disk or network error

[Stokely]

I am having a problem with user's losing their connection to the database
through our server and receiving a "Disk or Network Error".

I've pretty much determined it's not a server error because no other server
functionality has been lost and our consulting firm confirmed that the server
is running perfectly.

We have a database on the server that houses our inventory and many other
supporting tables. Some users link to it through mde files (which i created)
and others link directly to it (which was the practice before I hired in).

We have roughly 15 users accessing the mdb file at any one-time and the mdb
file itself ranges from 80-120 mb depending on if it has been compacted.

Some user's experience the problem frequently while other's never have a
problem.
The only thing that has changed since the error began was the use of
wireless network connections to the server (I know this is not reccommended
for Access) and they are not the ones receiving the error. It is the users
hardwired to the server.

I've searched the internet all over for a simlar problem, but to no avail.
Any ideas?

 

[Roger Carlson]

It is highly, highly, highly recommended to split your database into a
Front-End and a Back-End where the FE contains the forms, reports, querys,
and code, and the BE holds only the tables. Put the BE on the network
server and the FE on each user's machine OR a separate directory on the
network.

--
--Roger Carlson
MS Access MVP
Access Database Samples: www.rogersaccesslibrary.com
Want answers to your Access questions in your Email?
Free subscription:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=ACCESS-L

 

[Stokely]

Well, I'm in the process of doing that. But I've noticed that the majority of
the "Disk or Network Errors" have occured in the users' front-end mde. I
guess I don't understand why they've just started to pop-up without any
significant changes to the server or the database.

There hasn't been any data corruption...yet. But it is a recurring annoyance
to have to close and reopen the front-end frequently.

 

[Phil]

I had this problem last year repeated disk or network errors, but only in one
room on the campus. took ages to sork it out, IT dept kept saying that there
were no server errors but eventually they came down and checked found that
for the PCs in that room the network was running at a tenth of the speed it
should once it was sorted never had the problem again

Phil

 

[Stokely]

I suppose something like that could be the problem. But the users that are
getting the error aren't experiencing any other server performance problems.
I have to think it's something to do with the actual mdb file because i have
a front-end that is linked to only one table (a very tiny table at that) in
the mdb and the user has gotten disk or network error on that as well.

I've compacted & repaired numerous times, would a decompile help?

 

['69 Camaro]

Hi.

Some users link to it through mde files (which i created)
and others link directly to it (which was the practice before I hired in).

Does that mean that it's split for everyone, or just the MDE users who have
a copy of the MDE database file on their workstations, and the rest are all
sharing a database file on the networked server?

The only thing that has changed since the error began was the use of
wireless network connections to the server (I know this is not
reccommended
for Access) and they are not the ones receiving the error. It is the users
hardwired to the server.

The weird thing about having one bad network card on the network is that
it's often the case that the other workstations with good NIC's experience
the network drops and Access database corruption, so they look like they're
the culprits. Remove all of the wireless connections from the network, and
I'll bet your network problem goes away.

HTH.
Gunny

See http://www.QBuilt.com for all your database needs.
See http://www.Access.QBuilt.com for Microsoft Access tips and tutorials.
Blogs: www.DataDevilDog.BlogSpot.com, www.DatabaseTips.BlogSpot.com
http://www.Access.QBuilt.com/html/expert_contributors2.html for contact
info.

 

[Stokely]

Man, that's not the answer I wanted to hear. But I did see it coming. Thanks.

 

[David W. Fenton]

I suppose something like that could be the problem. But the users
that are getting the error aren't experiencing any other server
performance problems. I have to think it's something to do with
the actual mdb file because i have a front-end that is linked to
only one table (a very tiny table at that) in the mdb and the user
has gotten disk or network error on that as well.

I've compacted & repaired numerous times, would a decompile help?

It's likely not a server problem. It's probably something
interfering with network communication, either bad wiring or a
misbehaving network card that's garbling data or sending out excess
chatter.

It can also be a server software problem, but doesn't sound like it
in your case.

