color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Assuming the following.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A. You have a Novell Server hosting the First Resort program.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This Document is for Novell network environments ONLY. First Resort supports Novell, Peer to Peer, and NT.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">B. You have F:\PUBLIC mapped in your search path

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In order for many of the tools you will use in this outline to work, the F:\PUBLIC directory must be in your search path. To determine if your workstation is setup correctly, type "MAP" at a DOS prompt. If the command works, then you are fine, if it says BAD COMMAND OR FILE NAME, then you are not setup correctly. To fix this problem temporarily, at the DOS prompt type the following…….

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"F:\PUBLIC\MAP INS S2:=F:\PUBLIC". This will only fix the problem till you reboot, then it will return to the old settings. You will want to get your Novell hardware person to add the search path to your master login script. You will do this with SYSCON in Novell 3.x and NETADMIN in 4.x/5.x.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">C. You have First Resort installed in the standard directory F:\ACCOUNTS

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">First Resort software is loaded to the \ACCOUNTS directory by default. Although it is not a problem to run the program in a non standard directory, upgrades can have trouble if not installed in the default location. Be aware of this and if not in a standard directory, consider moving the program to the default area. Also our tech staff will expect the program in the default directory, and if not there it makes support difficult.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Check the following Standard Problems

1. All users need complete rights to the accounts directory.

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To check for the rights, for the user logged into the workstation, go the a DOS prompt, go to the F:\ACCOUNTS directory, and type RIGHTS. It will return the following…..

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Your Effective Rights are [SRWCEMFA]. You will want all these to appear. If not, you will need to give the users that do not have the rights to the accounts directory all rights. You will need your Novell network person to run the SYSCON or NETADMIN and add a Trustee Directory Assignment giving the group of users full rights to F:\ACCOUNTS (Edit the GROUP for all users using First Resort is the easiest way to do this)

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2. Workstation has enough File Handles

color="#000000" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Not having enough file handles can report 2 types of errors. Symptom #1 is an error saying "Not enough file handles". Symptom #2 is an error saying "FILE XXXX does not exist, Hit Y to create…". In both cases the file in question is there and the workstation cannot open it due to a lack of file handles. The problem is that the file is really there, and our software from the error thinks it is not and will try to create a new one. Not to worry, the file will not be overwritten. To fix this problem on a Win95/Win98 PC, open c:\config.sys (Go to Start > Run > Sysedit) and modify or add a line that reads FILES=120 (number can be adjusted upwards to 250 as needed).

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3. File Flagging is set up correctly

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In order for multi user access to work properly the Novell flagging must be setup right. When re-flagging the data, all users and interfaces must be out of the First Resort program. You will be issuing FLAG commands. If you get an error that says "FILE IN USE", then someone has the file in question locked. You will need to locate the user or interface and get them out of First Resort. As a last resort you can always down the server and restart it to release any flags that cannot be freed. Also, there are two procedures for setting up the flags. For Novell version 3.x follow fix #1, for Novell version 4.x or 5.x follow fix #2. To determine what version of Novell you type WHOAMI at a DOS prompt. The second line will tell you the version of Novell you are running. Follow the instructions below

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">RWSHT means Read Write Share Transactional. Also remember some workstation backup systems will reset the share flag when backing up Novell volumes. So if your flagging is working, and in the morning after the backup you get a "Sharing Violation Error", then most likely the backup system is re-setting the flags improperly. To fix this you must call your backup software company and try to shut off the option to set the archive bit. This will be specific to your backup software.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. TTS is setup on server and in program and in business

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TTS services needs to be enabled on the Novell server, as well as the business code, and First Resort software. All three need TTS enabled to work properly. For Novell version 3.x follow fix #1, for Novell version 4.x or 5.x follow fix #2. To determine what version of Novell you type WHOAMI at a DOS prompt. The second line will tell you the version of Novell you are running. First we must make sure TTS is enabled on the server.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">STEP #1

color="#000000"> 

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5. F:\ACCOUNTS cannot be in the search path.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">If Accounts is in the search path, it will cause program problems with First Resort. To check to see if it is, do the following. At a DOS prompt type "MAP" and look for the following. The output of the MAP command is divided into two sections. First the drive mapping, the second is the search paths. We want to focus on the search paths. You will see something like the following…..

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">S1:= C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
S2:= Z. [SERVER_NAME: \ACCOUNTS] (THIS IS BAD, SHOULD REMOVE)
S3:= W. [SERVER_NAME: \PUBLIC]
S4:=……
…..
…..
S12:=…….

