Getting .lck Files

[precisionminds]

Our office is running 2002 and we are running on the network version and I keep getting .LCK files and general protection faults all the time. Any suggestions??? and whatever I am working on it does not keep it. It only locks up when I save, print etc.

[Robert Walraven]

Btrieve, which is what Peachtree uses to access its database, creates LCK files whenever a file is open by one or more applications. Btrieve uses the LCK files to manage multiple-user access to the database. For Peachtree V7 and V8 the LCK files were not deleted when Peachtree called Btrieve to close files, but for V9 (2002) the files are also deleted when the lock is no longer needed. The presence of a LCK file does not indicate that the corresponding data file is locked; it simply means that some application has done a Btrieve open on the file. So the presence of LCK files is of no concern as long as Peachtree is open. However, if you close Peachtree V9 on all systems and one or two lock files persist, that is an indication that something strange is happening. You didn't indicate whether the LCK files are persisting after Peachtree is closed, so it is difficult to say any more.

With V9 we also see PTL files appearing when Peachtree is running. These seem to be some sort of Btrieve-independent file that Peachtree creates to do its own lock management. The PTL files should also disappear when Peachtree is closed.

The occurance of GPFs on your network is almost certainly not related to Peachtree itself but is more likely an indication that you have some serious network or server problems that are being triggered by the very heavy type of network load that you get when running an accounting system like Peachtree across the network. It is not unreasonable that you are not detecting problems with other applications and it is very possible that your problems will go away if you can detect and correct a network problem.

We've heard of several kinds of network problems that cause a high instance of Peachtree database corruption where the rate of corruptions drops to 0 after the problem is fixed:

1. Mixed brand network cards in your computers. They don't play together well.

2. Faulty cables, especially if you are running 100BaseT. Use commercial cables where possible. If you crimp yourself, be very careful to get a solid connection.

3. Fragmented server. Regular defragmenting is essential even if you have lots of space.

4. Running Win 98/ME on your clients. These systems let applications walk on each others data.

Bob
Architect of PawCom