Smart Card Problem - No Data

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:58 am

I know this has been discussed before and that others have experienced this problem, but I can't find the answer.

For 4 days in a row, I have found no data on my smart card. I have ensured that it is properly seated in my apap. I have ensured that the smart card icon is showing in the display window. I have ensured that the smart card reader recognizes the card when it is inserted. I have even recycled the apap (unplugged it and recycled it).

My system is only a few months old. I'm using the most recent version of Encore Pro (successfully until this week). I have occasionally had missing data, but it has usually simply required re-seating the card or recycling the cpap. This one is more difficult.

Help! I would appreciate any other suggestions.

greyhound · Post by **greyhound** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:28 am

Insert the smartcard into the same USB port that was used when the smartcard driver was originally installed. In Encore Pro, go to Home and then click Smartcard Utilities, followed by Erase.

When inserting the smartcard into your apap, you should hear a beep and there should also be an icon shown in the upper right hand side of the LCD display.

Good luck

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:26 am

I keep the card reader plugged in at all times, so it is always in the same USB port. I have learned to check both for the beep and the icon. Both have functioned properly on each of the nights when the data has not recorded.

I have not use the erase utility to reformat the card, but I will try that tonight and hope for the best.

Thanks.

greyhound · Post by **greyhound** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:31 am

You should be able to insert the erased card into your apap and hear it beep and see if the card icon is displayed on the apap's LCD.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:32 am

John,

Before you go erasing your card, please describe all of the steps when you try to download and whether there are any error messages. Light colors (red/green) on the cardreader before, during, whatever..... Does it go through the motions of downloading? Does it give a "download date line" in the download list?

Need more info.

Den

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:55 am

Here are the steps:

1. I insert the card into the reader.
2. It turns from red to green.
3. I open Encore Pro
4. I select the patient (me)
5. I select "download"
6. I wait while it processes.
7. After the download, the card reader turns back to red.
8. Encore Pro does give an updated download date.
9. Encore Pro does not add the date to the weekly display of hours of sleep at the top.
10. When I click on the most recent date and ask it to display data, the most recent data is 4 days old (since it appears not to have recorded or downloaded data for 4 days)

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:26 am

John Galt wrote:Here are the steps:

1. I insert the card into the reader.
2. It turns from red to green.
3. I open Encore Pro
4. I select the patient (me)
5. I select "download"
6. I wait while it processes.
7. After the download, the card reader turns back to red.
8. Encore Pro does give an updated download date.
9. Encore Pro does not add the date to the weekly display of hours of sleep at the top.
10. When I click on the most recent date and ask it to display data, the most recent data is 4 days old (since it appears not to have recorded or downloaded data for 4 days)

When it is going through the download, there will be a little dialogue box (I think it's blue) that says that it is downloading and then updating database. Does yours do that? Then there's a box that asks if you want to erase the card.....do you get that one?

Den

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:31 am

Yes, both of those show. It does state that it is updating the database. It does ask if I want to erase the card (and I routinely say no).

greyhound · Post by **greyhound** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:37 am

What happens when you insert the card into your apap? Does it beep? Does the card icon appear in the upper right hand corner?

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:47 am

Yes, it does beep (one time) and the icon appears in the upper right corner to verify that the card is recognized.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:56 am

And it DOESN'T show a "download date line"? That list does scroll down if and when the downloads fill that window.

Den

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:21 am

Wulfman wrote:When it is going through the download, there will be a little dialogue box (I think it's blue) that says that it is downloading and then updating database. Does yours do that? Then there's a box that asks if you want to erase the card.....do you get that one?

Den

If it makes any difference, the sequence goes a little bit different for me, since I keep Encore Pro on the default of automatically erasing the card after every download.

When I start downloading, the first dialogue box that pops up says, "Is the Smart Card going to be returned to the same patient?" "Yes" is already ticked. I click "OK".

Then the download begins with the blue "Extract Data" dialogue box that Den described saying "Extracting data from Smart Card" and then "Updating database".

After that's finished and the "Extract Data" dialogue box disappears, I can go to the "Interaction List" and doubleclick the date that was just downloaded. The most recent download that hasn't been viewed yet will be in bold.

Then, when the "Report Options" window comes up, I have to click "Full Details" (instead of the default "Summary.") On the righthand side of the "Report Options" window it has places to "Specify Date Range." Again, since I have Encore Pro left at the default of erasing the card after every download, I just click "OK" without changing anything about the "date range."

Just mentioning the difference in the dialogue boxes a person will see if Encore Pro is left at its default, as mine is. In my case there's no dialogue box that ever comes up asking if I want to erase the card or not. The data simply is erased automatically after each download I do.

That's not ever going to be asked if the default installation setting is not deliberately changed in C:\Program Files\Respironics\Encore Pro\Utilities by doubleclicking the little file called: Don't erase data after download.reg

The default is "Erase data after download.reg". I left mine that way. I prefer it that way since I don't have a doctor or DME or insurance company who will ever be asking to see the card. The data is for me.

The only other dialogue box I ever see before the download starts, is when I've swapped my usual Smart Card for Margie's...a lady in town I've been helping. Every two or three weeks, I'll go to her house to swap my card for hers so I can bring it home to download her data. After that, when I've started using her card until the next "swap", the message I get is something like "The data on this card doesn't match the patient ID. Continue?" I click "OK" and it proceeds as usual, with my own download. I have two separate "patients" listed in Encore Pro, so Margie's data and mine are stored separately.

All that has nothing to do with the problem you're having, John Galt. I just mention it in case others who, like me, have left their Encore Pro at its installed default setting of automatically erasing the card after each download might wonder why they don't get a dialogue box asking if they want to erase the card or not. That doesn't come up for those of us who have left Encore Pro at the default installation settings.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:31 am

Somewhere between #8 and #10 I'm gettin' "lost" (as to why it doesn't seem to be putting the data in the reports). From the description of what occurs, it sounds like it SHOULD be there.

Den

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:49 am

Make sure the MSSQL database engine has started on the task bar, should show a little computer with a green play button. If it is showing a red square box, you need to right click on that icon and "start" the database. If it is running it will give the option to stop it.

You should not get any errors when opening EncorePro, it should say something like connecting to database....

John Galt · Post by **John Galt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:05 pm

From all of the comments to date, my system appears to be properly running ... except, of course, there is no data. (Yes, the SQL Server is running.)

I will erase the card and see what it does tonight. I'll post tomorrow so that you all know if that solved the problem or not.

Thanks for all the ideas.