Technical FAQs
 Which platforms are supported?
The ConQuest 1.14 executables, supplied with the 2012 release,
are supported on the following platforms and operating systems:
- Windows - Intel compatible Windows XP/Vista/7
- Linux - Intel compatible, 32 bit:
- RedHat Enterprise 4, 5, 6
- SuSE Linux Enterprise [Desktop|Server] 10, 11
- Debian 4, 5, 6
Note: As we add support for newer versions of Linux, support for older versions may have to be withdrawn.
- Mac Intel compatible:
- Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6, 10.7
If you choose to use a version other than those listed above we cannot
guarantee that ConQuest will work correctly, although we will attempt to
assist you with any problems you may encounter.
Why do I get a pop up window when
starting ConQuest that says "Some Anti-Virus Software stop ConQuest from starting its search engine..."?
There are two main reasons why this error message may appear:
1. If you are running an antivirus program, such as Norton AntiVirus, then you
may have problems running ConQuest.
The following link will take you to information on the Symantec technical
support page regarding Norton AntiVirus, which explains how to keep an
exclusion list to manage exceptions for normal program operations which are
being detected as virus-like activities:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/pfdocs/199829164436
This should allow you to run ConQuest and have Norton AntiVirus running
simultaneously.
Alternatively, most antivirus programs can be temporarily disabled by
right-clicking on the icon in the desktop toolbar and selecting the appropriate
option. ConQuest can then be run normally and the antivirus software re-enabled
afterwards.
2. The other cause of this error message is due to permissions issues with the directories
that ConQuest uses to store temporary files.
The simplest solution is to remove these temporary files and force ConQuest to remake them. For Windows 2000/XP, browse to the
following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]
where [username] is your Windows username.
Then please delete the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\csds_data
and the following file:
C:\Documents and Settings\\.csds_defaults
[Please note - if when you installed ConQuest you chose a non-standard location
for the data directory, then you may not find this folder and file in the
locations indicated above. Please search for them and delete them.]
This should remove all traces of your ConQuest preferences. Now when you start
up ConQuest it should enter "New User Setup" and ask you to choose a data
directory, which normally defaults to a location inside your personal folder
within "C:\Documents and Settings". Please ensure that you choose a location for
which you have full write permissions.
Why does ConQuest
report "Validation Error 751 (or 750)" each time I try to start a search?
This error message signifies a registration problem, most likely due to an error in your csd_licence.dat file (usually located in
the CSD installation directory) that is used by the ConQuest, Mogul and Mercury to store your registration information. When any one
of the programmes first starts, it generates a serial number which is then used to generate a validation code. When you start a
ConQuest search, the search routine also generates a serial number (by the same route as ConQuest) and checks that this matches the
validation code stored in csd_licence.dat file. If the serial number does not match the validation code, ConQuest will not start a
search.
It is therefore likely that the csd_licence.dat file is faulty. The simplest solution is to delete the csd_licence.dat file and
re-register (this will not use additional licences if ConQuest, Mogul or Mercury have previously been registered on that computer).
If this does not solve the problem, please send the csd_licence.dat file to
support@ccdc.cam.ac.uk, who should be able to help further.
A second cause of this problem on Windows machines is when ConQuest 1.7 is installed on a PC without a C: drive. In
this case please browse to the following directory C:\Program Files\CCDC\ConQuest 1.7\bin\pc\intel
(note if you did not install ConQuest in the default location then you will have to alter the path
appropriately). In this directory rename "thomas.exe" to be "thomas_old.exe" and "thomas_alt_disk.exe" to
be "thomas.exe".
ConQuest fails to start on Mac OSX with XQuartz 2.3.3 / 2.4
ConQuest 1.11, part of the CSD System 2009 (v5.30), fails to start on MacOSX
10.6 (Snow Leopard), or MaxOSX 10.5 (Leopard) which has been upgraded to
XQuartz 2.3.3.
To correct the issue, download the file
cq_mac_xquartz_patch.tar.gz. Once downloaded,
open a Terminal from Finder:
Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
You will then need to change to the ConQuest installation directory and
extract the tar.gz file. For example, if you installed CCDC into /Applications
and you downloaded cq_mac_xquartz_patch.tar.gz to your Desktop, you would run:
cd /Applications/CCDC/cq.app/Contents/Resources
tar zxvf $HOME/Desktop/cq_mac_xquartz_patch.tar.gz
If you use Safari as your web browser, you may find that the file is downloaded to
your Download directory, and has been automatically uncompressed, in which case:
cd /Applications/CCDC/cq.app/Contents/Resources
tar xvf $HOME/Downloads/cq_mac_xquartz_patch.tar
A successful installation will result in ConQuest being able to start, and may be
confirmed by going to the Help -> About ConQuest ... menu, which should read
"ConQuest Version 1.14"
ConQuest behaves oddly when manipulating structures in 3D
In some cases, when selecting atoms in the 3D viewer, the wrong atom will be shown selected. This has
only been observed on MacOSX and Linux and the fix is similar for both platforms:
- MacOSX
- Open a Terminal
- cd to the top of the CSD_System_2011 tree
- cd to conquest.app/Contents/Resources/lib/hitbrowser/Browser
- copy RendererV1.py to Renderer.py
- Linux
- Open a terminal
- cd to the top of the cambridge/ tree
- cd to lib/hitbrowser/Browser
- copy RendererV1.py to Renderer.py
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