Support Site Updated
14 May 2013
Home & SEARCH. System Requirements. Ordering. Networks. Issues, FAQs & Errors. Error Messages. Dutch Versions. Be Safe!. Educational hints & Training. Contact & Support Terms.
Support for Wordshark & Numbershark

White Space Ltd is Registered in England and Wales at 45 St Dunstans Rd London W6 8RE.      Registered number 908615

                           Support Tel: 020-8748-1170                    SEARCH

Home                    Contact us                                 Privacy Statement

Views since 16 Dec  2010
Currently viewing

Wordshark and Numbershark work in similar ways. Most of the following error messages apply to both programs.  These error messages are based on Wordshark release 3s.05  and later. Earlier releases have minor differences.

Java Virtual Machine Launcher  Fatal Exception Occurred: Program will exit. (After apparently successful install, and sometimes after the program has been working for some time)  This has been traced to a wide range of possible causes:

Vista computers with multiple users: A virtual store has been set up: Click here for a fix

Otherwise, by far the most common reason is that the user does not have read & write access to the wordshark-shared  folder.
CD version:  Right-click C:/program files/wordshark4/wordshark-shared.. Click “sharing & Security”. Click “Share this folder” and “allow other users to change my files”.

Network version: Check that the server folder wordshark-shared has read/write permissions for all users and is shared. If your network requires it, add an exception to this path for restricted users. Beware inherited “read only” permissions from parent folders, and also group policies.
Check that you have set the desktop icon /properties/start-in address to point to the wordshark-shared folder.  We sometimes find the start-in has been set elsewhere, to a read only folder.   See also the “Networks” tab.

Other known causes:


There is an older version that has not been uninstalled.


The program was installed by someone who was not a computer administrator


The wordshark-programs folder, or some of its contents, has been moved or deleted


Wordshark-programs or wordshark-public have not been allowed “read” access  


The storage device used for the [prog]-shared data files has become full to capacity, and is unable to save data


User files have become corrupted: Empty out the user files in wordshark-shared.  Restart the program and enter the licence details.  If the program runs, then one or more user files are corrupt. Contact us, as we may be able to effect a repair and advise further.


Rarely, we have found  that a “Computer Administrator” cannot install onto a networked machine, as a network group policy has given “Computer administrators” fewer rights than the Network Administrator: On networked machines, the installer should be signed on as Network Administrator.

                                                                                                   Return to “Errors” page

The next most common reasons are that the admin option “No ‘temporary’ students” is unticked. OR permissions on the [word][number]shark-shared directory do not include “Modify”.


In either case, this can result in a build up of lock files in the [word][number]shark-shared directory. Deleting these lock files,  ensuring correct permissions, and ticking the box “No temporary students” will  correct the problem and pre

vent the problem from recurring.

Error Messages: Fatal Exception Occurred: Program will exit