Xltek Troubleshooting Guide

The following are common issues I run into with Natus Xltek EEG software v8. This guide is intended for anyone providing IT/Biomed support for Natus EEG v8 software. For EEG techs/end users, always check all your connections, verify equipment is plugged in and on. Re-booting the machine can fix many issues, don’t hesitate to try that first.

Network Issues

Always verify you have a network connection. Some machines are set up to connect with an ethernet cable or by wifi. Here’s an example of what you might see in the Windows taskbar:

No local network (LAN) connection. This could indicate the cable is not plugged in, not seated all the way, or you have plugged it into a dead network jack.

Local network but no internet access. You’re connected to a local network but there’s no gateway to reach the internet. In some hospitals, this could be normal if they block the internet from the EEG machines.

Local network and internet connection. This is good! You have connectivity.

Video Errors

The Xltek software can be prone to a lot of video error issues related to several different things. If you experience video errors, for end-users, I suggest doing a simple reboot of the machine. This will restart some of the services the Xltek software uses for video plus reset your network connection.

XLMediaServer (Advanced)

Go to services.msc and make sure XLMediaServer is running, I always set this service to auto restart on failure. This service must be running for the video to record.

Disk is full

Check to see if the local drive is full. If the drive is full, the video will not be able to record. The video window pops open then shuts down and continues to do this in a loop. Look in D:\Neuroworks\DBData and  D:\Neuroworks\Deleter and delete the contents of those folders.

IP Camera Connectivity

Verify you can connect to the camera over the LAN. Open SNC toolbox and hit search. You should see the camera listed with the static IP assigned. I always set my machine’s camera to 192.168.2.100 with the local NIC as 192.168.2.10 (needs to be in the same subnet). Double-click the device listed and that should open the camera’s web page, verify that is working.

Video Configuration

If you’re using an IP Camera, run Video Configuration and verify IP is set for the selected camera type. If you’re using a USB analog input or webcam, use local.

Machine Manager 

In Machine Manager, verify your camera IP settings. Make sure you have the correct IP configured. Set stream mode to Unicast if not using Multicast. Verify the password is correct for the camera, Sony default is admin.

‘Video not available’ Error

If you see this error with a grey window and no video, check that Windows has a working sound driver. The Xltek software will not play video without a working sound driver.

If you’re working in a VM environment such as Azure, you will need to install a virtual sound driver like this one https://vb-audio.com/Cable/.

PTZ Controls greyed out

Go to services.msc and make sure XLPTZServer is running. I also set this service to auto restart on failure.

For end-users (EEG Techs), do a reboot and this should restart this service on boot-up.

Database Issues

The first thing you should check if you cannot refresh or access the database is your network connection. See above for Network Issues. If you are not accessing the network, you cannot access the global database.

Database greyed out (Advanced)

Check the network connection to the SQL server, make sure you can ping it. ICMP pings have to be able to reach the server for the database to work.

Go to services.msc and make sure the local SQL Express instance is running. It will be the default instance (MSSQLSERVER).

Storage Resource

In the Natus software, go to Tools>Options>Storage tab and verify the UNC path to the file server. Verify the database password is correct and select Test… to test the storage resource.

Local Database Corrupt (Advanced)

Check your local Neuroworks database. Open SQL Management Studio, verify the Neuroworks database is not corrupt. If it is, you can delete it and create a new one. You can use this SQL script below to create a new Neuroworks database (rename the file extension to .sql and run it in SQL Management Studio).

Neuroworks

Alternatively, you can follow these steps to create a new Neuroworks database

Delete Neuroworks database from SQL management studio (take offline first, then delete).

Delete:
D:\Neuroworks\Neuroworks.mdf
D:\Neuroworks\Neuroworks_log.sql
D:\Neuroworks\Neuroworks.dsn

Run D:\Neuroworks\MigrateDB.exe and create a new database.

Check ‘new’
Log file: Neuroworks
Source directory: D:\Neuroworks

Open Natus DB and the new DB will now take some time to sync with the global database.

Hardware Errors

If you’re having headbox connection issues with a USB connected communication box, make sure the communication box is being recognized by the PC with the proper driver. Go into device manager and you should see XLTEK USB Devices. If not, check your USB cable.

To open Device Manager:

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard at the same time to bring up the Run utility.
2. Type in “devmgmt.msc” without the quotations marks, then hit the OK button. This is going to launch the Device Manager in a separate window.

If you’re getting a ‘Device Descriptor Request Failed (Unknown USB Device)’ error try the following:

Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section, then select the Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) from the list.

Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section, then select the Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) from the list.

Right-click and hit Uninstall. Reboot the PC and it should re-install the proper driver.

Replace the USB cable

If none of this works, plug your USB cable into a different port. If that does not work, you may have a bad USB cable. Replace the USB cable. Natus uses a USB-A to USB-B cable.

Study Errors

If you come across this error, ‘No data recorded’ you may have a corrupt .STC file (Study Table of Contents). To fix this, run studytool.exe located in your Neuroworks folder (usually d:\neuroworks).

To find the study folder name, from the Natus database, right-click the study and select ‘info’, take note of the file path.

Now open studytool.exe and browse to that study file path, in the example below my server UNC path is \\orion\neuroworks\DBdata\, orion is the hostname of my file server, yours will be different. Once you have browsed to the study folder, select .STC from file type and select the .STC file and hit ‘Repair STC’.  You should now be able to open the study from the Natus database. You should see your .STC file change in file size from 1KB to something greater, depending on the length of the study.

Activation Errors

“Your activation code was not accepted by the system”

When activating, make sure your current user account has full or local administrative rights. You may even need to right-click Natus and select “Run as administrator.” The default local ‘xluser’ account should have local admin rights.

Verify you have write permissions to the following registry key:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ExcelTech\Starter\License\XLTNW

You can give permissions to HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ExcelTech for ‘everyone’ if needed, although this is not the best for security.

Verify you have read/write permissions to the following path where the activation BIN file is located.

C:\users\public\documents\licenses\

VNC

Xltek comes pre-loaded with a program called WinVNC. VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a program that allows you to remotely view the EEG PC from another PC. There are many different flavors and variants of VNC.

If you hover your mouse over the taskbar icons you should see the WinVNC icon, this means that it is running in the background. If you can’t connect to the machine from another review machine using VNC, the Windows firewall or third-party virus protection software could be blocking the incoming port (TCP 5900).

Registry Hacks

SEEG (Show more tracings)

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ExcelTech\NeuroWorks EEG\Settings]
“MinTracePitchInPixels”=dword:00000007

Neuroworks Reference Manual

With the Natus Database open, you can simply go to Help>Natus Database Help and this will open the Neuroworks Reference Manual PDF for your version of Neuroworks. There’s a lot of end-user information in this manual on using the software that can be very helpful.

For further help reach out to the Natus Xltek helpdesk at ots@natus.com.

DISCLAIMER: I do not work for Natus. I do not guarantee this guide. If you utilize this guide you do so at your own risk. Always make a backup of anything you choose to delete/modify first. Contact your IT/Biomed or Xltek support.