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So S2:= is the entry we are looking for and we do not want to have it in there. To fix this problem temporarily, at the DOS prompt type the following. (This is assuming your entry is S2: change S2: to your S#: entry). "MAP DEL S2:". This will only fix the problem till you reboot, then it will return to the old settings. You will want to get your Novell hardware person to remove the search path from your master login script. You will do this with SYSCON in Novell 3.x and NETADMIN in 4.x/5.x.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">6. Workstation must have enough conventional memory - 570K or more.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is one of the most common errors with First Resort. The symptoms can be numerous including errors that do not seem to relate to memory in any way. The typical crash is that you will be running the program and it will kick you out of First Resort and echo many different unrelated errors. You can isolate the problem by going to another workstation and try the same operation there. If the error is the identical error as the first station, then it is most likely a problem in the database, and a rebuild or another fix must be applied. If the operation works, than we have proved that is a workstation problem, most likely a memory problem. So, if you have suspected memory problems you will have to optimize the workstation to increase to LARGEST EXECUTABLE PROGRAM SIZE to 570K or More. To test the Memory type MEM at a DOS prompt.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Look for the line that says …

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Largest executable program size 520K (532,720 bytes)"

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In this case example the workstation has only 520K we want 570K or more.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fixing this problem can be complicated, and you should consider bringing in your local hardware support person with experience optimizing memory on workstations.

color="#000080" size="2" face="Arial">7. SYSPARM.SYS is setup for the correct Network Type

color="#000080" size="2" face="Arial">The sysparm.sys file lives in the accounts directory, and it is the file First Resort uses to tell the program how to do the file locking as well as customizing the setup of each workstation. That means it contains custom settings for workstation color, default printer setup, banner pages, clock settings, etc. The problem is if this file is not setup for the correct file locking it will cause corruption of First Resort index files. This file is created if no file is present, and in some cases the user can overwrite the file losing all workstation printer/screen color settings and possibly setting up the file locking the wrong way. To see if your sysparm.sys is correct do the following. Go to H,H,E. Check the setting in the first field, it should be N for Novell file server. Check the setting in the System Locking Type field. It should be E for Extended locking. If they are incorrect set them correctly, press F10 to save (at which point 2 additional fields for Use Novell TTS and Use Novell Print Queues will appear - they should both be set to Y), then Enter, then press Enter again when returned to the Set Hardware Options screen.

color="#000000">If you're still having network problems, consider these more advanced network fixes

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1. Try running the Load Test utility in First Resort on suspect workstations.
This utility is a basic test of the network's ability to write data to a file, then read it back to the workstation. Go to H,N,L. Type I to Initialize the test environment, then B to begin the test. Let it run for approximately 10 minutes, watching for any increase in the numerical counter after the word Errors. Any value above zero indicates a problem in the path of the data from that workstation to the server which should be investigated by a qualified local hardware support person. Possible causes of the problem include a bad network interface card the workstation or in the server, a bad hub or hub port, a bad cable segment/patch cord, or perhaps bad memory in the workstation or server.

color="#000080" size="2" face="Arial">2. Consider applying the latest service pack from Novell for your server.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3. VIRUS scan all workstations and even the server.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As we are all aware, viruses are a problem. Although no documented problems can be directly attributed to viruses, when having trouble, run a virus detection program on all workstation and even the Novell server to test for possible infection.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. Consider running a Lan-Analyzer program to watch for bad net cards.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So you tried everything and you are still having network problems, and constant error messages in First Resort. Consider having your Novell support run LAN-ANALYZER, a program to look at network packet information. This program can point out hidden NIC failure and other network issues that are not clearly visible. A bad NIC can cause a lot of trouble on a network.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5. Lastly, Consider if possible using a different Novell Server. Move First Resort and test for a week or two.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So nothing is working, you are getting constant corruption and you just want it fixed. For some customers, when they reach this point they are ready for drastic measures. Consider getting your Novell support to put a temporary server in place. IT MUST BE A DIFFERENT COMPUTER, we need to rule out the hardware as a problem. Some of our customers have purchased new dual processor servers, and although not proven, they may be a problem. So by putting in a different server, and moving First Resort to the new server and running it for a few weeks, we can isolate the problem is in the server. This should be considered as a last resort, but if nothing else is working it will rule out a server issue.

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">********** TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES ********

color="#000000"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">If the program fails on workstation A with error XX, go to another workstation and try the same operation. If the error is XX on workstation B then It is a strong possibility the problem is the server, which points to a database problem. But if it fails on workstation A and works on workstation B then it is a problem with the workstation A.