ndown error -- "WRF model for d01 likely used the run times option"

Hello WRF community,

Thanks for providing so much support for running these models.

I have used WRF a fair bit but this is my first attempt at using ndown.exe. I'm following the directions posted here:

https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/docs/user_guide_v4/v4.0/users_guide_chap5.html#_e._One-way_Nested

I have created a coarse domain run and have WRF out files. I then ran metgrid and real for both (outer and inner) domains. I took the met files and ran real for both domains, which successfully produced the wrfinput_d01, wrfinput_d02, and wrfbdy_d01 files. I then renamed the wrfinput_d02 file to wrfndi_d02.

When I try to run ndown, I get the following error:

"program ndown: opening too many files
Usually, this is caused by trying to run ndown past the last time available d01 model output
The CG model output is used to supply lateral boundary conditions
The ndown program uses the start and end times, the WRF model for d01 likely used the run times option.
-------------- FATAL CALLED ---------------"

I've tried a variety of different things based on different forum posts, and regardless I get this same error. Does the last line "the WRF model for d01 likely used the run times option" mean that the outer, coarse domain run needs to be run only be specifying the start and end dates in the namelist.input? The run that I did specified the number of run hours (in addition to start and end dates...) in namelist.input.

That's the only thing that I can think of that I'm doing differently from the examples I've seen posted...

Thanks in advance,
Will

This is for WRF 4.1.2

Figured it out--- I had linked the wrong wrfout files... not even the same decade as the dates listed in the namelist :?