Troubleshooting Inquisit Web

Try using a different version of the Inquisit Web application

Depending on your browser and computer configuration, you may see text at the bottom of the launch page that says "Having trouble starting?" If you see that text, click the link immediately below it, and then click the Start button if it appears or follow the instructions to install the app.

Update to the latest version of your web browser

If you are running Safari or Internet Explorer, the operating system should automatically keep your browser up to date. If you are running Firefox or Chrome, you can check for updates by selecting your browser's "About Firefox" or "About Google Chrome" menu command, or by visiting http://www.firefox.com or http://www.chrome.com. For security, it's a good idea to run the latest browser versions anyway.

Try a different web browser

Inquisit Web runs on Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari. If you can't launch an experiment with your favorite browser, try with one of the others.

Configure Mac security settings to allow applications that are not from the App Store

Starting with Mac OS X 10.8, by default your Mac will only run applications that are downloaded from the App Store. Inquisit Web is not currently available in the App Store, so it can not run with this setting. You can change this by clicking the Apple menu, selecting System Preferences, clicking the Privacy/Security icon, and then changing the setting to "Allow all apps". Once you are finished with the study, you can change this setting back if you'd like.

Update your Windows graphics drivers

If you are able to launch the experiment but you see errors relating to "graphics", you may need to update your graphics driver. You can often obtain the latest driver from Windows Update, or if that doesn't work, visit the manufacture for your computer and download/install the latest graphics driver from there. This is a good idea in general, as it will improve the graphics performance or your computer.

Temporarily Disable your anti-virus software

Inquisit Web will run fine using the default firewall settings in Windows and Mac. Some 3rd party anti-virus software programs are very aggressive, however, and can prevent helpful programs from functioning properly, in which case you may have to disable it to run Inquisit. Alternatively, you might consider replacing your anti-virus software with Microsoft Security Essentials, a free and effective anti-virus application offered by Microsoft that does a good job identifying malware while not interfering with legitimate applications.

Try from another device

Sometimes Inquisit may fail to run due to configuration (or misconfiguration) issues on a given computer. For example, if you are at a computer running within a tightly managed corporate or government network, your IT administrator may have policies in place that restrict you from running unauthorized software. If you have access to a different computer, try running Inquisit Web from that one.