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I am running the main database of AC on a dual core computer (not a file server) but my access from the other computers is so darn slow.

To those who have shifted to servers, is it worth the expense to change to a server? Does it speed up the access considerably? Or is the slow-ness of the program inherent to the program itself?

If it does improve access speed, what servers should I look into? Are home servers adequate?

Although there are many here who will try to convince you to go with the added expense and complexity of a true server based system, for most small offices this really isn't needed. I'm running an 4 year old P4 tower that I just goosed it's RAM and we are doing fine.

So if you are like us abd the "server" in your little P2P set-up has 1 gig or less or RAM that might need a bump. But seeing that you have a newer duel core I bet you have at least 1 or 2 gigs. But if you are running Vista on the main machine, you probably need to get 3 or 4 gigs of RAM going. I've heard Vista is a Hog. I'm now running 2.5 gigs with XP Pro and it's probably overkill now, but now I can sit at the main machine and run lots of apps and still not slow down the office, which is what I wanted.

But I would think "network" or compatiblity first, like XP and Vista mixed, as many here have found out that Vista does not like to play very nice with its older brother XP. And two if your network is not running smoothly that is usually the bottleneck to speed. Heck we are running old "G" wireless and most of the time that is not slowing us down too much.

Lastly, AC is based on Access which is slower than SQL based systems, but unless you've got thousands and thousands of patients in there, it shouldn't be too bad. There is a small lag but not much. So check your network and check your RAM, before you drop big bucks on a server system. That's my two cents for what it is worth.... Good Luck

Hey, leila:

I was having a terrible time with lagging computers when I first started, but it was completely a networking problem, and it was easily fixed once I knew what to look for.

Now, I have 7 PCs (wired), two tablet PCs (wireless), and one laptop (wireless) running without a server and it runs lickety-split.

If we had a few more details, we could give you better advice about whether a server would be helpful for you.

Here's for starters:

How many physicians? How many patients?

How many computers? How new or old are they? How are they connected to each other -- wired or wireless? What operating system are you using?

We can get into other details, but that would get us started.

I have 7 computers (wired) in the office, about 2-1/2 yrs old, all on XP (pro for the main, home for the rest)-> 1 physician, 3 employees, 3 exam rooms, 1000 patients. All computers have at least 1 gig RAM, the "main" one has 2 gig.

Daily, I run Amazing Utilities, anti-spyware, Auslogics disk defrag before the first patient.

Thanks for your help.
Leila

Hi Leila:

I agree, you have to make sure that you have no spyware, trojans, or viruses running on your computer. Do multiple scans for such.

If you do a Google search for "ms access problems on dual core" you'll see a host of possibilities-

1) If you are running WinXP SP2, you need to read and download the "Windows XP SP2 Dual Core Performance Hot Fix Download" here. Microsoft discusses this further here.
2) AMD has its own dual core fixes here.
3) If you have a Nvidia video card, you need to do a "regedit" and change some registry entries as specified by the Nvidea site (see here ).
4) Here is the complete listing of MS Access slowdowns for MS Access versions 2003 on down- http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/performancefaq.htm
5) Here are some ideas if you are using MS Access 2007- http://www.developersdex.com/vb/message.asp?p=2899&r=6211553
6) Do a Start-> Run-> "msconfig", then click on the "startup" tab to see what programs are starting up. Post the results. This are the only 4 programs loading up when my computer starts up:

7) "The last will be first." (no, not from the Bible, but from my hacker's handbook!)... download the software hijackthis.zip and run the program, then post the results in this thread. It'll tell us what programs your server is running and what you may wish to turn off.

We'll be most interested in antivirus and other nonsense programs that are uselessly being loaded into your precious RAM.