It is *not* a problem with the MDE file -- compacting and
decompiling (which you can't do in an MDE, anyway) won't have any
effect at all. Corruption of your MDE would give you an entirely
different set of error messages. The message you're getting
indicates that the connection to the tables linked to from the MDE
is being intermittently dropped.

 

[David W. Fenton]

The only thing that has changed since the error began was the use
of wireless network connections to the server (I know this is not
reccommended for Access) and they are not the ones receiving the
error. It is the users hardwired to the server.

Get rid of the wireless networking. That can never work reliably
with Access.

 

[David W. Fenton]

Man, that's not the answer I wanted to hear. But I did see it
coming.

If you took the time to understand how Access works and how wireless
networking works, you never would have embarked on it in the first
place.

 

[Stokely]

Jeez, that's a bit harsh. '69 Camaro already answered my question, didn't
really need that tacked on at the end.

 

[David W. Fenton]

Jeez, that's a bit harsh. '69 Camaro already answered my question,
didn't really need that tacked on at the end.

I think it needs to be said when people repeatedly try things that
are completely inadvisable because they haven't bothered to learn
how the technologies they are using actually work.

 

[Rob]

Roger,

I am having somewhat of the same problem. I have two files (be and fe). I
have one user that needs to periodically access the be to add groups of
records to support tables. If he is in the system for twenty minutes or more
he gets the Disk or Network Error. It is almost like the system will lose
the connection to the server for a split second. The error will repeat about
100 times. Is there anything that can be changed in the be to keep this from
happening or is this just inherent in Access - we are using 2003.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[John W. Vinson]

Roger,

I am having somewhat of the same problem. I have two files (be and fe). I
have one user that needs to periodically access the be to add groups of
records to support tables. If he is in the system for twenty minutes or more
he gets the Disk or Network Error. It is almost like the system will lose
the connection to the server for a split second. The error will repeat about
100 times. Is there anything that can be changed in the be to keep this from
happening or is this just inherent in Access - we are using 2003.

Um?

You don't need to open the backend to add data to tables. Just link to the
table and add to it from the frontend. Or am I misinterpreting?

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

I am having somewhat of the same problem. I have two files (be and fe). I
have one user that needs to periodically access the be to add groups of
records to support tables. If he is in the system for twenty minutes or more
he gets the Disk or Network Error. It is almost like the system will lose
the connection to the server for a split second. The error will repeat about
100 times. Is there anything that can be changed in the be to keep this from
happening or is this just inherent in Access - we are using 2003.

If this is a very consistent 20 minutes then this is some kind of
network timeout error. If it varies then it's a hardware connection
problem or maybe some kind of network card driver problem or such.

Corrupt Microsoft Access MDB Causes
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/corruption/causes.htm

Tony

P.S. If Aaron Kempf should jump in this thread with one of his
nonsensical replies expounding on the virtues of SQL server please
ignore him.
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[Rob]

John,

We have one user that needs to update multiple tables so I have just pointed
him to the backend to make those changes instead of showing him how to get
into the program through the back door (shift + double-click). I do not want
any of the users to be able to change forms, queries, etc. I guess I could
turn it into an mde file. This might solve the issue.

 

[Rob]

Tony,

It is consistent. That is why I thought it might be a timeout issue. I
just wanted to confirm before I disclosed this to the user. And, yes I have
had Aaron come into some of my threads telling me to upsize the database.
While I do like to use SQL for my data this is not always possible. Many
large companies will not free up server space for what they consider to be
non mission critical small databases. In most companies they charge back the
department for the space which might not be cost effective. Thanks for the
info.

Rob

 

[John W. Vinson]

John,

We have one user that needs to update multiple tables so I have just pointed
him to the backend to make those changes instead of showing him how to get
into the program through the back door (shift + double-click). I do not want
any of the users to be able to change forms, queries, etc. I guess I could
turn it into an mde file. This might solve the issue.

Why not give this user their own custom frontend? Are they opening the backend
database (perhaps while others are linked to it), or opening the frontend
bypassing its startup code? And are they updating *data in the tables* (which
should be routine) or *altering the structure of the tables* (which should be
a very rare operation)?