eSAM - Troubleshooting for tutors

The problems that actually come up, and what to do about them. Anything that needs a server or a network changed is for your IT team — those are marked.

Before the exam

I cannot tick Require eSAM

The quiz already requires Safe Exam Browser. Turn that off and the option becomes available.

There is no eSAM entry in the quiz menu

It appears after you save the quiz with Require eSAM ticked. If it is still missing, you may not have the permission to set up exams on this course.

The page says the exam has not reached the server

Save again. If it persists, it is the connection between Moodle and eSAM — IT team.

A document is stuck on "Sending to the server"

Give it a few minutes for a large file. If it stays, remove it and add it again. If the page says the server would not accept it, the type or size is wrong — check it is PDF, Word or OpenDocument and under 50 MB.

The app I need is not in the list

It has to be in the catalogue first, added from a file that Add an app to eSAM writes. See Allowing apps in an exam. This needs a PC with the app installed and eSAM on it, so do not leave it to exam week.

Add an app to eSAM says the program has no signature it can read

eSAM cannot tell that program apart from anything else with the same file name, so it will not allow it. Find a signed version, or a Store version, or use a different app.

I want a profile of our own, not the four that ship with eSAM

Whoever manages eSAM at your college can make one, and copy it to your other Moodle sites. See Exam profiles.

I added a document but my profile is a closed-book one

That is fine. Any profile can carry documents. You only need Open book with documents if a document must open read-only in Word.

An app is shown as blocked and I cannot tick it

It collides with the software eSAM blocks during exams. Someone who may approve apps can allow it for this exam, and that decision is recorded.

At the start of the exam

A student clicks Start secure exam and nothing happens

eSAM is not installed on that PC. They install it from Need eSAM? Get it here on the quiz page.

A student is on a Mac, iPad or Chromebook

They cannot sit the exam on that device. Find them a Windows PC. This is why the "install it in advance" message matters.

A pre-flight check fails and the student cannot start

Read the failing line — it names the cause. Common ones: another eSAM session still running (restart the PC), a remote-desktop connection, more monitors than the exam allows (unplug one).

Half the class has a virtual machine warning

A warning does not stop anyone starting. If your cohort legitimately runs Windows in a VM, set that check to warn rather than block for future exams.

The student says the exam is not open

That is the quiz's own timing, attempt limits or access rules. Check the quiz settings, not eSAM.

During the exam

A student's row has stopped updating

eSAM has lost contact with that PC. Their answers are still being saved to Moodle as they work. Go and look at them.

A student needs a break

Pause and lock them, and Resume when they are back; the paused time is added to their exam.

A student lost time to a technical problem

Give extra time from their page on the dashboard. It goes on to the quiz itself, so the attempt does not close on them.

A student's PC crashed

eSAM undoes its changes when the PC restarts, so they get a working PC back. Sign them in and start the exam again — their answers so far are in Moodle. Note the time; it belongs on the record.

eSAM will not let a student out at the end

Finish becomes available once the attempt is submitted. If it is stuck, end that student's exam from their page on the dashboard, which submits the attempt and releases the PC.

A student's PC is offline and I cannot end their exam

Choose Show release code on their page and read the eight digits out. They type it into Exam menu → Leave the exam. It works offline, it expires, and every use is recorded. It releases the PC but does not submit their work, so make sure they have submitted first if you want the attempt in.

A student says their hand is still up after I dealt with them

Choose Clear on their row. Answering a message does not take the hand down; clearing it does, everywhere at once.

The dashboard says a student's Teams is not running, but they are on my call

They have joined the meeting inside eSAM rather than in the Teams app, which those checks cannot see. Trust your own meeting. Tell students to join in the Teams app before starting the exam and this stops happening.

Alerts are flooding in

Usually a threshold set too low for how this exam actually runs — an allowed calculator taking focus, for instance. Acknowledge them, and adjust the thresholds before the next sitting.

After the exam

An attempt says "Not sent yet"

Open it and choose Ask the server for it now. Reports are finalised when the exam closes, so make sure you chose Finalise reports on the dashboard.

The report page says the server could not be reached

Whatever was already stored is unchanged. Try again later; if it persists, IT team.

I need the evidence kept for a misconduct case

Say so early, before the normal retention period runs out. The attempt can be put under a legal hold, which keeps its evidence and protects it from deletion requests.

When you report a problem

Include: the exam name, the student's name, roughly when it happened, and the support code if eSAM showed one. The support code finds the exact session immediately.

For something on a particular PC that is hard to describe, ask the student to run Collect eSAM logs for support from their Start menu. It saves one file to their desktop and shows a support code. The file holds eSAM's own record of what it did — no screenshots, no exam questions and no answers — so there is nothing awkward about sending it on.