Here's how the hijackthis file from my node computer looks like:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 12:38:27 AM, on 4/4/2008
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6000.16608)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgemc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\inetsrv\inetinfo.exe
C:\Program Files\Visioneer\OneTouch 4.0\OtService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\tcpsvcs.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\snmp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe
C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Skype\Plugin Manager\SkypePM.exe
C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 7\SnagIt32.exe
C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 7\TSCHelp.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Alberto Borges MD.MTGROOM1\Start Menu\Programs\ANTIVIRUS AND ANTISPYWARE\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.yahoo.com/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = 127.0.0.1
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Skype add-on (mastermind) - {22BF413B-C6D2-4d91-82A9-A0F997BA588C} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\SkypeIEPlugin.dll
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Zone Labs Client] "C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe /STARTUP
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Skype] "C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /nosplash /minimized
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra button: Skype - {77BF5300-1474-4EC7-9980-D32B190E9B07} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\SkypeIEPlugin.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files\juniper networks\secure application manager\samnsp.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files\juniper networks\secure application manager\samnsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [INTERNATIONAL] International*
O16 - DPF: {215B8138-A3CF-44C5-803F-8226143CFC0A} (Trend Micro ActiveX Scan Agent 6.6) - http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/housecall/applet/html/native/x86/win32/activex/hcImpl.cab
O16 - DPF: {7584C670-2274-4EFB-B00B-D6AABA6D3850} (Microsoft RDP Client Control (redist)) - https://web.virginiahospitalcenter.com/tsweb/msrdp.cab,DanaInfo=thebesthospital+
O16 - DPF: {E5F5D008-DD2C-4D32-977D-1A0ADF03058B} (JuniperSetupSP1 Control) - https://web.virginiahospitalcenter.com/dana-cached/setup/JuniperSetupSP1.cab
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O21 - SSODL: WPDShServiceObj - {AAA288BA-9A4C-45B0-95D7-94D524869DB5} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\WPDShServiceObj.dll
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: AVG E-mail Scanner (AVGEMS) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgemc.exe
O23 - Service: BCL easyPDF SDK 5 Loader (bepldr) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\BCL Technologies\easyPDF 5\bepldr.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: OneTouch 4.0 Monitor - Visioneer Inc. - C:\Program Files\Visioneer\OneTouch 4.0\OtService.exe
O23 - Service: TrueVector Internet Monitor (vsmon) - Zone Labs, LLC - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
O23 - Service: System Commander MBR check (WinMBR) - Unknown owner - C:\SC\WINMBR.EXE

Cheers,
Al

Leila:

I have heard that Windows XP Home is not so great in an office environment (Bert, feel free to chime in here).

I have a lot more demand on my system than you do and I get great performace, without a server. Well, I do have my database on a bigger faster computer and I don't run much else on it, but it wasn't expensive, and I don't have it set up as a "true" server, with a server operating system and all that.

This is what I bought, by the way:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2606265&CatId=3370

Al is probably giving you good advice, though some of it is over my head.

Leila, Sorry, but I am biased. It is always worth the money to get a server with server software if you can afford it. If you can't, then it isn't. Most of the speed will be with the program and how the Access database is designed to transfer data across your network. You probably wouldn't notice a huge difference in speed with a server given your save setup, but if you ran it in a domain environment, your overall advantages would be extremely good.

Please don't take offense to this statement. I heard it from one of my tech gurus who taught me networking, but I think it just hammers home the concept. "What is it about the word 'home' that people in businesses don't understand?" XP Home is for home. It's main issue is networking. You can't even network XP Home on a true server domain environment. When you get a chance, upgrade to Pro. But, I wouldn't run out and buy seven XP Pro CDs.

Again, just my opinion, but I wouldn't do any of those things everyday. The only thing I would recommend running daily would be a good backup program and a good antivirus scan at night. Defragging is overrated and, at most, you would need to do it monthly. If you are using your "main computer" only for AC, then it isn't going to get very fragmented and once you open AC, it is in RAM. A good virus scanner should cover spyware as well. Amazing Utilities maybe weekly at most. A good exercise would be to check the properties of the AmazingCharts.mdb database before and after Amazing Utilities. If you are going from 25.2MBs to 25.1MBs, then you aren't getting much out of it.

