There are a number of reasons why KnowledgeBox could cease to function. This article will describe how to troubleshoot the problem by means of a process of elimination. Performing these tests will aid yourself or the KnowledgeBox support team in diagnosing and resolving your KnowledgeBox problem. Remember, you can always ring the KnowledgeBox helpdesk on 0800 376 8 376 for help, however you are encouraged to perform these tests before you ring in order to increase the likelihood of a quick resolution.

• The first thing to check is the most obvious, but often it is forgotten - make sure that the KnowledgeBox is plugged in and powered on. You should hear or feel the fan blowing in the case.
• Next, ensure that the KnowledgeBox has network connectivity. Make sure the KnowledgeBox's network cable is securely plugged into the back of the KnowledgeBox (and the other end is connected to your network). Check for a "link light" on the socket that the network cable plugs into. It should be on or flickering to indicate that traffic is flowing through the network port.
• Assuming the machine is plugged in, switched on and networked, the next step is to determine whether the problem is server related, network related or workstation related. Does the problem manifest itself on one workstation, some or all of them?
• If the problem occurs on all machines, chances are high that the problem is network or server related. If it occurs on one or a few, but not all workstations, then the problem will probably be specific to these workstations. If all workstations exhibit the same problem then the fault lies probably with the KnowledgeBox server or the school's network.

Troubleshooting network or server problems

• First thing to try is a "ping". This is a simple means of seeing if the KnowledgeBox is responding on the network. To do this go to a command prompt on a workstation (in Windows, click Start > Run and type cmd and click OK) This should produce a black window with a flashing prompt. (Note, on some versions of Windows you will need to type command rather than cmd in the Run dialog box). On Macintosh computers you will need to start the Terminal program which is found in the Utilities folder which is in the Applications folder). When at the command prompt type:
  
  ping your_IP_address
  
  The IP address of your KnowledgeBox will be on the Installation Log Sheet that will have been given to you by the KnowledgeBox installation Engineer. If you get output like the following then
  
  Reply from 195.69.212.74: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253
  Reply from 195.69.212.74: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253
  Reply from 195.69.212.74: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=253
  
  then the KnowledgeBox server is responding on the network. Any other response indicates that there is probably some network problem. Check that switches, routers and other network devices are working correctly.
• If the ping is successful, we can now narrow our search to a problem with the server itself, rather than the network. The next test is to determine whether the web server software is running on the KnowledgeBox server itself. To do this, again, we perform a test from a workstation on the command prompt (the same place where we typed the ping in above). In this case, type
  
  telnet your_IP_address 9000
  
  This command tells your computer to connect to the KnowledgeBox server on port 9000 (the port that the KnowledgeBox web server runs on). A successful connection will indicate that the KnowledgeBox web server is running.  If this command simply produces a blank screen with a flashing cursor then the connection has been established. This suggests that the KnowledgeBox is working correctly, you should be suspicious of the workstation configuration in this case. If the output is something like:
  
  Connecting To your_IP_address... Could not open a connection to host on port 9000 : Connect failed
  
  then the webserver software is not running.  Try a reboot of your KnowledgeBox server (check this article for an explanation of how to do this). If a reboot fails to resolve your problem, you should ring the KnowledgeBox helpdesk on 0800 376 8 376.

Troubleshooting workstation problems

Workstation problems are generally easier to resolve that server or network problems. They are also less critical as there is always a last ditch solution of simply re-installing the workstation. While this solution might be overkill in many cases, it is almost always guaranteed to work. The below points are some suggestions of things to check. Trying these should allow the nature of the problem to be narrowed down.

• Are all browser plugins installed correctly?
• Is the browser's proxy setting set correctly? Refer to this article for details on proxy settings.
• Does the workstation meet the minimum specification?