Painfully slow DB on one NW machine

[Kesser]

HI all

I will say first off that my knowledge of Access is very limited.... but...

I manage a network of 8 machines - all running windows 2k, all of a similar spec. The problem seems to be that ONE machine is very slow when running queries in an access database, the front end of which is situated on one machine. All of the other machines on the NW access fine and so does this one except that it is soooo slow. The machine performs well otherwise in every aspect, including any other file transfer over the network.

I thought that maybe too many people were accessing the same data at the same time but, though it was quicker when all other machines were inactive, it still does not perform as quickely as it should...

Any ideas?

The database was written by a third party so I only have a basic knowledge of it.. ideas would be very welcome!

Kes

 

[willir]

Kes

Check network card and make sure it is running correctly, i.e. 100 MB FD instead of 10 MB HD.

Check memory, disk space and temp file space.

 

[Kesser]

Ok - have checked the speed on the network and it is running at 100 FD. Memory, disk space and temp file space all seem fine. Next I am going to try transferring a large file over the network to check performance to and from that machine and I will shorten the length of the cable too, which has a fair amount of slack in it - any others ideas would be most helpful - it seems strange to me that it is just on the one application - is there a chance it could be a bad install of access and reinstalling may solve the problem?

 

[BaudKarma]

It could be a bad install of Access, but there are some other things I'd check first. You might reinstall the front end, or copy the front end from the slow machine over to a fast one and see if there problem is there. If it's possible to cross-connect network cables froma good machine, I'd try that as well. Basically, just change out the different pieces to try and isolate the problem.

I know in the "good old days", we were told that just reinstalling a program wouldn often not work. We were told to uninstall completely, then do a fresh install. I don't know if that's still the case or not.

Just muddling my way through.

 

[67peshawar294]

Kesser,
Hope this is relevant to your problem. Check out the following thread. It is a long post but the first entry is the real crux of the matter.
jim

thread702-206410

 

[willir]

Well, another possibility is Opportunistic locking.

Past post -- deals more with corruption, but can be a cause of performance issues...
Access 97 - Constantly repairing

Also we can dig some more with some "PC Therapy"

There are three possible problems...
- The workstation is loosing the network connection to the backend database on the network. This lost connection means that the front end database has to reconnect. Reconnecting takes time.
- Transfer rate across the network for the workstation is slow. You have confirmed that the system is running at 100 FD. However, a noisy data line may result in the data being retransmitted over and over which will cause performance problems.
- Local resources on the workstation is causing a problem. Access uses a fair chunk of memory, more the better. Reports and Queries need sufficient work space to store the reports on the local workstation. If the workstation can not access the required resources, it will slow the system down.

What to do...
Divide and conquer
- Take a fast workstation and connect it to the network connection that is being used by the slow workstation. If the speed is now slow, suspect the network connection.
- Copy a large chunk of data from the workstation to server, and from the server to the workstation from a slow and fast workstation. Then copy a large number of small files to and from the server with a slow and fast workstation. Again, this will test / verify the network connection. Using small files will test I/O where the workstation / server have to open and close files in fast succession.
- With the problem workstation, test access to a small table by openning and closing a form, and navigating to the next / previous / first / last record. When Access opens a form based on a table, it will load the entrie record set. Accessing a small table should not tax local resources, but may test the connection to the database.

What else...
- Check for SpyWare / MalWare. I have seen numerous workstations these days with some form of spyware loaded on them. Where people have reported slow performance, but scanning and removing spyware, performance improved dramatically. Here, performance would suck on the network but would be fine when not connected on the network. MAKE SURE you update the definition file first before the scan.
- Ditto for viruses.
- Update to the current level of service pack for the workstation OS, for Internet Exploer and for Office.

Richard

 

[Kesser]

Thanks guys I will give all of your suggestions a try except for the spyware/virus/service pack thing cos that has been done already

If I have no joy I will ask for more info - if I fix it, I will let you know the results

Kes