You have plenty of RAM, and I doubt it is a processor issue. Here is where I would check as it hasn't been stated yet:

What speed are your cables? If they are Cat5e, they will be pretty fast, but if you can upgrade to Cat6, it will get much faster. Of course, everything would have to be Cat6 then including your NIC cards. Now, Cat5e should be capable of 100 Mbs, but if your NIC cards aren't capable of 100 Mbs, then your performance will drop off dramatically. Go into your NIC card's properties in the device management and make sure your Duplex is set to auto detect or auto negotiate and look at its speed. Make sure your NIC card on the main computer is rated for 100 Mbs if Cat5e or 1000 Mbs if Cat6.

Please make sure you are using a switch and not a hub to connect your network. A switch will be X times faster than a hub where X = your number of work stations. Also check the speed of the switch. Again, it needs to be 100 Mbs for Cat5e and 1000 Mbs for Cat6.

Again, depending on your wiring and how easy it would be to rewire, you will notice a considerable speed difference if you upgrade to Cat6 but, AGAIN, everything has to be Cat6 speed.

Is anyone else using the main computer? You may not need a true server, but if someone else is using the "main computer" and using programs which are resource intensive, that could slow you down.

Finally, just to give yourself a yardstick, connect to the database on a local computer and run AC just to see how fast it is from its own computer. You will never get any faster than that over a network.

hth

Leila/Bert/Brian:

Gosh, my last note I was having a ADD nerd attack... the advise is somewhat technical. I apologize. I was focused on the CPU; I didn't catch the note about the Win XP Home issue. Big problem!

1) I would make all computers Win XP Pro. If you look up Microsoft's advise like I just did, at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813936/, the WinXP Home is limited to 6 computers in the LAN. Although your 7th computer is a WinXP Pro, you might want to see how your LAN does without it and make any decisions accordingly.

Note the list of differences between Win XP home and Win XP pro:

Below is a short list of supported features (URL- http://windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=20536&DisplayTab=Article):

Backup—XP Pro has the standard Win2K backup program; XP Home has no backup program.
Dynamic Disks—XP Pro supports dynamic disks; XP Home doesn't.
IIS—XP Pro includes IIS; XP Home doesn't.
Encrypted File System (EFS) —EFS debuted in Win2K and lets you encrypt files on an NTFS partition, a very useful feature for mobile machines. XP Pro includes EFS; XP Home doesn't.
Multiprocessor—XP Pro supports up to two processors; XP Home supports only one (as did Windows Me/Win98).
Remote Assistance—Both editions support Remote Assistance, which lets someone from a Help desk connect to the client desktop to troubleshoot problems.
Remote Desktop—XP Pro adds to Remote Assistance by letting any machine running a Terminal Services client run one Terminal Services session against an XP Pro machine.
Domain Membership—XP Pro systems can be domain members; XP Home systems can't, but they can access domain resources.
Group Policy—XP Pro supports group policies; XP Home doesn't.
IntelliMirror—XP Pro supports IntelliMirror, which includes Microsoft Remote Installation Services (RIS), software deployment, and user setting management; XP Home doesn't support IntelliMirror.
Upgrade from Windows Me/Win98—Both XP Pro and XP Home support this upgrade.
Upgrade from Win2K/NT—Only XP Pro supports this upgrade.
64-bit Support—Only XP Pro will have a 64-bit version that supports the Itanium systems.
Network Support—XP Pro includes support for Network Monitor, SNMP, IP Security (IPSec), and the Client Services for NetWare (CSNW); XP Home doesn't.

Hey, some of this stuff is super-technical, even for me! But it's interesting to know. The multiprocessor support may be important for your particular situation, though.

One TIP: if you purchase a Win XP Home computer and have an old Win XP Pro disc, if 4 months have passed, you can reuse it on a new machine with normal activation. If you don't have any WinXP Pro discs around, then go to eBay and buy one for less than $130. It seems that folks are making a run on the Win XP disks before the summer- I used to get the Win XP Pro on eBay for $80 or less!

