Important Note

This blog is for finding solutions to common problems. If your issue is not listed here you need to email support at micronichefinder@gmail.com and let Kevin know exactly what problem you are having.

That being said, I've found that most problems can be solved with a software update. Click the "Check for Program Updates" link on the main screen and install the latest version.

Once again, if you still experience issues you can email Kevin at micronichefinder@gmail.com

James

Search Locks up and shows No Searches

This is usually a Vista related issue. This is a very common issue in Vista if the power goes out, or if the user uses Ctrl+Alt+Del to kill a program.

The solution is to delete your Micro Niche Finder data files. That means you'll lose all your past searches but it's the only thing that will fix it.

Do a windows search and find the following files and delete them all: (there are probably 2 copies of each)

results.dbf
results.cdx
searches.dbf
searches.cdx

I recommend you try deleting just the results.dbf and results.cdx first and try to run Micro Niche Finder. That may fix the issues and then you'll still have your old search data but if not you'll have to delete searches.dbf and .cdx as well.

Of course this is going to happen again if the power goes out. So I recommend you back up your data files every day (or more often)

I have a video here that shows you how to locate these files:

http://www.micronichetool.com/support/indextag/

Activations Problems

Here are the most common solutions to activation problems:

1) Micro Niche Finder is Licensed to one computer. If you're trying to use the same receipt number on a second computer it won't work. If you'd like to purchase additional licenses please email support at jjonessupport@gmail.com

2) You're entering the receipt wrong. Some receipts have "zeros" that look like "ohs" for example: 7806HGVB -- the third character is a 0 (zero) not an O (oh). Best thing to do is copy and paste the receipt number into the activation box.

3) Firewall issue. If you have a firewall it may be blocking the activation. Try turning off the firewall temporaily then trying to activate again. When you turn the firewall back on be sure to allow Micro Niche Finder access.

4) Try reseting your receipt. You can do this by clicking the "Click here to reset your receipt number and activation status" link on the main screen.

5) If you still have problems email support. Be sure to include your receipt number when you email support.

Micro Niche Finder Version 2.1.8 Released

We've just released a minor update to Micro Niche Finder that fixes a few issues and completes the server move from last week.

Here are the highlights:

1) Added Search Results Icon to Tool Bar. Now you can reach the Search Results screen from any other screen with 1 click! (it's the little thinks in life that make you happy :)

2) Added Support Icon to the tool bar. Currently this links to this Support Blog but we may move that to to FAQ and then link from the FAQ to the Support Blog.

3) Added Download Icon to the tool bar. This will give you quick access to the download page with all the bonuses.

4) Added SOC to the Export Report. This was a bug fix from the prior release.

5) Added Reset Receipt link to the main screen. This was added a couple of versions back but dissappeared in the prior version.

We'll be working on the next major release in the coming weeks. If you have any feature requests get them in now. (just add a comment to this post)

Thanks,

James

Micro Niche Finder Runs in Offline Mode

Problem: When opening Micro Niche Finder it runs in offline mode and will not pull in results.

Solution: This normally happens when your Firewall is blocking access. Try turning off your firewall temporarily and then try running Micro Niche Finder again.

James

Server Update Complete

We have completed the move to a new server. You can check to see which server you are on by clicking this link:

http://www.micronichetool.com/server/

If you're still on the old server try rebooting. However, it can take up to 48 hours for your ISP to update the DNS lookup table.

Thanks for your patience,

James

Micro Niche Finder Outage

We continue to experience some problems with the Micro Niche Finder server. It's basically a bandwidth issue and we are moving to a new dedicated server this week. You will still be able to use Micro Niche Finder during the move but you may experience some intermitent downtime. We are currently rebooting the current server and freeing up resources so we can handle the current load until the new server comes on line. Thanks for your patience.

Update: The server is back online now. We will continue to monitor this.

James

Intermitant Server Problems

We are still experiencing Intermitant Server Issues. Please know that we are working to resolve these problems.

Your patience is appreciated.

James

Micro Niche Finder Server Back On Line

The server is back on line currently however in order to keep this issue from happening again we will be moving to a faster dedicated server. We're going to do this is stages so hopefully you won't see any downtime. But, if you do check this blog for up to date information.

Thanks,

James

Server Outage

We are experiencing some problems with the Micro Niche Finder server which required a reboot. The issue should be resolved within 50 minutes.

Thanks for your patience.

James

The Exact Match Paradox

I get asked this question at least once a day:

"Why do you put so much emphasis on Exact Match numbers? Wouldn't real world results dictate broad phrase match? The average person searching online wouldn't use quotes around their search."

Answer:

Consider the following paragraph...

"I was walking to the bus stop yesterday and a big black dog was following me. So I took off my shoes and threw them at him to scare him away. "

With broad match that paragrah would show up in a search for:
black walking shoes Even though it has nothing to do with black walking shoes.

Now consider a website that has this paragraph:

"We have many different styles of black walking shoes."

That matches the broad match of keywords black and walking and shoes but it also matches the exact phrase of black walking shoes.

Everything else being equal Google will rank the page with the exact match to be more relevant for that particular search and therefore it will be higher in the results list WITHOUT the searcher enclosing the phrase in quotes.

You probably already know how obsessed Google is with showing relevant results? (And it should be! That's what keeps searchers coming back to Google for their search needs) Knowing that which of the following is more relevant to a search for: black walking shoes (no quotes)

1) I was walking to the bus stop yesterday and a big black dog was following me. So I took off my shoes and threw them at him to scare him away.

