Below is a listing of frequently enountered First Resort error messages, what they mean, and what to do about them. Should you have an error message not listed on this page, please contact First Resort support.

Ctree Error #231
This error message means you need to rebuild a file and its index. The key to knowing which file to rebuild is in the file number within the error message. Click here for a reference list of file numbers and what their file names are. If you do not know the file number, your choices are to either rebuild all of the First Resort files and indexes (which could be lengthy and should only be done when all other users are signed out of First Resort) or to use diagnostics access to check the indexes of suspected files individually. Click here for instructions on how to rebuild files and indexes.

Ctree Error #160
This error message indicates that an inconsistency has occurred between a data file and its index, perhaps due to the index not getting updated correctly. A rebuild is necessary. The error message which appears on the screen will give you the file number which has been corrupted and needs to be rebuilt. Click here for a reference list of file numbers and what their file names are. Then click on instructions on how to rebuild files and indexes.

Ctree Error #118
This is NOT a critical error message, and although it suggests a file rebuild needs to be done, it is most likely due to a confirmation letter logic arrangement problem in which case a rebuild is unnecessary. Instead, letter logic should be checked for errors.

Could not parse.....
This is NOT a critical error message. It is due to a confirmation letter logic arrangement problem. Call the First Resort support department during regular business hours for assistance.

Deadlock Avoidance - Lock Count 100
This message means that First Resort is trying to either read to or write from a file, and that physical location in the file (could be either .fil or .idx) is locked because some workstation is holding a Novell TTS lock after having written to that physical location. When using Novell TTS (as is recommended by First Resort), all of the physical locations are held locked until the end of the TTS transaction occurs, and the station sends an "End TTS" to the server. The 100 only means that First Resort has tried to read or write 100 times.

In general, a transaction will be defined by all of the modification necessary to completely make a unitary change - for example, posting a transaction in PM modifies PMX, SYX, and GLM as a minimum, and the transaction does not end until all of the necessary changes have been made. If the station hangs in the middle for any reason, the transaction will not successfully end and thus the other workstations will begin to get the "Deadlock Avoidance" messages. It is important to note that the workstation(s) seeing the red "Deadlock Avoidance" box are NOT the cause of the problem, and attempts to reboot these workstations will not solve, and may temporarily aggravate, the problem.

The way to find the offending station is to look for stations that are holding locks. The procedure for doing so differs depending on your Novell network operating system version:

For Novell Version 3.11 and 3.12:
Using the file server, press the Ctrl and Escape keys simultaneously. From the menu that will appear, choose 'Monitor Screen' (if you do not see this as an option, choose 'Console' and type 'load monitor' on the command line. From this screen, highlight 'Connection Information' and press enter. A list of active connections will appear. One by one, highlight an active connection and press enter. On the resultant split screen, look on the upper portion for a line called 'Logical Record Locks.' It will appear right underneath a line called 'Semaphores.' You are looking for the active connection (or connections) with a non-zero number of logical record locks - that's the workstation(s) causing the problem. You may have more than one workstation with logical record locks as workstations experiencing the Deadlock Avoidance error message may have paused, creating locks of their own. Generally, but not always, the workstation causing the Deadlock Avoidance error messages will contain the most number of file lock entries in FCONSOLE. This station can be cleared by pressing Delete when that connection is highlighted in the connection list.

For Novell Version 4.x:
Using the file server monitor, choose "Connections", then press enter on a connection (login name), then press tab to expand the top box, and look for any station that has something besides zero in Logical Record Locks. Whatever station has this is usually the cause of the problem. You may have more than one workstation with logical record locks as workstations experiencing the Deadlock Avoidance error message may have paused, creating locks of their own. Stations with locks can be cleared by pressing Delete when that connection is highlighted in the connection list; those users will need to re-boot their PCs.

Remote communication problems, network problems such as faulty network interface cards or cabling, and swapping out of Windows sessions that are not enabled to run in the background are some of the things that might cause this. Occasionally a cause is a workstation that got turned off while still in First Resort; sometimes new system users will make this error. If there is a lot of activity on the network (reads and writes), and the server is not fast enough to process them without queueing them up, you might get this message which would then go away on its own with no real problem caused besides concerning people because they see it.

