I agree completely with Eric. My statement to Fox was not to confuse him, it was meant to give my kudos to HP. I doubt it is due to the computer being HP. Everyone has their favorite computer vendors based on experience.
I have all my computers custom built (no, I don't mean we build our own computers or do some fancy thing), we just use a vendor online and decide which components to use and how to set it up. I would have no issues going through Dell or HP. HP is an extremely rock solid reputable company which makes the best printers hands down. They haven't been in the PC business as long, but they use the same work ethic and ideas.
As Eric will tell you, I am sure, all of the other companies should take classes from HP's support. Dell built their empire on it, then decided to change over to explodable batteries (OK, low blow). My warranty ran out on a machine, and I called HP twice in two weeks for an issue, and BOTH support techs told me my warranty had run out and BOTH solved my problem. I asked them how much the support would be, and they said, "Oh, this is easy, I'm not going to charge you. Try that with Microsoft.
I don't mean to disagree with Al, he could be completely right. But, I think he is getting too technical and changing a networking problem into a computer issue. I have a friend who always tells me, "think DNS first." I don't think your issue is DNS, but it just seems like a networking issue. When troubleshooting, which is what you have to do, go back to basics and start where it is working. Use the machine you have the program running as the main database. Then add another until it works, etc. With networking, it could be many things including the NIC card, the settings on the NIC, the IP address, anything.
Another friend of mine who is super computer smart and rather condescding always tells me, "All of your problems stem from not having it set up in the first place." And, to this day, he has always been right. But, we don't always have it set up correctly the first day, soo...
AmazingCharts can certainly be run peer-to-peer, but so can many programs. Many of these headaches would disappear with a server/client domain. I am not saying that AC is a program which runs as a server/client; it is not. But, having a dedicated server with a server operating system which sets up all of your networking is helpful. Doesn't mean you can't run peer-to-peer (most users on here do, and that's fine). I ran peer-to-peer for six years.
It can also be helpful to have your computer system set up by a certified IT person who shows you everything he/she does. Then you can fix these problems yourself, but when it gets too difficult or it's Monday morning at 8:00AM, you can make that call.
