Troubleshooting
Here are answers to some frequently asked support questions.
I can't see my GadWatch web page on the Internet
Ah, the joys of networking in the age of firewalls, routers, and high security computing...
To configure the Windows Firewall, on Vista go to Control Panel, Security, Windows Firewall, Change Settings. On XP, go to Start, Control Panel, Security Center, Windows Firewall. Switch to the Exceptions tab. If GadWatch is not listed, click "add program" and browse to GadWatch.exe in your C:\program files\GadWatch folder.
If you are running other firewall software instead of or in addition to the Windows Firewall, you may try disabling that, or consulting with the manufacturer on how to allow a program to receive connections through the firewall. This may involve specifying which "ports" are also allowed through. By default, GadWatch uses port 80 for everything. However, there are reasons to change this, and you may use other ports as well.
If you are using a cable or wireless router, something extremely common these days, you will definitely have to configure it to "route" or forward traffic from the Internet to a specific PC on your local network. This is highly brand-specific, but I will provide an example with a DLink WBR-2310 router:
Use your Internet browser to browse to your router's configuration page, which is almost always http://192.168.0.1/
Login to the router
Go to the Advanced tab
On the Virtual Server Rules tab, add an entry for GadWatch; it might look like this:
This example shows that any Public (Internet) traffic arriving on port 80 will be sent to your PC running at local address 192.168.0.100 (also on using port 80). The Computer Name dropdown helps your to choose from a PC currently connected. GadWatch may not be on the Application Name dropdown, so just manually enter it into the name box for reference.
If your router does not have a "virtual server rules" page, it should have a "port forwarding" page which will allow you to accomplish the same thing.
Make sure the check box is checked to enable the entry. Save your changes and exit.
In GadWatch, on the Options/Web Server page, select "use this IP address" and use the "find address now" button. This should fill the box with your router's current public IP address. This will be the address that you use remotely to access GadWatch. However, instead of dealing with these IP addresses, it is highly recommended that you use a free service like dyndns.org to get your own domain name--that way, you can use the GadWatch option to "use this name" instead, which will not change as the IP address might. Make sure you have the port set to 80.
Ok, if port 80 does not work for whatever reason (some ISPs may intentionally block this port to prevent you from running a web server from your home), you may have to change to port 81 or another number. This means that you must change it in GadWatch, your router, the address you use to connect remotely (it will become http://yourip:81 instead of just http://yourip...), and maybe your firewall if you specified port(s) there.
I can see the web page remotely, but no live video
If you see a message saying that the ActiveX control is not installed, your browser's security settings may be set so as to not even prompt you to install the control. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options, Security, and click on "Custom level...". Make sure "download signed ActiveX controls" is not disabled. Make sure that "run ActiveX controls" is not disabled. Make sure that "script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting" is not disabled. Also, you need to logged into Windows as an administrator to install the GadWatch ActiveX control.
Although not as feature-rich, you might also try one of the other GadWatch web pages, such as the Java/JPEG page.
My system is running slowly, is unresponsive, or not creating clips correctly
A maxed-out CPU is usually the culprit. To monitor your CPU's performance, right click on the taskbar at the bottom of Windows and select Task Manager, then switch to the Performance tab. If ever you see the CPU usage reach 100% and stay there for any extended period of time, that means that your CPU does not have power to do all that you are asking of it in real time. And, since video capture is more or less a real time application, a maxed-out CPU means that GadWatch performance will suffer as a result. Here are some things to look at in order to attempt to minimize CPU utilization:
What other software is running on the same PC? Can any of that be eliminated?
Can you lower the capture frame rate on one or more of your cameras?
Can you lower the resolution on one or more of your cameras?
Can you remove one or more video overlay graphics or text? Transparent items use the most CPU.
Can you switch to the BVR recording format? This is more efficient than either AVI or WMV.
If you are running multiple cameras, can one of them be eliminated?
Can you minimize the GadWatch window? When it is minimized, no CPU time is used to draw to the screen.
There is a start up issue, I can't get into GadWatch, and I need to reset to defaults
Enter "regedit" into the Start Search box (Vista) or the Start/Run box (XP). Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Perspective Software\GadWatch. This is where all GadWatch settings are stored. If you delete that entire key, it will be as though you never installed GadWatch. Instead, you may wish to find the subkey "Cameras" and delete that to delete your cameras.
