Troubleshooting and recovery.

Voice Fortress won't start

Find the VG-START code in the error message and follow its instruction below.

• VG-START-01

  Windows could not establish safe single-instance ownership. This does not mean another copy is running. Dialog instruction: Close any other Voice Fortress process and try again. If it repeats, restart Windows. Next: Close Voice Fortress from the tray if it is there. In Task Manager, end any Voice Fortress process, including one started as administrator. Start Voice Fortress normally (not as administrator). If it repeats, restart Windows and start it again. Still failing: email the code.

• VG-START-02

  Voice Fortress could not safely use its local data folder. Follow the stage below; with no stage, Windows could not locate that folder. Dialog instruction: Restart Voice Fortress. If it repeats, check that your Windows account can access the local Voice Fortress data folder. Next: Follow the stage's row below. No stage: restart Windows and start again; if it repeats, email the code.

• VG-START-03

  The setup-progress file is unreadable or from an unsupported version. Voice Fortress did not reset it silently. Dialog instruction: Restart Voice Fortress; if it repeats, use the support code below for recovery. Next: Restart Windows and start Voice Fortress again. If an older Voice Fortress was installed recently, start the newest one instead. Still failing: email the code. There is no safe self-service fix; do not delete files.

• VG-START-04

  The dictation session could not start. This can involve the microphone, keyboard listener or local data, including History. Dialog instruction: Confirm that the microphone is available, close any conflicting Voice Fortress process, and try again. Next: Check the microphone is connected and enabled in Windows Sound settings. Close any other copy (as for 01). Restart Windows and try again. Still failing with a working microphone: email the code, and say that the microphone works in other apps.

• VG-START-05

  Windows could not create the app's hidden host window. Dialog instruction: Restart Voice Fortress. If it repeats, restart Windows and use the support code below. Next: Restart Windows. Start Voice Fortress again. Still failing: email the code.

• VG-START-06

  Saved settings are unreadable or from an unsupported version. They have not been changed or deleted. Dialog instruction: Restart Voice Fortress; if it repeats, use the support code below for recovery. Next: If an older Voice Fortress was installed or started recently, start the newest one instead. Restart Windows and try again. Still failing: email the code, and say whether the Windows password was reset by someone else or the account was moved to a new computer. Do not delete or edit any file.

• VG-START-07

  Settings-window data left by an earlier run could not be removed safely. Dialog instruction: Restart Voice Fortress; if it repeats, use the support code below for recovery. Next: Restart Windows, which releases leftover processes. Start Voice Fortress again. Still failing: email the code.

• VG-START-08

  SSLKEYLOGFILE is set. It would record the keys to Voice Fortress's own connections, so the app refuses to start. Dialog instruction: Remove the SSLKEYLOGFILE setting from your environment and start Voice Fortress again. Next: Open Windows Settings, search environment variables, and open Edit environment variables for your account. Select SSLKEYLOGFILE and choose Delete. If it is under System variables, an administrator removes it. Sign out of Windows and back in, then start Voice Fortress. If a developer tool set it, that tool may set it again.

If it still won't start, email the code to support@voicefortress.com. The code is all we need; it contains nothing about you.

Code 02: the stage after the dot

Do not delete or edit files in the Voice Fortress data folder. Never send paths, screenshots, logs or file contents. If you need help with a folder or link, email the code before changing it.

• LEASE-BUSY

  Another process holds the data folder's lock file. Wait a minute and try again; close every Voice Fortress process in Task Manager; restart Windows if it repeats.

• ROOT-IO

  The data folder could not be created, opened or checked. Restart Windows. Make sure the drive holding the Windows profile is connected and has free space. If it repeats, email the code.

• ROOT-IDENTITY

  The data folder's lock file is not an ordinary file. No safe self-service step. Email the code; do not delete anything.

• LEASE-OPEN

  The data folder's lock file could not be opened. Restart Windows. If it repeats, check with whoever manages the computer that the Windows account can use its own app data; then email the code.

• ROOT-REDIRECTED

  The data folder, or a file Voice Fortress keeps in it, is redirected by a link. Replace the link with an ordinary folder, or move the contents back, and start again. Nothing has been changed or deleted. If a sync tool manages the Windows app data folder, exclude Voice Fortress's folder from it.

Nothing happens when I press the key

• Check that Voice Fortress is running

  Look for its icon near the clock at the bottom right of the Windows taskbar. Select the arrow to show hidden icons. Closing the window keeps dictation running; Exit stops it.

• Check the talk key

  Hold it while you speak. Very brief presses are ignored. If another app uses the same shortcut, choose a different key in Settings.

• Try an ordinary window

  Voice Fortress cannot hear the key while an app running as administrator is in front. Switch to a window that is not running as administrator.

If the dictation status indicator is missing, you may not see a refusal message.

The app refuses delivery

Click the intended text field and try again. Voice Fortress refuses if the destination changed, cannot be confirmed or cannot be written to.

Password fields, read-only fields, Voice Fortress’s own window and the Windows secure desktop are not dictation destinations. Administrator windows also block normal delivery.

Recover your text

• Copy

  Copy the affected dictation, then paste it where you want it.

• Uncertain delivery

  Check the destination: the text may already be there. Use Copy or Activity. Resend is not offered because it could duplicate the text.

• Failed or refused delivery

  If Resend is offered, choose the correct destination and resend. Otherwise, use Copy.

Voice Fortress does not retry delivery automatically.

Still need help?

Open Settings → Help & feedback → Report a problem. Save the file and email it to support@voicefortress.com.

If the main window cannot open, a Windows error appears while dictation keeps running. Try opening the window again.