Not a valid interval for Auto-Log out

Your auto log-out setting for your retail or restaurant app is incorrect. Correct the setting in your  retail settings or restaurant settings. 

SQL Server Timeout Error

If you get a SQL Server execution timeout error, it means that your server is running low on resources and is unable to complete the command on a timely basis. Close all other programs that are open (including browsers, email, music, etc) and try again. If the problem persists, restart the computer.

Check if your computer is busy installing Windows updates. That can severely slow down your computer. If that is the case, wait for the updates to complete.

Upgrade to the latest version. An older version will not be the cause of the problem, but ROBOTILL continually improves the performance of ROBOTILL that will help if you have a slow computer.

If the problem persists after you tried the above, you could also have a look at other performance issues or you can upgrade the hardware of your PC.

Errors related to corrupt files

If you get an error that contains one the phrases below, it means that a corrupt file is causing problems.

• Invalid Class
• Object not found
• Invocation of the constructor
• 'FORMAT' is not recognized as a built-in function name.
• Method not found.
• .NET Framework Initialization Error

The corrupt file might be a ROBOTILL program file or a Windows system file that ROBOTILL requires. Files can sometimes get damaged due to things like a power surge or hardware problem. You can follow the steps below to resolve the problem.

1. Uninstall ROBOTILL and install again making sure you install the latest version - follow these instructions.
2. Restart your computer. If you still get the error, continue with the steps below.
3. Run all outstanding Windows updates. Do not skip this step as new Windows updates sometimes install newer .NET frameworks - it might replace the corrupted file.
4. If the above did not work, then you will need to reinstall Windows. It is easy to reinstall Windows from Windows 10, but once that is done you will need to reinstall all the programs that you use. To reinstall Windows go to your Windows Settings > Update and Security > Recovery. Please note installing Windows does not fall under ROBOTILL Support. If you have any problems you will need to contact your local IT support company.

Problem updating the database

When you get a message that starts with 'Problem updating database', it means that something went wrong during the upgrade (usually because the update process was interrupted).

You will need to restore the database backup file that you made just before you upgraded. If you are unable to restore the backup file because ROBOTILL Back Office closes after the error message, then you can recreate the database before restoring the backup file.

After you restored the backup file, close ROBOTILL Back Office and open it again. The database upgrade process will then start again.

Error creating product. Incorrect syntax near ')'

This error is caused when you have selected parentheses for your negative number format in your Windows regional settings for your numbers and/or currency. To see where to change these settings, follow the instructions for the decimal symbol change but change the negative number format to use the minus sign.

Arithmetic Overflow Error

An arithmetic overflow error can occur if an older version of ROBOTILL is used. Upgrade to the latest version of ROBOTILL to prevent the error from occurring. The upgrade will prevent the error from recurring. To fix the error follow the steps below. 

If you get the error when you access the product list in ROBOTILL Back Office:

1. In ROBOTILl Back Office, go to Home > Products and Stock > Stock Level Management > Stock Take List
2. Go down the list and find the item(s) with an incorrect stock on hand value. The problem item(s) will be obvious as it will have a huge stock on hand amount (too big to be a actual stock on hand). Enter the correct stock on hand for the item(s).
3. You can also check under 'show compound items' for incorrect stock on hand values.
4. The problem will be fixed once you corrected the values.

If you get the error in ROBOTILL Retail/Restaurant, either when logging in or when you want to add items to a sale:

1. In ROBOTILL Retail log into the retail app with the user that is giving the error, or in ROBOTILL Restaurant select the table that is giving the error.
2. Void the sale (even if you don't see any items in the sale).
3. The problem will now be fixed.

Unable to validate licence - system date turned back

If you get an error 'Unable to validate licence - system date turned back', start by checking the date on the computer.

• If the computer date is incorrect, correcting it may fix the problem.
• If the computer date is correct, or you corrected the date but still receive the same message, it means the date was previously set forward and sales were processed with a future date.

This is a serious issue caused by an incorrect system date. All sales and reports in ROBOTILL are tied to the exact date and time when a sale was recorded.

Important: Impact on Reports

Because we do not know what the correct date should have been for those future-dated sales, ROBOTILL cannot restore them to their original, intended dates.

To resolve the licensing issue, ROBOTILL will move all future-dated sales to a single point in time: midnight of the previous day.

This means:

• Licence issues will be fixed
• Sales totals will remain correct
• Date-based reports (for example, sales per day) will NOT be accurate, because multiple days’ sales will now appear on the same date

How the Licence Issue Is Fixed

Fixing the licence issue requires re-registering ROBOTILL. Before doing this, you must be on the latest version.