2) Try disabling all anti virus, anti spyware, and firewalls (leaving Win XP firewall "on") and try again to see if they have any effect. At least check to see if there are screen savers or virus scanning software running. If you have virus scanning software, make sure it is not scanning the data files while you are trying to access them.

3) As Bert mentioned, make sure that you are using a Switch with the proper Cat 5e/6 cables.

About another person using the "host" computer- hell, I have my office manager do the billing (using my MS Access EMR/PMS) on mine without issues. I have 8 computers logged onto her host computer. It's something that is not politically/technically correct, but heck, I'm a cheapscape, and it works fine.

Ethernet switches allow your Ethernet cards to operate in Full Duplex mode instead of Half Duplex. Full Duplex means that you can be sending and receiving data at the same time. Switches also route traffic directly between ports instead of broadcasting traffic across all ports. This basically means that each port on a switch gets dedicated bandwidth instead of shared bandwidth. When transferring large AC recordsets/files between multiple computers in a peer-to-peer file-server platform, this can make a big difference in how well your LAN operates.

4) You may need to find the offending switch or computer or cable by process of elimination- disconnect and shut off all machines except 1 workstation and the "server" or host machine. Test different computers as the "host". See if there are variant speed issues which may be due to defective cards, cables, software. Try to isolate the problematic computer.

5) If the above doesn't work, then read my first note again.

That Tigerdirect deal is great! On eBay there were only 8 "Intel RAID Server" deals and they featured just way too much, including 2 TERABYTE systems for $1500 to $2500.

Cheers,
Al

Leila,

Please let us knnow how you are progressing.

I'll agree with most of the above and spell out my thoughts briefly and concisely:

1) You MUST make all machines XP Pro. XP Home will absolutely kill your whole system. I know, because I made this mistake for 1-1/2 years. This is the biggest and most important piece of advice. If you do nothing else, do this.

2) Cough up the money for a true server. P2P does in fact work. However, a server-client system gives WAY more stability of the system.

3) Make sure your computers are communicating through a Network Switch, NOT a Network Hub.

4) CAT 5e or CAt 6 cabling a must (CAT 6 is better).

5) make certain you have a Hardware firewall interfacing between your internet modem and your Network Switch.

Let us know how you make out.

I've talked to a small computer manufacturer in my city who can install XP-Pro (legally of course)to the rest of my computers for a discounted price.

Thanks for all your help guys. Really appreciate it.

Leila

I use this website to figure out if any startup items are harmful/unnecessary.
http://www.processlibrary.com/
If process seems to be suspicious, I enter it into <Find a proces> field and get a quick description of what it is.


You can save money by installing Windows XP-Pro by yourself. The latest issue of PC Magazine published a detailed instructions on how to replace Windows Vista with XP by yourself.

Leila,

If you get a chance, would you mind commenting on the other suggestions. If they weren't helpful to you, they may be helpful to someone else. While XP Pro is essential overall to your network, if they were all "seeing" the "server," I am not completely sure that the change will solve your issue.

Apricot makes a very valid point. Installing any OS is not that difficult. It is always good to know how as you may need to do it again. Besides, installing it will give you a better feel for the overall network.

It doesn't matter what OS is on your PC at the time. You just put in the Windows XP Pro disc, reboot your machine and watch for the message that says...Boot from CD. Click on ANY key. Then follow the prompts. Windows will load all your files for you. The only slightly difficult part would be the screen where you create a partition and format the drive. Even that is easy if you follow the instructions. But, I am sure anyone on here could talk you through it. Once you get to the point right after where it starts to format, Windows takes over and you only have to do things like name the computer and set the time zones.

Alas, last week suddenly my EMR suddenly slowed down appreciably. For those of you who don't know the EMR that I use, I use a MS Access EMR not unlike AC with a Jet backend, and I've been working on for 18 years. I've rarely had issues with slowdowns in the past.