For Novell Version 5.x
Using the file server monitor, choose "File open/lock activity," then navigate to the accounts folder (if you see volume names of SYS and VOL1, typically the First Resort accounts folder is on VOL1. Check with your hardware vendor if unsure). Within the accounts folder highlight key data files one at a time (key files include RSM, RSD, RSA, SYX, PMX, GLM, and PMP) and press enter. Look for any users that have a lock on the file; they will be listed by their Novell connection number. Escape back to the file server monitor menu screen. Choose "Connections,' then scroll to highlight any connections you observed in the File open/lock activity area. Once highlighted, press the Delete key then confirm to clear that connection from the server; that user will need to re-boot their PC to re-attach to the server.

Waiting for a Lock
This message means that a station is trying to lock a specific record in a specific file (it is possible to tell which file from the numbers that come with the message) and some station is holding a lock on that specific record. This is different from Deadlock Avoidance as we are not getting the error reading or writing but rather the server is telling us that another user has placed a lock in the server lock table that is not getting released.

Causes are similar to above in Deadlock Avoidance, relating to a hung up workstation. This message will usually not appear when Novell TTS is enabled because we will first get the Deadlock Avoidance message.

Lock Table Error
This error is usually indication that your workstation has lost track of its file lock activity. In First Resort, it usually does not cause a permanent interruption to your operations - after receiving a message to call First Resort support you are usually allowed to continue with your task. If this is the case, no further action is necessary. However, if the workstation continues to receive lock table error messages or has been booted out of First Resort, the best course of action is to reboot your workstation, reattach to the network and try the same task again. This should solve the problem.

Log Record Failed, Return was 251 Return Code = 42
This error message may occur when network-resident First Resort data is copied down to a local hard drive on a workstation, then accessed from that local drive. In that case, it's source is from the fact that the workstation still has network drivers loaded in it's memory, but the workstation isn't logged into the network. Try logging onto the network and accessing the data again.

This error has also occured when Windows ME workstations were added to a network; changing those workstations to Windows 95 or Windows 98 resolved the problem.

This error has also occurred when the Microsoft Client for NetWare networks was installed. Disabling Novell TTS functions within First Resort reduces the frequency of these errors, but the only known solution is to re-install the Novell NetWare Client.

Log Record Set Failed, Return was 254
We've seen this error message (as well as a 'Sharing Violation' error message occasionally) occuring when Novell Netware or Intranetware workstation client programs are used to attach DOS or Windows 3.x workstations (Client for DOS/Win) or Windows 95 workstations (Client for Windows 95) to a Novell network. We have made a change to First Resort version 9.25 to fix this error. So, anyone receiving this error message should upgrade to First Resort version 9.25 or higher.

Sharing Violation, or Sharing Violation Reading Device Network
There are several possible causes of these error messages. First, usage of Novell's Intranetware Client programs (as mentioned immediately above) may cause a 'Sharing Violation' error message. Second, Norton's Anti-Virus software, particularly versions 3.0 and 4.0, have been known to produce a 'Sharing Violation Reading Device Network' message occasionally (as well as a Shell 332-85 File in Use during Open a File error message). Removing the Norton Anti-Virus drivers from config.sys and autoexec.bat solved the problem in those instances. Third, incorrectly flagged First Resort data files on a Novell network can produce 'Sharing Violation' error messages. This occurs when First Resort data files become flagged non-shareable. Occasionally tape backup software issues Novell flagging commands (typically to set an archive attribute) and fails to successfully complete the flagging process. Re-flagging First Resort data files to shareable fixes this error. For information on flagging First Resort data files, read flagging.txt. Finally, a sharing violation message may occur when trying to access a file that is correctly flagged as non-shareable and is currently in use. For example, a sharing violation message will occur if trying to print out the contents of an First Resort user error file (filename = errbbbuu where bbb=First Resort business code and uu=First Resort user code) while that user is logged into First Resort.

'Out of File Handles, Cannot Open File', or 'Error 12, File ##', or 'File Does Not Exist, Hit Y to Create'
This is most likely an out of file handles problem. On Windows 9x PCs, edit config.sys (located at Start>Run>Sysedit) to include the line 'files=120'. On Windows NT/2000 edit config.nt (located at c:\winnt\system32\config.nt) to include the line 'files=40' Error 12 may also be caused by Norton AntiVirus software. See our Norton AntiVirus page.