Tech Help

Resolving network and other file problems
Last updated September 22, 2003

Network / file problems, such as those with symptoms like error 1477 and 2172, can take many forms.

They can be caused by one or more of the following:

NOTE: Remember that having backups is a saving grace in the face of file/network problems. Network problems can corrupt your files in a heartbeat. If you have no backups, you are in big trouble (future or present - trouble will occur). Having backups is a responsibility you must take VERY seriously.

Drivers up to date? Windows networking is subject to a number of problems, MANY of which can be solved simply by installing updated driver software from the manufacturer or (more often) Microsoft. The link below will go to a web page that describes just ONE of the problems in Windows peer-to-peer networking, yet there are several other problems referenced at the bottom of that page. In particular, anyone on Windows 95 needs to get their network drivers and "requestor" updated. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q174/3/71.asp and http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q148/3/67.asp in particular note some problems that can burn you.

Novell Netware problems? The problem could be your Novell Opportunistic Locking setting. Contact your network person for further details. How to turn it off? Goto Control Panel -> Networks -> Novell Client Properties -> Advanced Settings Tab -> Opportunistic Locking and make sure this is switched off on all client Machines - ALSO Make sure True Commit is ON at each client PC (This should help stop data corruption)

Opportunistic locking (oplocks) and performance. This white paper discusses issues related to opportunistic locking - something that can seriously impact performance on ISAM databases (which ours are). This site is related to a product (DataFlex) that we do NOT use, but the same issues can impact your Photo One and Marble Master databases. http://www.dataaccess.com/whitepapers/opportunlockingreadcaching.html

More Microsoft articles related to opportunistic locking
(Now you see why we suggest keeping up to date on Microsoft fixes...)

Is your network slow when using a mapped drive letter? Is the drive mapped to the main computer's drive or to a folder? If it is mapped to a folder, you will likely see a decrease in performance, often a quite noticeable decrease. We are not sure why this happens, but mapping directly to the drive has been proven time and time again to be faster. We have not discovered the reason for this, despite extended searches of Microsoft's tech database ( http://msdn.microsoft.com ).

Windows XP networking
Here is Microsoft's "best place to start" page for dealing with Windows XP issues, including networking issues.
http://support.microsoft.com/highlights/winxp.asp

Networking on Past Versions of Windows
For Windows 2000 networking, Here is Microsoft's "best place to start":
http://support.microsoft.com/highlights/Win2000.asp

For Windows ME (Millennium) networking, Here is Microsoft's "best place to start":
http://support.microsoft.com/highlights/winme.asp 

For Windows 98 networking, Here is Microsoft's "best place to start":
http://support.microsoft.com/highlights/w98.asp 

Workstation drive letters "getting the red X" (disconnecting from the main computer)
You can disable this by issuing this command from the DOS command line: net config server /autodisconnect:-1
Before using this command, we suggest you read the Microsoft article that discusses autodisconnect. You can find it here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;138365.

Windows 2000 or Windows XP mapped drives disconnecting for no apparent reason? (showing the red X over the drive in explorer)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;138365

Performance issues are often caused by network protocol "bindings"
Check the following Network protocols basics:

Does the system work on some machines but seems to "think about it" and then do nothing on others?

Power management - Do you have Energy Star features on your computers? Probably so. Power management and networking DO NOT MIX. You can have your computers' power management features turn off and/or dim the monitor, but DO NOT have them turn off the hard drive, network cards etc. This will definitely cause you grief when computers are networked. Grief = lost data

Database corruptions, timeouts and other troubles
Another issue is the various ways that Windows try to improve performance, often at the price of stability. Sometimes these things work, other times they cause network timeouts because they force additional file operations behind the scenes and those file operations time out (fail). One way to turn one of these items off is to turn off "Synchronous buffer commits". To do this, click Control Panel, System, Performance, File System, Troubleshooting and check the "Disable synchronous buffer commits" checkbox.

Turn off write caching
You need to disable the "write-behind cache". When the program ask to save the data, the data is kept in cache on the local machine [until the cache is flushed] instead of being on the server.

In Windows XP/2000:

  1. Right Click MY Computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager
  2. Right Click Disk Drive > Properties
  3. Disable: Write Cache Enabled
  4. Restart the computer

In Windows 9x/ME:

  1. START > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL
  2. System
  3. Performance tab
  4. Troubleshooting
  5. Performance
  6. Disable the write-behind cache
  7. Restart the computer

Tune up your network
Many of the aforementioned settings are automatically checked/corrected via a utility program called "Network Tune Up". The program is free. Note that it does change internal network settings and requires a reboot afterwards. The settings changed include oplocks (on Windows NT and Windows 2000) and the Windows9x/WindowsMe buffering settings noted above. It also checks Windows9x/WindowsMe machines to be sure they dont have a buggy version of the Microsoft network driver installed. Click here to download Network Tune Up. We got it from Bytemasters (http://www.bytemasters.com).

Fix that leaky hose
While it is certainly possible, don't automatically assume network errors are a program problem. These products are being used in many, many networked systems and by as many as 130 people simultaneously on ONE network. Do other multi-user applications work ok? Can you save a text file into our application's directory using Windows Notepad? If not, the problem is more than likely with the network setup. Just one little thing related to sharing or "permissions" can mess things up. Keep in mind that our programs have many (as many as 80 or more) files open across your network at once, where Notepad only has one. Like a leaky hose where you don't see the leaks till lots of water is going through the hose under pressure, a network can exhibit similar behavior and not fail until it is under a heavy load.  

Getting a TPSBT 1477 and/or 2172?
 The 1477 and 2172 errors are caused by improperly "closed" files. Kind of like a file cabinet whose drawer or file wasnt closed. Improper closing can be caused by rebooting the server while the workstation is in the program, rebooting a workstation while it is in the program, logging out while you are in the program, having a power outage or even a "burp" in the power, and so on. The items noted above can help this situation as well. Our programs have anywhere from 30-80 files open at once. Most other programs that you use on the network dont "push" the network anywhere near this hard. Sometimes a network is like a bad garden hose. Turning the water on slow doesn't expose a leak. Turning it on full force and putting your thumb over the end does. 

We have a program that will detect which version of the Windows network redirector (ie: what lets you 'talk' to the computers on the network), but it is not as smart as we'd like. Click here to download it (about 600k), then just run it (there is no install). It may or may not point out a problem and it is of no use if your server isnt Windows NT or Windows 2000. If you dont have the current network client/redirector (note the link to Microsoft above), you are asking for trouble. Have your hardware person check this information out for you. It's very important. If you are using Photo One, this information is already available via an option on the help menu.

Another nice network troubleshooting resource:
http://farreachtech.com/network_troubleshooting.htm

 

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