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SciFinder Scholar for Mac OS X Login Errors

The SciFinder Scholar client software on your Macintosh computer communicates over the Internet with server computers at CAS. SciFinder Scholar can connect through your university's network or firewall. Refer to these computer and network requirements for more information.

Connecting SciFinder Scholar on your computer to the CAS servers is usually, but not always, easy in a university environment. It is important to know that, although SciFinder uses the Internet, it does not use the World Wide Web's HTTP protocol. Even if you can surf the web, SciFinder might not be able to connect to the server (and vice-versa).

Some login error messages have codes that pinpoint the cause of the error. A index to the messages described on this page is below.

2401

2403

2405

2407

2409

2411

2413

2401	Login information in the site.prf file may be invalid.
2403	Login information in the site.prf file may be invalid.
2405	The site.prf file could not be located
2407	SciFinder Scholar is unable to traverse your organization's firewall.
2409	SciFinder Scholar is unable to traverse your organization's firewall.
2411	Your organization's firewall has denied this user permission ...
2413	The site.prf file required to access SciFinder Scholar cannot be located.
	Login Failed: Attempt to log in outside service hours.
	Login Failed: SciFinder Scholar is not authorized for use from this network address.
	Problem Report: You are using a version of SciFinder Scholar that is no longer supported.
	Login Failed: Too many concurrent sessions for this login id.

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Common Login Problems

1. Login Failed: Too many concurrent sessions for this login id.

   

   A certain number of researchers at your university can use SciFinder Scholar at the same time (the number of "seats" is fixed). If you see this message, all the seats are in use. As soon as someone else logs off from SciFinder Scholar, you'll be able to log in. Wait a bit and try again.
   
   The above message also applies to the SciFinder Scholar Share Program whereby the number of seats are shared among multiple academic institutions. Again, wait a bit and try again.

2. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. Please contact your Site Administrator. (2413) The site.prf file required to access SciFinder Scholar cannot be located.

   

   The site preferences file, site.prf, is missing from the SciFinder Scholar installation. Site.prf must be present in the SciFinder Scholar application package or the "user location."

   • Installing SciFinder Scholar for Mac OS X has instructions for placing site.prf in the application package location or the user location.
   •  
   • If site.prf is in the correct location but the error persists, there may be a hidden file name extension. Do a Get Info on site.prf and look in the Name & Extension box. Deselect Hide extension and delete all characters that follow "site.prf." For example, if the file's name is site.prf.txt, delete ".txt."
   • Site.prf files are created at your institution and are unique to each institution. If there is no site.prf file, then contact your library or institution's key contact. Your Intranet SciFinder Scholar web page may also have a download link for that file.
     
3. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. Please contact your Site Administrator. (2401) Site Administrator: The login information in the site.prf file may be invalid.

   

   • Your site preferences file was created on a Windows PC. A site.prf file created on a Macintosh is needed for the Macintosh version of SciFinder Scholar.
   • Your site preferences file is corrupted. Editing or opening the site.prf file with a text editor may cause corruption.
   • The site preferences file has a blank Login ID, Password, or both.

   Contact your SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator for a copy of the Macintosh version of site preferences (site.prf) file.  Your Intranet SciFinder Scholar web page may also have a download link for that file.

4. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. Please contact your Site Administrator. (2403) Site Administrator: The login information in the site.prf file may be invalid.

   

   There are several causes for this error message:

   • The login ID or password contained within the site preferences file (site.prf) is invalid (mistyped).
   • The login ID and password combination for your college or university has been changed, but site.prf has not been updated or an old version resides on your computer.
   • The login ID is not active.

   If you have a choice of SciFinder Scholar services, be sure you are using the correct one. For example, the SciFinder Scholar Training Login will only be active on designated training days, at other times this error will be reported.
   
   Report the problem to your SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator. It is possible you need a new copy of the Macintosh version of site.prf.  Your Intranet SciFinder Scholar web page may also have a download link for that file.

5. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. Please contact your Site Administrator. (2407) Site Administrator: SciFinder Scholar is unable to traverse your organization's firewall.

