If the system displays a message, 'Unable to Start FPSSrvr (the system cannot read the Fingerprint Sensor),' or simply does not respond to the fingerprint scanner, the causes can include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• The terminal is not configured to use the attached fingerprint scanner on the BOH file server. Log in to Aloha Manager, and select the terminal, in Maintenance > Hardware > Terminals. Select Radiant from the Fingerprint Scanner > Type drop-down list, on the Readers tab.
• One or more of the .dll files that support fingerprint scanner may be missing or corrupt. Reinstall FPS on the terminal displaying the error by executing just the AlohaFPSSetup.exe on the terminal. Do not attempt to run the AlohaFPSSetup.exe in conjunction with Setup.exe as this will result in a failure. You can locate AlohaFPSSetup.exe in the Aloha Suite Installer folder from the original install. Where no longer present, you can download from Aloha Update.
• One of the fingerprint scanners in the network may be malfunctioning. Try using a different scanner, if more than one is available in the network. Contact your NCR Voyix reseller for help resolving this issue.

If there is no fingerprint scanner attached to a terminal exhibiting this message, and if you have no expectation of using a fingerprint scanner with the terminal, you can safely acknowledge the message, and ignore it. Depending upon configuration, buttons relating to enrolling fingerprint patterns may not appear at all on this terminal. Employees that require a fingerprint scanner to clock in or log in must use another terminal to access the system.

Failure to recognize an existing fingerprint enrollment

The most common cause of the failure to recognize a fingerprint is simply that – the system and a specific employee no longer interact with each other effectively. When an employee is unable to access the Aloha POS system with a fingerprint scanner, the first test you should make is to determine if the failure is isolated to one employee, or if all employees are unable to access the system. If the problem is isolated to a single employee, enrolling a new fingerprint for them tends to restore their access. The new pattern replaces the old one, resolving the issue.

If the problem extends beyond the initial employee to include most or all employees at a site, you must perform additional analysis to establish the cause.

Correcting slow scanner response

You may occasionally notice a visible time lag between the time an employee interacts with the fingerprint scanner and the response of the system to that interaction. Occasional 'time lags' of this type are more common when the network is busy with EOD, or is otherwise involved with resource-intensive activities, especially if these activities also tend to occur in conjunction with shift changes. However, if slow performance becomes generally noticeable, the cause may be out of date software and drivers.

Upgrading the fingerprint scanner software and drivers

As part of our commitment to constantly improve the customer experience with NCR Voyix products, we frequently release new versions of software and drivers. We recommend installing these when they become available. After obtaining the new software, the process outlined in this section will help you to upgrade the fingerprint scanner software and drivers, and to add the new utility for purging unnecessary fingerprint enrollments, FPSPurge.exe.

Do I need to update my fingerprint scanner software?

NCR Voyix releases newer versions of FPS software periodically, to enhance function, add features, or address issues. The best way to determine if an upgrade is needed is by first evaluating current performance, to determine if an improvement is required. To check the FPS version installed, find FPSSrvr.dll in the %IBERDIR%\Bin folder. Right-click the file and select properties; the FPS version is available in the resulting dialog box. The latest version of FPS is available on the Aloha Update site.

Inability of some employees to log in to some terminals

Occasionally, a terminal experiences a lack of communication with the Aloha network at large. If an employee enrolls a fingerprint on a terminal when this communication is momentarily lapsed, the system stores this pattern in the Trans.log. If the terminal comes back online before the EOD, it synchronizes local enrollments for the day from the Trans.log. If the terminal is offline past the EOD, it synchronizes the enrollment by copying the database from the file server.

Fingerprint archives

During the normal EOD process, FPS creates an FPS.sync containing all of the fingerprints in the Master Terminal FPSSync folder and in the BOH FPSSync folder. These compressed files represent a daily archive/backup of fingerprints in your system.

Continue to Cleaning the fingerprint scanner