EA Maintenance · 7 min read
MetaTrader maintains a detailed log of every action your EA takes and every event that affects its operation. Most traders install their EA and never look at this log again. The traders who do look at it catch problems early — before a silent failure turns into a week of missed trades or an unmanaged recovery cycle.
The Three Log Tabs
Experts Tab
The primary EA activity log. Shows every action the EA takes: when it evaluates signals, when it opens orders, when it closes them, and any error messages. This is the first place to check if the EA appears inactive or behaving unexpectedly.
Journal Tab
System-level events: broker connections, reconnections, account login events, and MetaTrader platform messages. The Journal tells you when disconnections happened and how long they lasted — critical for understanding whether the EA was running continuously or experienced gaps.
Trade Tab (in Terminal)
Shows all currently open trades, their lot sizes, open prices, current profit, and the magic number. Verify that the magic numbers on open trades match your EA’s configured magic number — if they do not, another system may have opened those trades.
Normal Log Entries
These entries appear in healthy EA operation and require no action:
initialized— EA loaded successfully at platform startno new trade conditions— EA evaluated conditions and found no entry signal this barorder #XXXXX opened— trade entered successfullyorder #XXXXX closed— trade exited
Warning Log Entries
These require investigation:
trade is not allowed— AutoTrading is disabled. Enable it in the toolbar.no connection— Broker server disconnected. Check VPS internet connection and broker status.invalid stops— Order rejected because stop levels are too close to current price. Broker minimum stop level may have changed.margin insufficient— Account does not have enough free margin to open the next order. Lot size may be too large or account has insufficient buffer.dll calls not allowed— If EA requires DLL access, this must be enabled in EA properties under Tools > Options > Expert Advisors.
Recommended Weekly Check Routine
- Open Journal tab — confirm no extended disconnection periods
- Open Experts tab — scan for any error messages in the past 7 days
- Check Terminal trade tab — verify open positions match expected EA state
- Confirm account balance and equity in the terminal
This five-minute check, done weekly, catches 90% of operational issues before they compound into larger problems. The EA does the trading — you just make sure the infrastructure is running.
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