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Getting started

From a blank Windows Server to the first study on screen, in about twenty minutes.

1. Install the server

  1. Download TekVaultPACS-Setup-1.2.0.exe from the Downloads page onto the server (Windows Server 2016 or newer, or Windows 10/11 for a small site).
  2. Run it as administrator. The wizard asks for everything on its pages: AE title, DICOM / HTTP / HTTPS ports (it checks they are free), the data and image folders, and how people sign in — a local admin account or your domain groups.
  3. It registers the TekVault PACS Windows service, creates a self-signed certificate, opens the firewall ports, starts the service and checks the ports and the TLS handshake. The status line shows each step as it happens; the final dialog lists what was done.
  4. Re-running a newer installer later upgrades in place and offers to keep the existing configuration.
Start Menu → Tekprogs holds the shortcuts: TekVault PACS Console, PACS - Start / Stop / Restart service, PACS - Service status, PACS - Log folder and the setup utility.

2. Sign in and stop the certificate warning

Open https://<server>/. The browser will warn about the self-signed certificate; on each PC either run Trust-TekVaultPACS.cmd from the login page (it installs the certificate for the whole machine and offers to restart the browser) or follow the certificate guide. On a domain, push the certificate once by Group Policy or use a certificate from your own CA.

3. Register the first modality

Receiving images walks through it: add the sender under Settings → Remote nodes (name, AE title, IP, port), configure the server's AE title / IP / port on the modality, press Check, send a test study. Rejections and their reasons appear in the Audit Log.

4. Set up a backup

Under Settings → Backups add at least one target — a folder or share, S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob, or a USB drive on a paired workstation — and press Test, then Run now. Every target also receives a copy of the installers and a HOW-TO-RESTORE.txt, so the backup alone can rebuild a lost server. See the backup guide and disaster recovery.

5. Give users the workstation agent

The TekVault Agent lets a user export straight to a USB stick in their own PC and import from CDs or folders there. Install DicomAgent-Setup.exe (no admin rights), then on the Export page press Pair this computer — the agent pairs itself. Details in the agent guide.