Troubleshooting Guide

Solutions to common issues with VentureLab.

🔧 General Issues

Application Won’t Start

Symptoms:

• Double-clicking icon does nothing
• App crashes immediately
• Error message on startup

Solutions:

1. Check System Requirements
   • Windows 10/11, macOS 10.15+, or Linux
   • 4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended)
   • 500MB free disk space
2. Run as Administrator (Windows)
   • Right-click VentureLab icon
   • Select “Run as administrator”
3. Check Antivirus
   • Add VentureLab to exceptions
   • Temporarily disable to test
4. Reinstall Application
   • Uninstall completely
   • Download fresh copy
   • Install again

Settings Not Saving

Symptoms:

• Settings reset on restart
• Model selection not persisting
• API keys disappearing

Solutions:

1. Check Permissions
   • Ensure write access to app directory
   • Check user permissions
2. Configuration File
   • Location: ~/.venturelab/settings.json
   • Delete corrupted file
   • Let app recreate
3. Keychain Access
   • May need system password
   • Check keychain permissions
   • Try storing key again

🤖 AI Provider Issues

“API Key Invalid” Error

For All Providers:

1. Check for Spaces
   • Remove leading/trailing spaces
   • Copy key again carefully
2. Verify Key Format
   • OpenAI: Starts with sk-
   • Anthropic: Starts with sk-ant-
   • Gemini: Alphanumeric string
3. Test in Provider Dashboard
   • Verify key works on provider’s site
   • Check if key was revoked
   • Generate new key if needed

“Connection Failed” Error

General Solutions:

1. Internet Connection
   • Check network connectivity
   • Try accessing provider website
   • Check firewall settings
2. Proxy Settings
   • Configure if behind corporate proxy
   • Use custom base URL if needed
3. Provider Outage
   • Check provider status page
   • Try different provider
   • Wait and retry

Ollama Specific Issues

“Cannot connect to Ollama”

1. Start Ollama Service

   ollama serve
   

2. Check Port
   • Default: http://localhost:11434
   • Ensure port not blocked
   • Try: curl http://localhost:11434
3. Model Not Found

   # List models
   ollama list
      
   # Pull model
   ollama pull llama3.1
   

Slow Performance

• Check RAM usage
• Try smaller model
• Close other applications
• Consider GPU acceleration

OpenAI Specific Issues

“Rate Limit Exceeded”

• Wait 1 minute and retry
• Check usage on OpenAI dashboard
• Upgrade to higher tier
• Implement request throttling

“Insufficient Quota”

• Add payment method
• Check billing status
• Set up usage alerts
• Monitor spending

Anthropic Specific Issues

“Model Access Denied”

• Verify Claude model access
• Check account approval
• Try different model version
• Contact Anthropic support

Gemini Specific Issues

“Quota Exceeded”

• Free tier: 60 requests/minute
• Wait before retrying
• Upgrade to paid tier
• Check Google Cloud quotas

💾 Data Issues

Usage Statistics Not Showing

Solutions:

1. Database Check
   • Location: ~/.venturelab/usage.db
   • Delete to reset
   • Restart application
2. Permissions
   • Check write permissions
   • Ensure disk space available
3. Time Filter
   • Change time period
   • Select “All time”
   • Refresh statistics

Can’t Export Data

Solutions:

1. File Permissions
   • Check downloads folder access
   • Try different location
   • Run as administrator
2. Data Format
   • Ensure valid JSON
   • Check for special characters
   • Try smaller date range

🖥️ Platform-Specific Issues

Windows

“VCRUNTIME140.dll missing”

• Install Visual C++ Redistributable
• Download from Microsoft
• Restart after installation

Keychain Access Issues

• Run as administrator
• Check Windows Credential Manager
• Clear old credentials

macOS

“App is damaged”

xattr -cr /Applications/VentureLab.app

Keychain Permission

• Grant access when prompted
• Check Keychain Access app
• Reset keychain if needed

Linux

Dependencies Missing

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37 libsecret-1-0

# Fedora
sudo dnf install webkit2gtk3 libsecret

# Arch
sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk libsecret

Keyring Issues

• Install gnome-keyring or KWallet
• Start keyring service
• Check D-Bus running

🛠️ Tool-Specific Issues

Ideas Not Generating

1. Check Provider Connection
   • Test in AI Providers
   • Verify model selected
   • Check API key valid
2. Prompt Issues
   • Try default prompts
   • Simplify input
   • Remove special characters
3. Timeout Errors
   • Reduce complexity
   • Try different provider
   • Check internet speed

Export Not Working

1. PDF Generation
   • Check disk space
   • Try HTML export first
   • Update application
2. Copy to Clipboard
   • Grant clipboard access
   • Try manual selection
   • Check browser permissions

🔍 Debug Information

Collecting Logs

Windows:

%APPDATA%\VentureLab\logs

macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/VentureLab/logs

Linux:

~/.config/VentureLab/logs

Information to Include

When reporting issues:

1. VentureLab version
2. Operating system
3. AI provider being used
4. Error message (exact)
5. Steps to reproduce
6. Log files (if available)

🆘 Still Need Help?

Before Contacting Support

• Tried all relevant solutions above
• Checked FAQ section
• Updated to latest version
• Collected debug information

Getting Support

1. GitHub Issues
   • Search existing issues
   • Create detailed report
   • Include system info
2. Community Forum
   • Ask in discussions
   • Share solutions
   • Help others
3. Emergency Fixes
   • Use Ollama as backup
   • Try web versions
   • Export important data

🔄 Reset Options

Soft Reset

1. Clear settings
2. Keep API keys
3. Restart app

Hard Reset

1. Uninstall application
2. Delete all app data:
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\VentureLab
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/VentureLab
   • Linux: ~/.config/VentureLab
3. Reinstall fresh

Keep Backups

• Export prompts regularly
• Save usage statistics
• Document API keys securely

---

Remember: Most issues have simple solutions. Stay calm, follow the steps, and you’ll be back to creating amazing ideas!