2) We have many different styles of black walking shoes.

Obviously #2 is more relevant and will get higher priority in the search engine ranking (all else being equal).

Showing Exact Match Counts in Micro Niche Finder is simply an easy way to show how much REAL competition there is for a specific term. It has nothing to do with the searcher using quotes around the phrase.


James

Windows - No Disk Error

About 1% of Micro Niche Finder users are experiencing an error message from Windows that Says "Windows - No Disk Error" then it give you an option to Cancel, Retry or Continue.

We have resolved this problem. You can download the patch from:

http://www.micronichetool.com/update/nodiskpatch.exe

Download and run the software.

Please Note: You DO NOT need to install this update unless you are experiencing this specific problem.

James

Features that use Internet Explorer not working

Some features in Micro Niche Finder such as search for affiliates, clickbank marketplace search, domain tools lookup, etc bring up an IE browser session to display the results. I've had one report that these features aren't working.

Sounds like the IE install is buggy. I've had problems with IE in the past and this has fixed the problem 90% of the time:

This from Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To resolve this problem in Internet Explorer, follow these steps:
1. Quit all programs that are running.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. Type regsvr32 urlmon.dll, and then click OK.
4. When you receive the "DllRegisterServer in urlmon.dll succeeded" message, click OK.

If this does not resolve the problem, repeat steps 2 through 4 for each of the following files (in step 3, replace Urlmon.dll with each of the file names below):
• Shdocvw.dll
• Actxprxy.dll
• Oleaut32.dll
• Mshtml.dll
• Browseui.dll
• Shell32.dll

Micro Niche Finder 870 Error

Update 12:48 ET: We have identified the problem and the programmers are working on a fix. We should have an update out by tomorrow morning. Thanks again for your patience.

James

Micro Niche Finder 870 Error

We are currently experiencing some problems with the search results numbers.
You can still install and use Micro Niche Finder but just keep in mind that he Search Counts are wrong (they are all showing 870) We are working on a fix now and hope to have this resolved by tomorrow. I appreciate your patience while we work
to resolve this.

James

Version 2.0 Released

We are very excited to announce the release of Micro Niche Finder 2.0.

2.0 has some really cool new features which you can check out by watching this video:

http://www.micronichetool.com/2point0/

You can upgrade to 2.0 by Clicking the "Check for program updates" link on the main page of the software. (the page that opens when you start Micro Niche Finder)

You'll need your receipt number to activate version 2.0. Your receipt number is your 8 digit alphanumeric ClickBank receipt number. If you paid by Paypal use your transaction number.

If you have problems please email support at jjonessupport@gmail.com



James

Strange Message: "This Beta Version of Micro Niche Finder has Expired."

Problem: When starting Micro Niche Finder the following message "This Beta Version of Micro Niche Finder has Expired" appears and Micro Niche Finder Shuts down.

Solution: First off let me assure you: You DO NOT have a beta version of the software. This message is a remnate of code that was not taken out when Micro Niche Finder graduated out of beta.

The reason you are seeing this message is either:

1) You are not connecting to the internet

or

2) The Micro Niche Finder Server is down.

In case of 1 check to see if you can access other sites. In case of 2 just try again in a few minutes. If it's down for an inordinate amount of time email support.

Hitting the "Enter" Key Doesn't Work

Problem: Hitting the "Enter" key after entering a search term doesn't work. You have to click the "Search" button

Solution: Hitting the "Enter" key moves focus to the Search button. Hitting "Enter" again will start the search.

Empty Button In Saved Searches Screen Doesn't Work

Problem: The "Empty" button in the saved searches page doesn't work. You have to delete each individually which can get quite long.

Solution: The “Empty” button only applies to an “empty” search… All of the “buttons” are just pointers to bookmarks on the page so you can quickly locate phrases.

You only see the "Empty" button when you have clicked the search button without entering anything in the search box. Since the "Empty" result set is at the very top of the alphabetical index it doesn't appear to do anything when the button is clicked because it's already there. Probably need to remove the "Empty" button or change the name to Null to avoid confusion.

Now, I wonder why anyone would want to delete all their data? Is there a need for a delete All button?

Errors Occur after Clicking Search

Problem: After keying in a search phrase and clicking Search various errors occur including "Index Tag Is Not Found."

Solution: The data table indexes were not generated when the software was installed.

This is a simple fix:

Close Micro Niche Finder if it's open.

Then you need to locate the data directory for Micro Niche Finder. It should be in your Documents and Settings folder. Mine is in:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Micro Niche Finder

If you can't find it Do a file Search for “results.*”

There should be a RESULTS.DBF and a RESULTS.CDX in a sub-folder of Micro Niche Finder, right-click on them and delete them.

Restart MNF.

Micro Niche Finder Will Automagically recreate the indexes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: uninstalling and reinstalling will not work because the data does not get uninstalled when you uninstall the software (has something to do with Window Vista compatability)

870 Search Count Bug

Problem: A search count of 870 is returned for many terms when the actual search count is different.

Solution: This is a bug in the software. It occurs when the user enters the captcha number wrong. (not sure why it defaults to 870). It's also possible if you have a slow connection that you are entering the correct code but it's not getting back to the server. We will address these issues with the next release.

Micro Niche Finder Support Blog Opens

This blog will be used to post updates, bug reports, bug fixes and other support issues. I welcome your comments here but if you have a support issue or feature request please email support at micronichefinder@gmail.com
James