Here are things to check if Cheetah will not start properly:

• Check your logfile and read error messages. This is the most important part of figuring out what is wrong with Cheetah’s startup. It will tell you exactly which command caused Cheetah to not start properly. The error messages that are shown are also useful in trying to determine what is wrong. If neither of those provide you enough information to continue, make sure that the logfile is included in your email, or available for reference if you call. Logfiles can be viewed by either clicking View Logfile under Cheetah’s File menu, or by opening CheetahLogFile.txt file in Cheetah’s data directory.

• Licensing Issues. Cheetah requires a valid license to create hardware sub systems. If you are running Cheetah using a Raw Data File Playback system, you do not need a license file. The logfile will have an error message stating that a licensing error has occurred. If you receive a licensing error, please read Answers to Common Neuralynx Licensing Questions.

• Incorrect System Setup. When installing Cheetah, you will be prompted to select your system type (and amplifier control type if using the Cheetah 32 system). If you select the wrong system, the Cheetah software will try to setup your system using the wrong configuration and not load correctly. Running the installer again and selecting the correct system is the best solution (you do not need to backup or uninstall the incorrect installation). You can also edit configuration files to setup the correct system if you do not wish to reinstall. See the Cheetah Reference Guide for more information on configuration file commands.

• Invalid Configuration File Loaded. If Cheetah tries to load a command that it does not understand, it will issue an error message and stop processing the configuration files. The line that cause the error will be the last line shown in the logfile. Since Cheetah 5 has a different command syntax than previous versions of Cheetah, you cannot use old configuration files with Cheetah 5. See the Cheetah Reference Guide for more information on configuration file commands.

• Duplicate Object Created. If you attempt to create any object (hardware sub system, window, acquisition entity, etc.) using a name that already exists, Cheetah will show an error message and stop processing the configuration files. This is generally caused if you try and load a second electrode configuration file, or load configuration files after Cheetah has started. See the Configuration Files section of the Cheetah Reference Guide for more information.

• Object Referenced that was Never Created. Cheetah needs to have objects created before they are used in a command. Cheetah’s logfile will show the invalid name in the error message. This is generally caused if you load configuration files after Cheetah has started. See the Configuration Files section of the Cheetah Reference Guide for more information.