The basic diagnostic approach is to first verify that OptiLink works correctly in Demo Mode. If you can get results using 10 links at hotbot, then OptiLink is clearly getting access to the web. Then, we simply need to enter the auth key in OptiLink's File->Setup dialog and see if that works correctly. You must be connected to the internet while doing this.

This problem does not occur very often, and after several thousand installs of OptiTools, it has always been one of two or three different installation problems. Please follow the procedure in the Installation Troubleshooter to get this fixed.

Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed. Or, you may have more than one version of Java installed.

Here's what to do:

Open a command window (Start->Programs->Accessories->Command)
and type:

java -version

this should respond with some variation of Sun microsystems 1.4.2.
if not, use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel to remove
ALL java runtimes, and reinstall the correct version using the link on
my download page.

the "set" command should be in autoexec.bat, rather than config.sys,
but that's not required in XP -- there's a GUI for it now.
Some versions of Windows seem to require that the
system environment variable TEMP or TMP must be set to point to the user Documents and Settings folder.

In general, this is not a requirement and we are unsure why
some systems require this setting. That said, here is what to do:

Click on Start->Settings->Control Panel->System
(you may have to 'switch to classic view' in control panel to see System)
in the System applet, select the Advanced tab and press the

On Mac OS-X, Linux, and Windows, open a command-line window and execute
java -version
See your system documentation for how to get a command line window open. The OptiTools programs require at least version 1.4.1 to operate.

Sun Microsystem's installer for the Java Runtime checks to be sure that your operating system is compatible with the Java Runtime before it will begin the install. One of the most important checks it does is to make sure that you have the Microsoft Service Packs installed that are critical to reliable operation of Java. If the Sun installer tells you to first install a service pack, you should download the required service pack from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/default.mspx before you continue with the installation of the Java runtime

The automatic install is the easiest to use, but does sometimes have problems. The manual installer will always work, but is a bit more involved. Here's the step by step procedure. The links below will open new windows so you can come back here as you complete each step.

1. Goto http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html and scroll to the section labeled "Download J2SE v 1.4.2_xx.
2. select the first "download" link for the Windows installation of the JRE and follow the instructions.
3. Once the install of the JRE is complete, you should then be able to use the OptiLink installer in Step 2 of the instructions at http://www.optitext.com/optilink/download.html

Downloading, Installing, and configuring OptiLink on your platform is simple, but the size of the download can be a problem unless you are using a broadband connection. There are three steps to getting OptiLink installed and operating:

1. Download and Install the Java runtime from Sun
2. Execute the OptiLink Installer for your platform
3. Configure OptiLink