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Troubleshooting

We summarized the common issues and solutions in the use of AnyShake Observer.

I got error "A device attached to the system is not functioning" when starting​

Device Not Functioning

This is a common issue that only occurs on Windows, especially when using USB-to-Serial adapters based on the CH340 chipset.

The problem is typically caused by incompatible or unstable CH340 drivers installed via Windows Update. To resolve this issue:

Step 1: Roll back the CH340 driver​

  • Visit the Microsoft Update Catalog: www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=CH340
  • Download and install a driver dated before 2014 (for example, version 3.3.2011.11 from 2011 has proven to be stable in most cases).
  • Extract the *.cab file to a folder, you can use 7-Zip.
  • In the folder, right click the CH341SER.INF file, click Install. Install Driver
  • After installation completes, please restart your computer.

Step 2: Block Windows from updating the driver again​

To prevent Windows from overwriting the working driver:

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, type systempropertiesadvanced to open the System Properties dialog.
  2. Click the Hardware tab.
  3. Click the Device Installation Settings button.
  4. Choose No, let me choose what to do and click Save Settings.
  5. Click OK to close the dialog.

I got error "attempt to write a readonly database (8)" when starting​

Database Readonly error

This error always occurs when insufficient permissions were granted to the database file.

To resolve this issue, on Linux systems, open the terminal and run the following command:

$ sudo chmod 666 /path/to/your/observer.db
$ sudo chown -R user:user /path/to/your/observer.db

Replace user with the username of the user who owns the database file.

On Windows systems, open the Properties dialog of the database file and remove the Read-only attribute.

Keep Read-only Unchecked

I can open the web interface, but cannot log in, and the captcha fails to load​

Cannot Login

When accessing from localhost (127.0.0.1), or through an HTTPS reverse proxy, AnyShake Observer will use a Service Worker to cache the web interface locally upon your first visit. This is an optimization designed to improve load speed on subsequent visits.

However, if the backend service (observer executable) is not running, the web interface may still appear to load correctly from the cache, potentially causing confusion — such as failed login attempts or missing captcha — since the frontend cannot actually communicate with the backend.

So, please make sure that the AnyShake Observer service is running before accessing the web interface. To check if the service is running on Linux, open a terminal and run the command:

$ ps aux | grep observer

If the backend service is running, you should see the observer process and its PID.

Backend Running on Linux

On Windows systems, you can find the process by searching for observer.exe in the Task Manager.

Backend Running on Windows