This slowdown occurred ironically after I increased the RAM memory in half of my computers from 750MB to 2 to 2.5GB, including the computer that housed the backend tables. At first I cleaned out the softwares that automatically load into memory, but this offered no appreciable speed improvement.

Yesterday I did the following which made amazing increases in speed and efficiency of my forms and reports:

1) I put the backend into the root directory, meaning from "c:\program files\zfilemds\zfilemdsbe_cc.mdb" to "c:\zfilemdsbe_cc.mdb".
2) I switched the backend location from the computer where my biller works to the backend where the HP that I recently performed massive fixes to, including setting up fast SATA drives, 3GB RAM memory, and adding a 600Watt power supply. This backend is also rarely used, if at all.
3) I ran System Mechanic 7, which comes free when one buys the retail version of ZoneAlarm and it fixed and optimized my WinXP installation from my registry to my file system. Several hundred optimizations were performed, besting what I had done previously by far with my 2004 versions of Registry Mechanic and System Cleaner both of whom I'll put to rest now.

I can't believe the difference in speed... Just some thoughts to ponder if your system seems slow.

Cheers,
Al

I did a clean install of XP-pro in all (but one) of our office computers and the performance improvement is significant. The receptionist's computer is running on Media Center and the 'guy' said it is already xp-pro based so there's no need to change.

Thanks for your help.

Leila

Glad to hear it's working better

Same here!

One other issue that I ran into yesterday, with my son's computer that seems to take a lot of abuse. I loaded it up with several antivirus and antimalware programs, including what I consider the top 3 programs:

1) ZoneAlarm (ZA) Suite
2) AVG Anti-everything
3) Ad-Aware 2007

His computer slowed to a crawl. I got rid of the ZA anti-email but this only worked a little bit. If you try to get rid of the active #2 and #3, you can **think** that you've shut them down, but they continue to work in the background (just do a Cntl+Alt+Del to search for AVG and AdAware remnants).

What you have to do is to go to the Administrative section (Start-> Control Panel-> Administrative Tools) then select "Services". In my case, I right clicked on all AVG and AdAware services and selected "properties" to both "STOP" them and to make them "Manual" (from "Automatic").


Problem solved. Sometimes you don't have to reinstall WinXP; just turn off the stuff that loads up in the background! Another excellent (and FREE) tool is HijackThis.exe. If you run it, it'll show you ALL process that are active and allows you to turn them off just by placing a checkmark next to them.

This is a great thread, I have printed out several of the posts here so that I can fool with them at home when I plug in our old server for my "lab". I will offer these observations:
We had issues with the system, and the speed would go very slow occasionally. Really terrible. We didn't keep a record of what we during, but if we had we might have uncovered the cause many thousands of dollars sooner!
Our intranet was set up for our DOS based system. As such it had very limited needs. We have added work stations, printers, and other stuff over the past 10 years. As we went live with Amazing charts we began to demand more speed and at certain times of the day it would basically shut down. We would page overhear, "everybody out" and then when we all logged back in it was all better again.
Our solution? An $8,000 server that will really be useful for some of the things we THINK we will be doing. Did it help? I don't think it made any measurable improvement in the seat of pants speed that we notice. But the problem did go away. Because when they went to install the new server one of the techs looked carefully at the cable (DOS remember?) and saw that only two of the 6 wires were attached to the connector! All of the older cables had only two (or maybe three, I don't understand the CAT-5, 6 etc.) wires in use. So we changed all the plugs. Now when I am in a room, and I attempt to have a .tiff file sent to the printer, the whole rest of the office doesn't have to wait!
Thought I would share, make you all smile. It only hurts when we look in the checkbook.

Doc,

Please post those specs on that $8,000 server. That's a ton of money for a small office server.

====================
On the overall discussion. This is just my opinion, but one can get carried away looking at all the little things that are running here and there. Basically, keep your programs to a minimum. A good AV program now covers most spyware and adware and, if not, use SpyBot or whatever and open it and run it when you want to. On a domain, you are far better off using Windows Firewall, and though it isn't as good as Zone Alarm (which is my personal favorite), it will make life a lot easier. Get a GOOD hardware firewall. The only really helpful thing (for me) that a software firwall can do that a hardware firewall can't is to watch for programs on your computer trying to get to the outside without permission. Of course, that means for newbies they have to know what can get out and what can't.

