settings out-of-the-box. These settings don't allow any network inventory software (not only ours) to scan such computers. You mentioned that you have 11 computers, so probably you don't have a domain. When a computer is attached to a domain, remote access settings are changed automatically and the possibility to manage firewall settings from the server also appears. But in this case it is necessary to setup all computers manually as described in our FAQ on this forum (2nd and 4th questions), and unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it.

That is strange, as the program is able to do SNMP scan in both Scan Wizard and "Scan single computer". However, we will add more options in the next version which will allow to control if SNMP scan is made, and if computer scan is made, so it will be possible to do them both or separately.

Our software uses WMI for hardware inventory. Unfortunately, in most cases WMI is not able to provide such specific information about memory modules. We are considering to implement direct memory detection, but this is a an enhancement for future versions.

Trial version is not limited in detection of network devices. However it scans only devices which support SNMP v.1 with "public" community. It is not required to setup anything in the program, it scans SNMP-enabled deviced by default, when you use Scan Wizard or "Scan single computer" option.

Okay, thank you.

Can you send us the updated file to support@softinventive.com ? We will update the file in the installer, so it will not be overwritten by the old file during updates.

Hi, This file was compiled manually from the information available on the internet, so there is no direct source I could point you. Though new manufacturers don't appear each day, so there is little need to update it frequently.

Terry, Nice suggestion, thanks, we will work on this. This is something we have already thought about, however it should be understood that with current architecture search by custom criteria will not be faster than building a report for all computers, though possibly a bit more convenient. Kris, Yes, I don't see anything impossible here. We should still look into IE settings, however Outlook and Outlook Express email extracting is almost implemented.

We are working on scanning optimization. Will be possible soon, in one of the nearest updates. Not likely. Though there are discounts for educational and non-profit organizations. I wish it was in our competence :)

Particularly adding asset tag would require only build update. But currently the major update is almost completed, so it will be included there, and it will be something like version 1.6.1. Multiple monitors also will be addressed in this update. There should be some information already present but not used, however rescanning after version update would be a good thought.

This is a known issue. Usually it happens only once per session, that is you can rebuild report and print it second time and all subsequent times with no problems until program restart. However we have not met a situation when it was not possible to print a report at all. I suggest you try it on other computer, or wait for the next version of the program where reports generator will be updated, which should be done soon.

A couple of weeks, I think.