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Frequently Asked Questions

Questions:


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Also check the Quick Reference Book:
 LabCollector
Manual

 
Answers:

1. What is LabCollector?

LabCollector is a collaborative solution (web-based: LabCollector uses network capabilities and is accessible over all computer in the lab) to manage day-to-day laboratory information  (samples, reagents and supplies, equipment, plasmids, antibodies, documents, ...) and samples storage allowing tracking of any kind of information.

 

 

2. What are the systems requirements?

Virtually any OS with web server capabilities (with PHP and mySQL), including MacOS X 10.2.6. Common OS are Windows2000/XP and Linux.

 

 

3. I cannot find the install.exe file. How do I install LabCollector?

From version 3.7 and up we provide an all-in-one auto-executable installation wizard for Windows XP/2000. Just download and install.
For other systems you will have to manually install LabCollector, by following instructions included on the readme/install.txt file. There is also a detailed Windows 2000 installation manual in PDF included in the distribution ZIP file.

More information about LabCollector Windows installation on LabCollector's forum > Installation > Windows

More information about LabCollector Mac installation on LabCollector's forum > Installation > MacOS

 

4. Windows 7 INSTALL ERROR: Note to Windows 7 users

Windows 7 includes new UAC (user security) policies, preventing normal execution. Please follow these guidelines in our forum in order to be able to run LabCollector Server Manager utility:
click here to read more.

5. What are PHP and mySQL? Do I need to have PHP & mySQL?

Yes. But those are now provided in the installation package for windows. PHP is a scripting language and interpreter and mySQL is a database server. You need both to run LabCollector. You also need a web server configured on the computer (like windows IIS or Apache). If you are new to all this, we highly recommend using a global installer package. Please install it on your computer first.
To avoid installing PHP and mySQL manually, just download the LabCollector Installation wizard!

 

6. Can LabCollector be installed on a MacOS?

Yes. But only from MacOS X 10.2.6 or higher. You need to install PHP and mySQL for MacOS X too (get them from entropy - Marck Liyanage web site ). Install PHP 4 and mySQL 4 packages suggested there. Also read the install.txt file provided with LabCollector. You can alsouse MAMP (www.mamp.info), a all-in-one server pack.

More information about LabCollector Mac installation on LabCollector's forum > Installation > MacOS

 

 

7. Can I use LabCollector on a single computer? Can I install it on a web server?

YES to both. You can run it on your own computer. You access LabCollector using your internet browser either on the same computer or on a remote computer. You can install LabCollector on any server that you can have access. For speed purposes, we recommend you to install it locally on a computer connected to your local network. But you can host it on any web hosting provider plan and access it over internet. AgileBio can host your LabCollector application too. Contact us.

 

 

8. How do the remotely hosted version works?

You purchase 1 license of LabCollector and you just ask us to install it on our web server. You will get e personal link to access to your LabCollector and use it as if it was on a computer on your lab.

 

 

9. Do I need to purchase all modules? Can I use only the primers module?

You can purchase the only module or modules that you need. You can purchase other modules later if you decide to.

 

 

10. If I purchase 1 license do I need to purchase additional licenses for other computers in my lab network?

No. LabCollector is a network software, so 1 copy running on a web/Intranet server should serve all computers on your lab. Everybody share the same LabCollector software.

 

 

11. I have problems installing PHP and/or mySQL. Is there an alternative?

You can try the new easy installation executable that installs all required components and LabCOllector automatically. Visit the download section.

 

 

12. Configuring EasyPHP for LabCollector usage

The new installation wizard configures it all. If you installed manually, follow the manual.

But for general purposes, for LabCollector, you need to edit PHP.INI to set:

register_globals=on

error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE

magic_quotes_gpc = On

zend_extension_ts = c:\program files\easyphp1-7\www\ioncube\ioncube_loader_win_4.3.dll

You also have to configure EasyPHP to start automatically with Windows and to run as a Service. For this right click on the EasyPHP icon in the Windows status bar>>Configuration>>EasyPHP.

 

 

13. I have a forbidden error when trying to access LabCollector from a Windows IIS platform (Windows 2000 and XP)

This happens when you create for example a subdirectory for LabCollector inside Inetpub\wwwroot. You need to do a permissions configuration. To do this, right click on the labcollector folder and access Properties option. On that pop-up, go to security tab and edit users access, by allowing Everyone to access the contents of the folder.

Sometimes, security tab is not visible (on XP systems). You need to activate it first. To reveal the Security tab, open Windows Explorer, and choose Folder Options from the Tools menu. On the View tab, scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings and clear (click) the check box next to "Use Simple File Sharing." Click OK to apply the change, and you should now have a Security tab when viewing the properties of a file on an NTFS volume.

