FAQs

To void a sticker, the sticker must first be allocated to a completed inspection. Only damaged stickers should be voided.

• In History, right-click the inspection containing the sticker to be voided and choose Void Sticker. Click Yes to confirm that you want to void the sticker because it has been damaged and cannot be reused.
• The inspection is displayed with a Void button at the bottom. Click Void, then reconfirm that you wish to void the sticker.
• MVIRS marks the sticker voided. Choose Yes to the next prompt if you want to have the next available sticker assigned to the inspection.

Voided stickers are listed in History under the Voided category.

From the Manager of the Vehicle Inspection Division, PA Dept. of Transportation:

“The MV-431/MV-480 reports generated by MVIRS are acceptable for use. However, the station must maintain the mechanic’s signature for each inspection on any of the following:”

• MV-431/MV-480
• Shop Work Order
• Customer Inspection Report
• Customer Inspection Invoice
• Inspection Check List

The MVIRS CRM (Customer Relationship Management) menu contains an option for Inspection Reminders.  Choose a “from” and “to” month/year to see a list of all vehicles coming due for inspection during that period.  Inspection reminders can be sent via e-mail, or mailing labels can be printed (for use with pre-printed postcards). Standard Avery label stock can be purchased from any office supply store for printing mailing labels.

The format of e-mailed inspection reminders can be customized to include any message(s) you may wish to add to advertise specials, etc.  To use this feature, you should enter customer e-mail addresses whenever possible.

MVIRS can also print mailing labels for alphabetic groups of customers, without regard to inspection due dates. These mailing labels could be used to advertise specials, send holiday greeting cards, etc.

No computer software system is immune to hard disk or other failure that may cause loss of data. For that reason, MVIRS includes built-in functions for Backup and Restore designed to minimize potential loss. Because backing up usually takes less than 5 seconds, MVIRS defaults to backing up each time an inspection is saved. With the most recent backup available, data loss can usually be prevented.

For an additional level of protection, copies of database backups can be automatically uploaded to the cloud-based MVIRS Service Center. This option provides a no-hassle approach to maintaining “offsite” backup. When your backup is away from your computer, it can’t be affected by theft, fire, or any other catastrophic event. The MVIRS Service Center maintains all backups taken over the past 14 days, free of charge.

VIN Decoding first ensures that the VIN you enter is valid. If it is, it then extracts vehicle year, make, model and body type into the Vehicle screen. VIN Decoding improves the accuracy of your inspection reporting, and saves you time.

The VIN Decoding technology included in MVIRS uses a database that is automatically updated on a monthly basis. This ensures that you will be able to decode VINs for new model years as soon as they are available.

You can install MVIRS on any number of networked computers at no additional charge. All installed MVIRS programs must share the same database, residing on the “host computer”.

We will assist you with setting up MVIRS on additional computers if you wish. Prior to that, we ask that for each additional computer, you:

• Map a network drive to the ‘MVIRS Database’ folder on the host computer.
• Ensure that you can print to a printer.

For help with the above, contact your network administrator, an outside consultant, or a computer networking company.

We strongly recommend that computers running MVIRS be connected to the Internet, ideally via high-speed service (DSL, Fios or Cable). The reason for this is that MVIRS is kept current via updates downloaded and installed automatically. Additionally, by being able to remote into your computer, we can provide the highest quality of technical support.

If you cannot connect your computer to the Internet, but still wish to install MVIRS:

Download MVIRS to a computer that has a removable drive (such as a USB memory stick, or “thumb drive”). Insert the removable drive into the computer to be installed and run the setup program. You could also “burn” the downloaded setup program to a CD or DVD.

The simple answer is, “call us.”  We’ll be happy to remote into your computer to install and configure the program for you. Alternatively, you can install MVIRS yourself as follows:

1. Download MVIRS. MVIRS will save the setup program ‘MVIRS_Setup.exe’ in the Downloads folder on your hard drive.
2. Run the setup program as follows:

• Right-click the Windows Start button and choose File Explorer.

• Navigate to the Downloads folder.

• Double-click MVIRS_Setup.exe and follow the on-screen prompts to install.

3. Run MVIRS by clicking the new red and black “checkmark” icon on your desktop. As a result, MVIRS displays three options:

First-time installation. If you’re installing MVIRS for the first time, choose this option, and accept the default database location.

Installation on a second or subsequent computer. Use this option when you’re installing or re-installing any computer and the MVIRS database already exists. MVIRS will ask you to navigate to and select the database file named ‘mvirs.mdb’. NOTE: If the database is located on a different computer, you must first map a network drive to the location of the database.

Re-installation of the primary MVIRS computer. Choose this option if you’ve lost the hard drive or experienced some other major system failure. MVIRS will restore the database from an existing backup file.

4. You’ll need to enter your shop information into the database after ‘First-time installation’. For further information, click Help, Contents, and review the following topics:

• Before Your First Inspection

• Inspection Station Information

• Performing New Inspections

Tip: Click Print in the Help screen for a hard copy that you can follow as you configure a new database and record your first inspection.

Networking can be complicated, and we are not networking specialists. We will make every effort to resolve networking problems that affect MVIRS. In difficult cases, however, your best bet might be to contact a local computer service or networking consultant for assistance.

MVIRS Updates contain program changes for PennDOT regulation compliance, program enhancements, as well as bug fixes. The program checks for updates each time it is started.

MVIRS applies updates automatically in order to keep your system current.  Be sure to close it at the end of each day in order to check for updates on a daily basis.