Cornerstone database error -308 or -999

A -308 or -999 error on one or multiple workstations is due to a lost connection to the Cornerstone Database Server.

Possible causes

• The computer lost its connection to the network unexpectedly.
• The server lost connection to the network unexpectedly.
• The network switch is malfunctioning.
• In a Terminal Services situation, the terminal session on the server was locked.
• The computer has locked.

Setup steps to prevent the issue

These steps can be taken on your workstations and Cornerstone Database Server.

Setup an IDEXX Power Plan

Please Note: If you use a domain network your local administrator may have an alternate power plan set up that you cannot change. If so, please reach out to them directly for review.

1. Open Control Panel and click Power Options > Create a Power Plan
2. In the Create Power Plan window, select High Performance
3. In the Plan Name field, type IDEXX Power, click Next and click Create
4. In the Select a power plan window, under IDEXX Power, click Change Plan Settings
5. In the Change settings for the plan: IDEXX Power window, click Change Advanced Power Settings
6. In the Power Options window, click the + on Hard Disk, click the + on Turn off hard disk after, and change Setting (Minutes) to Never
7. Click the + next to Display, click the + next to Turn off display after, change Setting to Never and click OK
8. For laptops: Click the + next to Power buttons and lid, click the + next to Lid close action and change both options to Do Nothing
9. In the Change Settings for the plan: IDEXX Power window, click Save Change

Disable NIC Power Save mode

 Note: The only NICS that should be enabled are those in use. Additional NICS should be disabled.

1. Open Control Panel and click Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings
2. Right-click on Local Area Connection and click Properties
3. Note: Depending on the system, it may be named differently (I.e., Local Area Connection 2, Network Bridge, Wireless Network Connection, Ethernet)
4. Click the Configure button
5. Click the Power Management tab
6. Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
7. Note: This check box may not be present on some systems. If not, do not change anything.
8. Click OK

Troubleshooting steps

Note: Take these steps in order and only proceed to the next step if the issue persists after logging in and using Cornerstone again.

1. Click OK on the error message, close Cornerstone, open Cornerstone, and login again.
2. Restart the affected computer.
3. If using a Terminal Services terminal (thin station), cancel the session on the server, and re-open the session from the terminal.
   • On your Cornerstone Database Server open the task manager and click the users tab. Right click on the username that experienced the error and choose to disconnect to cancel the users session. They can log back into their profile after this step has been completed.
4. Shut down and restart the database engine on your Cornerstone Database Server.
   1. Open Cornerstone Database and Services and click Stop All.  Once all the services show as stopped click Start All and wait until all services show running. Once running, please wait 2-3 minutes before logging back into Cornerstone.
5. Restart your Cornerstone Database Server.
6. Reset your Network Switch
   • Shut down all computers, including the Cornerstone server.
   • Remove the power cable from your network.Wait 30 seconds and plug the power cables back in.
   • Restart the Cornerstone server computer.
   • Restart all workstations and terminals

If you receive an error or are still experiencing issues after implementing the set up and troubleshooting steps above, there may be other networking or hardware issues that need to be addressed. You can reach out to IDEXX Hardware Support or your local IT team for further review and troubleshooting.