 

 

14. ERROR: Warning: mysql_connect(): Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server (...)

This happens when you use MySQL 4.1 or later with PHP 4. You need to download and use MySQL 4.0 instead as the new MySQL 4.1 uses a new authentication protocol only supported by PHP 5.

 

 

15. Plasmid editor generates a broken image

This happens most probably because on windows system, GD library is not activated by default in PHP. Make sure to download the complete PHP package corresponding to your version from www.php.net and move the extension folder into your local PHP directory. Then open PHP.INI and remove the ; in front of the line for phplib_gd2.dll. Also define the extensions folder path in PHP.INI.

 

 

16. Preventing data loss with hardware failure

You can simply perform regular backups.
Hardware security can be established in an easy way using a RAID system. The basic RAID1 level is cheap and efficient. It is also called mirroring. You need two identical hard drives (IDE, SATA or SCSI) and an optional RAID controler (may be software based, embedded on the mother board or PCI expansion card). Data is saved equaly on both disks (mirroring). If one disk fails, you just need to replace it without loosing data stored on the other one. Once replaced, data will be mirrored automatically. You can also use RAID 5 in a similar way, with at least 4 disks, with mirroring and enhanced storage space.

 

 

17. How to Upgrade LC Windows Server Manager from 1.x to 1.2?

First be sure to manually update/upgrade your LabCollector files to current version ( 4.32 ) using the ZIP package provided below. Once running the last LabCollector version, you need to download this installation wizard and execute it with default options. It will upgrade your manager to 1.2 without affecting your existent data (do a preventive backup though).

Note: Be sure that you don't have any folder called "_notes" and no *.mno files into www/images folder. Please delete them before executing the manager upgrade.

More information about LabCollector's update and upgrade on LabCollector's forum > Installation > Updating and Upgrading

 

 

18. I have upgraded to v3.9 and now have a loader error?

This is because in 3.9 the compilation loader has been updated too. You need to replace your ioncube loader (in ioncube folder) by the new one corresponding to your OS. Please get it at: www.ioncube.com or ask it to us.

 

 

19. I get an error when I execute the Windows Installer?

This is because Microsoft .Net Framework 2 is needed. You have to download it from Microsoft website and install it before installing LabCollector's Windows automatic installer. Sometimes french Langpack extension is also required. If needed download it here. The installer needs to open a special html page in Internet Explorer borwser. The installer is not compatible with other borwsers. If you have such browsers as defualt, just keep that page open and copy the address into a new window of IE and continue from there.

 

 

20. How do I install Add-on modules?

First you need to have LabCollector v3.912 or later running. Then just download Add-on packages and unpack them into /extra_modules folder of your LabCollector. Next, enter into LabCollector and you'll notice that the new modules will be active. On the first access to the Add-ons you will be prompted to finish installation automatically.

 

21. After installation, why do I have the error "No Database found for this lab" and config.php file is empty?

This is because your PHP configuraiton in the server is not set to accept short tags. You need to edit PHP.INI and change it to accept short tags by setting it like:

short_open_tags = On

Then save PHP.INI and restart PHP.INI. Reinstall LabCollector (by deleting config.php and labcollector database and run again install.php)

 

22. Why does LabCollector open Office 2007 files as ZIP files?

You can change that by doing the following actions:

1/ STOP Labcollector Server
2/ Add these lines to mime.types file located in the folder /LabCollector/Apache/conf :

application/msword docx
application/vnd.ms-excel xlsx
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint pptx

3/ START LabCollector server again

 

23. How to run LabCollector server on a 64bits Windows machine?

You can install our automatic installer. Then make sure the path to the ioncube loader is placed between quotes.

zend_extension_ts="C:\Program Files (x86)\AgileBio\LabCollector\php\ext\ioncube_loader_win_5.2.dll"

 
24. How to restrict access to LabCollector to selected IP addresses?

You can improve security by limiting access to LabCollector to a selected IP range or specific IP addresses. For this EDIT Apache settings (httpd.conf) from the server manager and replace:

 Allow from all

by

Deny from all
Allow from 192.168.1
Allow from 192.168.0.100
Allow from 127

Then restart Apache/LabCollector Server. In this example we have limited to IP range from 192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255 and specifically to 192.168.0.100 and localhost/127.0.0.1

 more explanations on Apache documentation:
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_authz_host.html#allow

 

25. My LabCollector or Addon is very slow. Why and how to fix?

 It turns out that by default Windows 7 hosts file at "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" has this line commented out:

# 127.0.0.1 localhost

Simply uncommenting this line changes the localhost performance back to what it was supposed to be, instead of that annoying 3-5 second wait on every page load. Remember that you need to run your text editor with administrator rights to edit the hosts file.