Troubleshooting the File Collector

Accessing the Log File

By default, the log file of the collector is saved in the following folder: C:\Proficy Historian Data\LogFiles.

If you are experiencing any problems with the collector, use the log file to troubleshoot. The log file sometimes logs errors that are not processed to Historian Administrator. For example, if you have no archives in your system and you attempt to import a .CSV file with formatting errors, the file is not processed and no alerts are sent to Historian Administrator (if there are no archives created, the message database has not been created). But this error does appear in the log file.

Typical Error Messages and Suggested Solutions

Error Message Troubleshooting Tips

12-Aug-0113:38:00 - Import Line Error: Input past end of file

12-Aug-0113:38:00 - Error Occurred On Line12: General Format Error

 There is an extra line in the file. Remove it.

10-Aug-01 15:47:02 - Import Line Error: Type mismatch

10-Aug-01 15:47:02 - Error Occurred On Line 2: General Format Error

 Two fields were combined into one due to a missing comma. Add a comma.

12-Aug-01 14:18:12 - Invalid Import Field: TimeResolution

12-Aug-01 14:18:12 - zProcessFragment>> Aborted Import Due To Formatting Errors

If an import field is invalid (in this case Time resolution should be StoreMilliseconds), the import will abort.

Identifying Lines in which an Error Occurs

Suppose the log file contains an error description as follows:
20-Jul-01 10:1717 - Import Line Error: Input past end of file
20-Jul-01 10:1717 - Error occurred on Line 7:General Format Error

The line number in the log is produced by the SDK, not the File collector. This means that the line number is counted relative to the header or field list for each section of the file, ignoring comments and blank lines.

CSV File Import Issues

A CSV file may not be imported if:
  • It contains an extra line.
  • It contains extra commas on the data line.
  • The file size is greater than 10 MB. Ideally, the file size must be between 1 and 2 MB.
  • The data in the file goes beyond the Archive Active Hours value (by default, 1 month).
  • The first archive is not yet created.

If you view the CSV file using Microsoft Excel, some characters are not visible. We recommend that you use a text editor to examine files that are causing format errors when you attempt to import them.

Troubleshooting Large File Import

To prevent a locked file scenario when building large files for import into the Incoming directory, first build the file under a temporary file name or directory that will be ignored by the File collector, then rename or move the file to the real file name or Import directory when the file is fully built.

Unable to Access Historian Administrator After Installing the File Collector

If you encounter problems in accessing Historian Administrator after installing the File collector, upgrade the Historian Server. On upgrading the File collector from 7.0 SP2\7.0 SP3\7.0 SP4 to 7.0 SP5 or later, you will notice the following:
  • The previous version of the collector is in the stopped state and the new version of the collector is in the running state.
  • The data collection is stopped for the tags added in the older version.
To avoid this issue:
  • Change the collector to the newer version in Tag properties for all the tags which were added using the older version of the collector.
  • Delete the older version of the collector from the Collectors section in Historian Administrator.

File Collector is not available in Admin clients

If the File collector is running, but still not available in Admin clients, then you should register the following DLLs:

32-bit machine
  • c:\windows\system32\regsvr32 ihAPICOM.dll
  • c:\windows\system32\regsvr32 ihaSDK.dll
64-bit machine
  • c:\windows\syswow64\regsvr32 ihAPICOM.dll
  • c:\windows\syswow64\regsvr32 ihaSDK.dll