Welcome to the top ten tech support tips and solutions.

Please use this in conjunction with the normal online help, tutorial etc. The items below are the most common problems encountered and often reflect changes in Microsoft downloads or common upgrades to your computer rather than changes in seaPro.

In addition to the following you can find further technical help on the Tech help web site. Select Tech Support at the top of the page.

General information
To reduce/increase your computers graphics card acceleration How to alter graphic card acceleration

Problem/solutions

1. XP service pack 2 - seaPro/seaPro lite unexpectedly exits more->

2. XP service pack 2 - seaPro will not start (and not due to 1)
A few computers will not work correctly with XP service pack 2 (and not just seaPro)
Microsoft has a number of fixes -Help on service Pack 2 and seaPro

3. XP service pack 2 - seaPro can't see the dongle - a new version 4.4 and new security drivers can be downloaded (you must have 4.0 or higher already installed) see download page

4. I have a new computer and it does not have a serial port to connect the GPS/Nav data to.
You will need to add a USB to serial converter, available from a computer store or direct from Euronav.

5. My USB to serial converter is not working (Euronav supplied or third party)

Make sure you have read the instructions and loaded the correct drivers, if the USB to serial adaptor is supplied with a cable, make sure the converter is connected as well (!). When you install the driver note which com port the adaptor has been installed to or check using the device manager (Right click my computer and then hardware) .

You need to ensure that its installed on com port 1 to 8, if not you will need to alter the driver settings. Typically this is done from within the Device manager (ports) right click and select properties and then Settings advanced - change com port as required. Note if a com port is marked as 'In use' - it may not actually be so.

Modify the serial ports in seaPro to match (use Refresh option in the serial dialog box to see which serial ports are available).

6. When I start my computer, the mouse goes 'crazy' moving all over the screen
This is bug in Windows 2000/XP where the NMEA 183 input is being seen as a serial mouse input.

A simple solution is not to switch on GPS or plug in the NMEA cable until seaPro has started, a more permanent solution is described by Microsoft more

7. 'I get an error 'No 8250' or similar, you have set up seaPro to use a serial port that does not exist.
Select the correct com port in serial settings. Use the Refresh button to view available com ports.

Note: Check that you have plugged in any USB/Serial adaptor

8. I get an error while installing Livecharts

Check that
a. You are using the correct chart CD for the supplied codes, later CD's will not work with older codes
b. You are not using the Program CD instead of the chart CD
c. If you computer has two CD drives check that the correct one is being used.

9. I am installing ARCS charts but not all the charts have been installed
Check that
a) You have used the correct area CD's
b) Some charts are contained on the update CD. Install the update CD as though it was another area CD

Tip - ARCS charts are supplied with a print out of which charts are on a particular CD - check this to see which CD's need to be used (including the update CD)

10. I have just purchased an upgrade and installed the new program, but when starting seaPro it says I have the wrong dongle.
You need to enter your unlock codes - Insert the seaPro program CD, and select chart Installation/Unlock/upgrades to enter your upgrade codes

11.The 'cross hair ' cursor disappeares when entering waypoints, routes, enquire functions etc.
The ini file containing the settings for the cursor has been damaged.

For seaPro standard and above
Use the restore settings facility Setup- Restore defaults and then restart seaPro

For lite
Quickest solution is to simply re-install (but not the charts!)

In both cases you will need to set your own personal setting again, such as com ports etc.

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