1. Upgrade to the latest version:
   https://poshelp.robotill.com/UpgradeNewVersion.aspx
2. Re-register ROBOTILL and email us the new registration information:
   https://poshelp.robotill.com/RegisterROBOTILL.aspx

Once this is done, the licensing problem will be resolved. Please note that historical date-based reports cannot be corrected due to the incorrect system date used at the time of sale.

Database Corruption

ROBOTILL uses Microsoft SQL server that is robust and one of the best database servers available. It is however possible that any database can get corrupted because of unexpected process termination, data storage failures, RAM or other hardware issues.

A corrupt database might cause one or more of the following problems in ROBOTILL:

• 'Cannot open database 'redtill'
• 'Cannot insert duplicate key'
• Message regarding inconsistencies within the database.
• ROBOTILL freezes when trying to do a sale and other possible causes (like printer issues) have been ruled out.

Recovering from a corrupt database

To recover from a corrupt database, you need to do a database restore. As you cannot open ROBOTILL Back Office App, you need to start the database restore program directly. Use File Explorer and navigate to "C:\Program Files (x86)\ROBOTILL" Double click on this file: RTRestore and then do a database restore using a backup file that was created before the problem was introduced into the database. After you did a database restore, you will need to request new keys from ROBOTILL if you were using the full edition.

If ROBOTILL is unable to open the database, it can be because the installation of SQL server was also damaged. In that case, you will need to re-install SQL server before you can follow the steps above.

1. Uninstall SQL Server
2. Restart your computer (do not skip this step).
3. Start the ROBOTILL Database Setup Wizard directly - go to All Programs/Apps > ROBOTILL > ROBOTILL Database Setup.
4. Follow the main PC set up instructions

Performance Problems

If ROBOTILL is running slowly or appears to freeze, the first step is to determine when the problem occurs. This can help identify whether the problem is related to a printer, the computer hardware, the network, or another issue.

1. Check if the problem is printer related

Printer problems are a common cause of ROBOTILL appearing to freeze or becoming very slow.

A printer problem will usually occur at a specific point in ROBOTILL. For example, ROBOTILL might work normally while adding products to a sale, but then become very slow or appear to freeze when the sale is completed and a receipt needs to be printed.

If the performance problem always occurs when ROBOTILL needs to print something, check the printer before investigating general computer performance.

Things to check include:

• Make sure the printer is switched on and connected.
• Check the Windows print queue for documents that are stuck.
• Check that the correct printer is selected in ROBOTILL.
• Try printing a Windows test page.
• Temporarily disable printing by default in ROBOTILL Settings and test whether the performance problem disappears.

2. Check the computer hardware

If ROBOTILL is generally slow and the problem is not related to printing, compare the computer specifications to the ROBOTILL Minimum Requirements.

Pay particular attention to the processor, available memory (RAM), Windows version and whether the computer uses a solid-state drive (SSD).

A computer that only just meets the minimum requirements may still perform poorly if Windows or other applications are using a large portion of the available resources.

You can use Windows Task Manager to check CPU, memory and disk usage while ROBOTILL is running. Very high usage can indicate that the computer itself is struggling rather than ROBOTILL being the cause of the performance problem.

3. Compare the server and additional computers

If ROBOTILL is running normally on the computer that hosts the ROBOTILL database (the server), but is slow on one or more additional computers, the problem may be related to the network.

ROBOTILL uses a SQL Server database. Additional computers need to communicate with the database computer over the local network. A slow, unstable or poor-quality network connection can therefore affect ROBOTILL performance.

If only one additional computer is slow, check that computer and its network connection. If several additional computers are slow while ROBOTILL remains fast on the server computer, investigate the network or the server's network connection.

Where possible, computers running ROBOTILL should use a reliable wired network connection. Wi-Fi can work, but signal strength, interference and network congestion can affect performance.

4. Check Windows and other software

If the hardware and network appear to be adequate, check whether another application or Windows service is consuming excessive resources.

Common examples include:

• Antivirus or security software performing a scan.
• Windows Update downloading or installing updates.
• Cloud backup or synchronization software.
• Other applications using excessive CPU, memory or disk resources.
• Very little free disk space.

Windows Task Manager can help identify applications or services that are using unusually high amounts of CPU, memory, disk or network resources.

5. Determine whether the problem affects a specific ROBOTILL function

If the computer performs normally and most of ROBOTILL is fast, but one particular function is consistently slow, take note of exactly what you are doing when the problem occurs.

For example, determine whether the problem happens when:

• Completing a sale
• Printing
• Searching for products
• Opening a specific screen
• Running a particular report
• Performing a specific Back Office function

This information is important when contacting ROBOTILL Support as it helps determine whether the problem is related to the computer, printer, network, database or a specific ROBOTILL function.

Still having performance problems?

If you are unable to identify the cause, contact ROBOTILL Support. When reporting the problem, please explain whether ROBOTILL is slow all the time or only during a specific action, and whether the problem affects all ROBOTILL computers or only one computer.