INFO: E-Prime Go Troubleshooting [41044]

This article applies to:

E-Prime Go 1.0

Detail 

Reporting E-Prime Go issues to Psychology Software Tools

When reporting issues to support, provide the Task-XXXXXXXX.exe Paradigm Code. An .exe file with the name "Task-YA9WS928.exe" has the Paradigm Code YA9WS928.

The .exe version number should also be reported to Psychology Software Tools. To locate the Task-XXXXXXXX.exe version number, right-click on the .exe and select Properties. Then, click the Details tab as shown below:

Finally, if reporting problems with a specific participant's E-Prime Go session, provide the date and time stamp (hour and approximate minute) that the session started as well as the participant's local time zone.

Instruct potential participants to first run PcQualify to avoid possible machine configuration issues

We advise all prospective participants to run the PcQualify application prior to being provided with a packed E-Prime Go experiment. PcQualify is an application that determines if a data collection machine is compatible with E-Prime. Refer to INFO: PcQualify for E-Prime Go / E-Prime 3.0 [35382] for more information on PcQualify failures and workarounds.

The Experiment Runner application shows text even though none was specified

The contents of the Start Instructions, Stop Instructions, and Failure Text fields are always presented to the participant even if the researcher has not modified the default suggested text for these fields. This behavior is by design as Psychology Software Tools uses recommended text in these prompts when none has been entered by the researcher.

Refer to BUG FIX: Instructions are used in a packed experiment despite none being specified [36041] for more information on how eliminate the suggested text from being shown to participants.

A packed task does not upload to the E-Prime Go website

The E-Prime Go website provides up to 2GB of storage. The following error occurs if the limit is exceeded:

To avoid exceeding the storage space limit, , we recommend performing frequent downloads of the participants' data to a local computer, providing a backup of the local data and then deleting the data on the website (see INFO: Deleting E-Prime Go experiments and data [36295] for more information).

E-Prime Go also restricts the size of individual experiment files. Experiments up to 1.5 GB can be packed in Automated Mode experiment sizes up to 1.5GB (see BUG: Error 10006 while packing - Unexpected, Unable to insert compression items [35384] for more information).

The Last Status is Canceled but the participant finished the experiment

The Last Status is most commonly set to "Canceled" when a participant cancels the experiment at the Startup Info prompts. However, "Canceled" may occur in two other circumstances:

Unsuccessful .edat3 conversion

The "Canceled" status occurs when an .edat3 file cannot be converted from the E-Recovery text file. The most common reason for this issue is the length of the data file name. The article BUG FIX: Automated data upload results in 404 error [37394] has more information on how to avoid this issue.

Absolute file path

The "Canceled" status occurs when the data file name property has been modified to include an absolute path. An absolute path is defined as the complete path to a file or folder.  Absolute paths start from the root element and end with the filename. For example, C:/Users/<USERNAME>/Downloads/[Experiment]‑[Subject]‑[Session]is an absolute path that points to a data file in the users Download's folder. E‑Prime Go data files must be written to a machine's temp folder. This allows the data to be uploaded successfully to the E-Prime Go website. Therefore the data filename property for an E-Prime Go experiment should not include a path.

The Last Status message has been Experiment Started for a long period of time
“Experiment Started” is a typical status that can be shown in the Last Status field on the E-Prime Go website. Seeing this status indicates that the participant has clicked the "Run Task" button in the Experiment Runner application and has at least reached the Startup Info prompts. “Experiment Started” is shown as the Last Status from then up until the experiment reaches its conclusion (at which time it should switch to “Experiment Finished (Awaiting data)”).
 
However, if “Experiment Started” has not changed even though the experiment should be over, then the participant’s machine may have encountered an issue. This usually indicates that an “Experiment Failure” occurred at some point during the Session. An “Experiment Failure” is caused when the Experiment Runner application unexpectedly closes (e.g., the machine loses power). 
 
Researchers that notice the unexpected “Experiment Started” Last Status should contact participants and let them know to run Task-XXXXXXXX.exe again. A dialog will appear that tells the participant that an unexpected failure occurred. Once the dialog is confirmed, the Last Status will be set to “Quit.”
 
The image below shows the Submission History dialog when “Experiment Failure” is detected:
 

 
NOTE: Sessions that have a Last Status as "Experiment Started" will automatically be marked as "Incomplete" after 24 hours pass. See INFO: Experiment status on the E-Prime Go website [36990] for more information.
 

Experiment Packer application chooses files from other experiments

As stated in INFO: E-Prime Go Best Practices [35507], we recommend packing experiments in clean folders with no other experiments present in the folder or a sub-folder. If an experiment is packed that exists in a folder with other experiment files, then there is a risk that unnecessary resource files are uploaded to the E-Prime Go website. These files may take up valuable storage space as the E-Prime Go website has a 2GB data cap (INFO: Data Usage on the E-Prime Go website [37280]).

A participant's clock is out of sync

One of the most common issues participants encounter when running an E-Prime go experiment concerns the system time on their computer. The computer's system clock must be in synch in order for participants to access the E-Prime Go website. As mentioned above, the PcQualify application should be used to screen participant's machines. PcQualify includes a check of the participant's system clock. Please see INFO: PcQualify for E-Prime Go / E-Prime 3.0 [35382] for more information on PCQualify and clock sync in E-Prime Go.

Diagnosing Runtime errors

When a runtime error occurs in an E-Prime Go experiment, the experiment stops executing, the contents of the Failure Message box are shown to the participant, and no .edat3 file is created. The cause of the runtime error should be identified and corrected before continuing with data collection. To assist with that process, the RuntimeError.txt file is uploaded to the E-Prime Go website. This file can be used to determine why the error occurred and what to do to remedy the issue. If additional help is needed to determine the cause of the error, contact support (see INFO: Enhanced Experiment Status and Runtime error information available on E-Prime Go website [36046] for more information).

See Also:

INFO: E-Prime Go Best Practices [35507]

TIMING: Verifying your E-Prime Go Timing [35028]

INFO: E-Prime Go pre-selects likely Resource Files based on location and file type [35261]

For more advice, the E-Primer website provides a list of Tips and Tricks for using E-Prime Go.