Finally, when things have slowed to a halt, there is nothing like two things to get it going again: a reformat and adding RAM. And, you need to know the logistics of adding RAM as well --you can't jsut add RAM to any old module. It is kind of refreshing to count all your programs -- say 20, then reformat and add only those you need and see you are down to 12. Things just run much better again.

Here is an excellent Article that describes issues with the Jet Engine:
http://www.aldex.co.uk/sqlserver.html

In Microsoft's own words....
The following comes from Microsoft article Q300216.

"Microsoft Jet is a file-sharing database system. A file-sharing database is one in which all the processing of the file takes place at the client. When a file-sharing database, such as Microsoft Jet, is used in a multiuser environment, multiple client processes are using file read, write, and locking operations on the same shared file across a network. If, for any reason, a process cannot be completed, the file can be left in an incomplete or a corrupted state. Two examples of when a process may not be completed is when a client is terminated unexpectedly or when a network connection to a server is dropped.

Microsoft Jet is not intended to be used with high-stress, high-concurrency, 24x7 server applications, such as Web, commerce, transactional, and messaging servers. For these type of applications, the best solution is to switch to a true client/server-based database system such as Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE)[SQL Server Express] or Microsoft SQL Server. When you use Microsoft Jet in high-stress applications such as Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), customers have reported database corruption, stability issues such as IIS crashing or locking up, and also a sudden and persistent failure of the driver to connect to a valid database that requires re-starting the IIS service."

Performance
With Access all tables involved in a form, report or a query are copied across the network from the server to the client's machine. The tables are then processed and filtered to generate the required recordset. For example if looking up details for one particular order from an orders table containing, say, 50,000 records then the whole table (all 50,000 records) is dragged over the network and then 49,999 of these records are thrown away (this is an over-simplification since indexing can be used to mitigate this to some extent). Contrast this with SQL Server where the filtering takes place on the server (if designed properly) and only 1 record is transmitted over the network.

This can affect performance in two ways. Firstly SQL Server is highly optimised and can usually perform the required filtering much more quickly than the client machine and secondly the amount of data sent across the network link is vastly reduced. For most databases the main performance bottleneck is data transmission over the network hence reducing this can give a really dramatic improvement in performance.

Predicting likely performance improvements is very difficult .

George is completely correct here.

The following would only work for wired non-notebook computers

Go to Gigabit Ethernet Cards and Switches.

One Point of improvement would be to increase the speed of the network traffic. Most computers are shipped with 10/100 cards.
Increasing the speed of the network traffic would also speed up the delivery of the data to the computer. Remember the computer would also need to be able to "consume" the data at the rate it is being delivered or there will be no appreciation in speed at the client machine.

In simple terms even if the data is being pushed around the network at 1000mbps if the computer can only accept 100mbps, the computer will not see any appreciable performance.

Bert I had to call the Tech Guy and ask him what I have!!
RAID 5 configuration with a Hot Spare and Mirror Drives for the OS
Dual Processor Xeon Quad Core and HP Proliant. Money included new cables with all the wires connected and the bigger switch or maybe it is a hub? And the new software, Windows server 2008 and a package of 5 remote licenses for our thin clients and so the docs can log on at home.
????
I know it is thin, will fit in a real neat rack when we finally have the room to install the rack. and it has a LOT of fans. Little ones that sit right on top of the processors and can run really fast when they need to. (:-) (I know I am pathetic, but I am learning!)

That's awesome. I was going to ask about hot spares and hot swappables. Hot spares are the way to go. I have a RAID5, which my HP Proliant can only handled. What I wanted was a RAID1 (Mirror) for OS -- like you have -- and a RAID5 for data. RAID1 has better redundancy but slower write times (as it has to write to both drives at the same time), the RAID5 has pretty good redundancy for your data, but the read/write times are faster. And, you mainly back up your data anyway.