   

   • This error can be caused by incorrect Subnet Mask and/or Router settings in TCP/IP preferences, especially when using Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) or newer. Other Internet functions, such as web access and e-mail, may work fine while SciFinder Scholar is not able to connect.
   • If your computer is located on campus, the campus network, firewall, or proxy server is preventing the SciFinder Scholar client installed on your computer from connecting to the server located at CAS. The cause could be the campus network (servers or routers) or an incorrect value for the firewall or proxy server in site preferences (site.prf).
   • If your computer is located off-campus, you must first make a connection to your campus network. To connect to the SciFinder Scholar server, your computer must have an IP address that is part of your campus network. Contact your Site Administrator to report your problem. Your campus network administrators may need to make proxy or firewall server changes.

   You may also be interested in reviewing Connecting from Off-Campus.

6. SciFinder Scholar Alert! Login Failed: SciFinder Scholar is not authorized for use from this network address.

   To connect to the SciFinder Scholar server, your computer must have an IP address that is part of your campus network.

   • If you have moved to a different location on campus, it is possible that your computer's new IP address is not within the range of IP addresses that were authorized for use with SciFinder Scholar. Contact your campus SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator to report this problem.
   • If you are trying to connect from off-campus and you have an Internet connection that is not provided by your university, you probably won't be able to use SciFinder Scholar. If your Internet connection is provided by your university, find your IP address and contact your campus SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator to ask if you should be able to use SciFinder Scholar.

   You may also be interested in reviewing Connecting from Off-Campus

7. Problem Report. "You are using a version of SciFinder Scholar that is no longer supported. Please contact your Site Administrator to obtain an updated version."

   The version of SciFinder Scholar that you are using has been retired. Contact your campus SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator for information about upgrading to the latest version. Supported Macintosh versions are 2004.2 and Mac OS X.  After January 2, 2008, supported versions will be SciFinder Scholar 2006 and 2007 for Mac OS X. 
   

8. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. (2409) Site Administrator: SciFinder Scholar is unable to traverse your organizations's firewall.

   This message means SciFinder tried to communicate with a SOCKS proxy server but was not successful.

• Check that the SOCKS proxy server is available and working correctly.
• If the SOCKS proxy server's name, address, or port has changed, contact your local SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator about an update to the site preferences file (site.prf).
• If there is a proxy server but it does not use the SOCKS protocol, contact your local SciFinder Scholar Site Administrator for an update to the site preferences file (site.prf) to disable SOCKS.
  
9. Your organization's firewall will not allow you to access SciFinder Scholar. Please contact your Site Administrator (2411)

   

   This message means that the SciFinder Scholar client, on your Mac, was unable to connect to the Scifinder server through the university's firewall or SOCKS proxy server. There are several causes:

• The firewall or proxy server denied access to the your SciFinder Scholar server at CAS. This may occur, for example, if the firewall or proxy server maintains a list of internal IP addresses that are allowed to make an external Internet connection to SciFinder Scholar.
• The hostname or IP address of the firewall or SOCKS server in site.prf is incorrect.
• The firewall or SOCKS port in site.prf is incorrect.
• The SOCKS information in site.prf is correct, but the SciFinder Scholar server is specified with a hostname instead of an IP address.
• The firewall or SOCKS proxy server is down.
  
  Contact your Site Administrator with questions about or changes to site.prf.
10. SciFinder Scholar Alert! Login Failed: Attempt to log in outside service hours.
    
    Your SciFinder Scholar account is limited to the operating hours shown in the message. Log in during the available hours. This error is rarely seen since most accounts are now 24 hours / 7 days for access.  It can be seen when SciFinder Scholar servers are down for weekly maintenance.
    
    
11. SciFinder Scholar is unable to connect with the server at CAS. Please contact your Site Administrator. (2405) Site Administrator: The site.prf file could not be located.
    
     
    
    Error 2405, as opposed to 2413, occurs when the site preferences file cannot be located during a connectivity test. A valid site.prf is required for a connectivity test in SciFinder Scholar (Macintosh) versions prior to SciFinder Scholar 2007 for Mac OS X.  The 2007 version will perform command line connectivity testing without a site.prf file.