Open Dental Down? Remote Help for Tampa Bay Practices

If Open Dental will not open on one computer, the fault is almost always that workstation: a dropped mapped drive or share, a changed Windows password, or a client version behind the server. If it will not open anywhere, look at the server: powered off, the MySQL/MariaDB service stopped, a mid-morning Windows Update reboot, or a full disk. Call first.

Last updated: October 2026

Is it one computer or the whole practice?

This is the first question on the call, because it splits the problem in half. Open Dental is a client on each PC talking to one database on the server. If five computers work and one does not, the database is fine and the fault is on that PC or its cable. If nothing works, the server or the network in front of it is the suspect. Try a second computer before you call.

What can the front desk check in five minutes?

None of these steps can make things worse. Stop after the first one that explains the problem.

One computer will not open Open Dental

1. Restart that computer. Not sign out, restart. A dropped mapped drive often comes back on its own.
2. Read the message on the screen word for word. A version mismatch message means that PC missed an update. A message about not reaching the server means the network path or the share.
3. Open File Explorer and browse to the server's shared folder. If it asks for a password, a Windows password changed. If it cannot find the server, the path is the problem.
4. Check the network cable behind the desk. A loose cable looks exactly like a software failure.

No computer will open Open Dental

1. Look at the server. Lights on, fan running, or a screen asking someone to sign in after a restart?
2. Ask whether anyone saw it reboot. Windows Update on a server with no patch schedule restarts it in the middle of the morning.
3. From any PC, try the server's shared folder in File Explorer. If it opens, the server and network are fine, which points at the database service.
4. Do not pull the plug on a server that is powered on. A hard power-off on a live database turns an outage into a restore.

What does ClearMax check remotely?

For a single workstation: the connection settings in that PC's FreeDentalConfig.xml, the Windows account and its password, the mapped drive and share permissions, the installed client version against the server's version, that PC's antivirus log, and the network link itself.

For the whole practice: that the server answers at its fixed name and IP address, the state of the MySQL/MariaDB service and what the Windows event log says about why it stopped, free space on the drive holding the database and the A-to-Z folder, recent Windows Update activity, the switch, and the firewall rule for the database port. Imaging is the usual reason a server disk fills with no warning.

When does Open Dental Software get the ticket?

Once the server is on, the service is running, the share is reachable and the versions match, and Open Dental still fails, the fault is inside the program or the database, and that belongs to the vendor. We open that ticket under your practice's support subscription with the evidence attached: the exact error text, the event log entries, the versions, and what has been ruled out. You are not the one on hold. If the subscription has lapsed, say so on the call; it changes who the vendor will talk to.

How do you keep it from happening again?

• A patch schedule that restarts the server after hours, with active hours set so Windows Update cannot reboot it during patient care.
• A UPS sized for the server, so a power blip is a clean shutdown instead of a corrupted database.
• A disk space alert well before the drive fills, since imaging grows every day.
• Every workstation updated the same day as the server, so no PC is left on the old version.
• A database-aware backup with a tested restore, because the day a server dies is not the day to learn the backup does not open.

If the practice is up but sluggish, that is a different set of causes, covered on the slow Open Dental page.

Common questions when Open Dental is down

Open Dental says the program version does not match the database. What does that mean?

The program on that computer and the database are on different versions, usually right after the server was updated. Each computer updates itself the next time Open Dental opens on it. A computer on a newer version can trigger a database update, so stop and call before accepting that prompt.

How do you update Open Dental software?

From the server, in Open Dental's Help menu: Update, then Check for Updates, which needs the Update Install permission. Pick a new build, the new stable version or a beta, then Install. Open Dental has to be closed on every workstation, and the practice must be on vendor support.

Should we restart the server ourselves?

If it is clearly powered off, pressing the power button once is reasonable. If it is on and Open Dental still will not open, leave it on and call. Holding the power button on a running database server can corrupt the database and turn a short outage into a restore from backup.

Why did the whole practice go down at ten in the morning on a weekday?

Windows Update. A server without a patch schedule installs updates whenever it decides to and restarts when it is done. Active hours and after-hours patching fix it for good.

The contact page has the number and the form.