Windows Server 2008 -- again right out there. I love Small Business Server 2003, so I will stay with this for now unless they move to 2008 on SBS. I think part of your money is on the switch and cabling as well.

Hot spares are cool because (if you don't know), any hard drive in a RAID5 can fail, and you don't lose any data, because of parity. If two drives fail, you lose all your data. So, as soon as you discover a drive is bad, you just pull it out and slap in a new one, and the RAID will rebuild it over the next 12 hours or so. But, it could happen over the weekend or you may not be aware of it, so another drive could fail, and you would be out of luck. But with a hot spare, the second a drive goes down, the RAID controller immediately recognizes this and starts the rebuild using the spare. When you came in on Monday, you wouldn't even know that happened except for log reports, etc. Then you have plenty of time to swap out the bad for a new one.

My server is relatively inexpensive (OK cheap). It's an ML110 and any "1" model is inexpensvie. Adam went with Dell and probably paid $2500 for his server. I remember when a consultant told him to buy an $11,000 server, I was floored. We talked to one of our online gurus, and we asked him, "When do you need an $11,000 server?" His answer was pure brilliance: "You need an $11,000 server when your $2500 server doesn't work."

Hey, thanks for making the call. Always good to know what setup people have. From what you told me, it sounds like you are good to go for awhile.

Just make sure you DO the backups!

Our Tech guys have been pretty good to us, but we have stumbled on many steps along the way. I don't believe we needed this server but I accept that it was time to replace the old server which looked like a regular PC and was running Server 2003. I insisted that we would go the distance with the belief that we will run this the next 100 years or so. They sold me what I demanded. I was wrong, but confident! Being technically challenged the labor costs are more of an issue for me. And remember we thought the server was all the problem when it was the cables. Oh well. It should run with regular maintenance and present little issues for several years in terms of not being able to keep up to the demands of our system.

Martin,
Heck I thought I shot and scored on this mega workstation I bought with a single Xeon QuadCore running a 3 ghz and reconfigured for RAID 1 for extra data safety. But man two quad cores you really should really be set for quite some time, which is great. How much RAM did you get with that thing and did you get it set up "balanced" (I think they probably did) so all the cores have an equal amount of it to play with? That'll make it sing to the best of it's potential. Mine came with a gig a piece for a total of four, and in that setup as you watch the task manager, neither the cores nor the RAM really get tax at all. All those squiggly lines are right along the bottom for the most part. Darn thing is just walking at a slow after dinner pace. You're must be almost unregisterable on those little screens.

This is how I have always bought my computers. Build 'em big and strong sort of towards the top of the heap, because what seems like "oh you'll never out grow this or you'lll never need that" always comes to pass. The hardware guys build bigger fast computers and then the software guys are falling all over themselves to fill that new hole and around and around they go ever spiraling up and up. You may pay a bit more now, but if you can double the life of your purchase and push it that much further before it is time to put it out to pasture I think you still come out way ahead in the long run.

Heck the tower I bought five years ago this month was just starting to get a bit long in the tooth recently and with a bump in the RAM it really could have gone longer still. But now I've got a good old machine and a kick@$$ main tower for the data folders. And you get to drive a Hemi at Hemi speeds all those years that the software guys haven't over burdoned the poor thing. And that is time and less frustration.

"Yeah, It's Got a Hemi In It" Enjoy the ride...
Paul

All I can say is WOW!!! I'm glad I can build my own servers.

LOL, how much could I have done this for with New Egg and so forth? Just guess?

Well, you wouldn't want to build a network and set up a server completely with NewEgg. However, going straight to the source such as Dell and HP you can't really go wrong. The key is getting a 3 year 24/7 five days a week warranty.

