i/o errors after windows 2000

[Julia]

We are running PT 8.0 with updates, environment is 3 Dell workstations and a Dell Server running Windows 2000 server. In January, we upgraded 2 of our workstations from Windows 98 to Windows 2000 (the other one already ran 2000). Since then, we have been plagued with i/o errors like: "in file p:\peachw\theprod\jrnlhdr.dat. Error reading or writing to the file." Along with other various error messages (variable length part of record, etc.) There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when and why these error messages pop up. We just reconfigured our network, so it can't be a hardware problem. We've been having to restore from our last good backup at least 2 times a week, which is quite tedious and time consuming.

The thing is, we really like Peachtree, but we can't get rid of these errors, and our local Peachtree support (the guys who sold it to us) don't seem to have any answers other than to create a new company and hope the error messages go away.

My questions:
Is anyone else out there having these problems after converting to Windows 2000?
Would upgrading to Peachtree 2003 help us?
Any other suggestions?

[jag]

Usually I would say that it sounds like it is a hardware related problem. How did you make sure that your network is running ok?

When did you "reconfigure" your network? Before or After the upgrade? What exactly did you replaced?

Also, check for the lastest NIC drivers for Windows 2000, if you upgraded your computer and it's not up to date, that could be your problem. You could also get ahold of a copy of Qcheck (free) to test your network performance.

[Julia]

We have updated our drivers, and have done ping tests to check the integrity of our network. The network does not seem to be the problem -- it seems to be in the software.

Could we have restored from a file that was corrupted a while ago and could this be propogating the error messages?

To give a little more information, initially we upgraded from Windows 98 to 2000, not a clean install. Then the error messages began, so we did a clean install of 2000 on our machines, and reinstalled Peachtree. This did not solve the problem.

Error messages do not seem to be caused only by one task -- can be in quotes, invoicing, etc. Recently we received an error message that would not let us open the company at all, so we had to restore our backup to a new company.

Do you think we should just start a new company from scratch?

[jag]

FYI - Ping test are not the best way to test if you have hardware problems. Sometimes they are very misleading.

But, since you happen to be so sure that it's not a hardware fault I will skip that part.

Anyway, I suppose that you have already run an integrity check?

Do you have set up your server/workstations correctly? What I mean by that is: Use the least amount of protocols (only one preferably) and services in the network, applied all service packs required in Windows 2000 Profesional and Server and stuff like that.

Maybe, Robert Walraven can help you with this also. I believe that he is in the process of developing an app to fix corrupted Peachtree data. Maybe he can shed some light on your issue.

[Julia]

Thanks for your reply, Javier.

We have run Integrity Checks and they do not solve the errors. How can I get in touch with Mr. Walraven? I'm trying to avoid starting a new company if I don't have to. Thanks!

[jag]

Sorry for that:

Robert Walraven
============
Email: walraven@multiwareinc.com
Website: www.multiwareinc.com

However, he frequents this forum a lot. I guess that you can wait to him to see this post. I'm sure that he will reply.

[Robert Walraven]

OK, here is SuperBob.

I agree with jag, it sounds like you have a hardware problem or perhaps a driver problem. Peachtree V8 should run fine with Windows 2000 as long as your hardware is functioning properly and your software is installed properly.

You said that originally one of your systems was already running 2000 and you had no problems. That certainly indicates that there is no problem with Windows 2000 and Peachtree per se. The fact that the data errors seem to be random indicates the problem is not with Peachtree.

Successful pings are not of much use here. All they tell you is that the network CAN function. What you need to know is - if I send MILLIONS of packets across the network do they all get there without error? Peachtree most likely stresses your network much harder than any other application you run. If there is even a minor problem with your network you are going to get corrupted data.

The most common causes of network dropouts are:

1. Mismatched brands of network cards.

2. Bugs in the NIC drivers.

3. Faulty cables (especially at 100BaseT).

4. Flaky hubs.

5. Badly fragmented servers.

Besides 2000 you need to think very carefully about what else has changed. Here are some things to try:

1. Is the problem related to only one client? Try running just one of the clients at a time for a while to see if the problem is repeatable.

2. If you have at least one client that is running reliably, try physically swapping the machines to determine if the problem is related to position on the network.

3. If the original client is running ok and physical swapping doesn't make any difference, try to determine what might be different about that system and the other two.

4. Set up a test company on one of the clients and try running client-to-client to see if that works. If so, the problem may be on your server.

5. If one of the upgraded clients is having problems, try reinstalling Win 98 and see if the problem goes away. If not, you have a hardware problem on that machine. Otherwise the problem is related somehow to differences in the Windows systems. Make sure that 2000 has all service packs installed.

The bottom line is that you really need to get things working with Peachtree. Switching to 2002 or 2003 will make no difference because they use exactly the same Btrieve engine underneath.

Switching accounting systems probably won't help either since it is in the nature of distributed accounting to press hard on the network.

From the way your problems seem to be occuring I don't believe there is anything wrong with your Peachtree database (at least when it is working properly.) However, if you want your database analyzed for any problems, check out the service on the Peachtreeusers home page.

[Julia]

Bob,

Thanks for your input. I will have my IT guy come out and take a look at the network. I suspect it may be a problem with one client, and will do some detective work there too. I hope the problem is there and not with our data! If we find that it is, though, we'll have our database analyzed. Thanks again!

[david@cpatax.ne]

had accounting client with the identical problem. He spent a couple of thousand $ having sniffers etc put on his network. Turned out it was a mapping issuse with the data path in the ini file. Feel free to e mail me if you need more details.