Did I say get a 3 year 24/7 five days a week warranty? The main point is that you get a 3 YEAR 24/7 FIVE DAYS A WEEK ONSITE WARRANTY. You can get an added extention for next to nothing. I don't care what anyone tells you on this board or anywhere, HP's support is the best ANYWHERE. And, anytime you have ANY problem with your server, you can call them at 4PM, and the part will arrive by 10AM the next day, free shipping and free part.

And, if you ask for a tech, you will have one out out the next day.

I had a major problem with my server for which I was out of warranty. The support tech told me I was out of warranty, but it was an easy fix so he put a bandaid on the problem. He then told me to call back the next day to get an extension, but I had to tell HP my system was perfect (which it was not). I called, got the extension for $155, and HP then spent at least $1,000 in parts and tech labor AT MY OFFICE. Two techs on three different occasions. The last tech actually gave me his home phone, his cell phone and his email. He lived twenty mintues away. He emailed me everyday to check on things. It crashed again; he came out, couldn't figure it out, and said, "I can fix this." But, I need to take it home to my bench. He took it home and brought it back in a day completely fixed. HP sent me a brand new mother board, two new RAID controllers, two hard drives, all cables and other minor stuff.

The key with any support person you hire is that they teach you what they are doing as they go. And, don't let them give you that job security crap. If they won't show you what they are doing like, "This is your DNS and it is the problem -- and you need to do this to your Active Directory, then tell them to go elsewhere." In my opinion, if they convinced you to go with 2008, they did you a disservice as Small Business Server would have been a better way to go. But, that is My Humble Opinion.

Think about it. Do you tell your patients you can't teach them how to maintain their cholesterol or blood sugars so you can see them back more often? No, you teach them so they can maintain their own health.

You have a hell of a server with a great OS (again I prefer SBS, because it is much easier to manage with many more tools for free to use with small businesses -- if you ever need to change, I would seriously consider doing that.)

Here is something I would SERIOUSLY consider for you or anyone. Use your personal PC, definitely a workstation and not a notebook, but you could use a notebook. Make sure it has a dual-core processor and at least 2GBs of RAM, preferably three. Now go to http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ and download Virtual Machine Server edition for FREE. Install it on that machine. Whether you use Virtual Machine from VMWare or Virtual Machine from Microsoft, it is VERY, VERY cool. Once you install it -- very simple -- you install your Microsoft Windows 2008 Server onto it. With Virtual Machine, it is just that. You will have 2008 as a separate OS which will have no impact whatsoever on your actual machine. Once installed, you click on VMWare and up comes a list of your virtual OS, click on Windows 2008 Server, and your computer is running 2008 on its own little part of your hard drive utilizing as much RAM as you want. You can play around with it as much as your want -- install programs, uninstall, delete users, add users, change active directory anything, and it will not affect your computer or XP Pro. It's basically an entirely different computer. You can simply go back to square one on it at anytime. That is the best way to learn. The only issue will be activation. And you can also install Vista, 2000, XP Pro or as many OSs as you want and open them at any time. So, if you wanted to run AC on Vista to see if it were compatible, you could do it in Virtual Machine rather than installing Vista on a whole different machine.

If you need any help with it, let me know, but the site above will walk you through it.

Bert Thank you! I will be playing with that at home! (I took home the old server) I have no kick with the Tech guys we use. They have been very generous of time and very willing to teach. They know for a fact that they have job security by the functional level of my questions!!. (We called them one day when a printer was down, I was busy with patients and just couldn't be bothered to look and see why the printer was not responding. Paid them a one hour call to find the cleaning crew needed a place to plug in the vacuum the night before.... at least we know they cleaned!) They don't have the experience with a medical office, and they are unable to predict our behavior well enough to give perfect advice. I was very annoyed when I found out about roaming profiles and realized that any MA could sit at any desk and do the work if we set this up. They warned me that there are some issues about this, some problems of stability etc. So next week they will be coming back and reconfiguring the Drs. machines to have local profiles. We couldn't get my partner to use a proper pass word and various others will log on as the default, and redirect his printer preference and then he loads the company checks in his laser jet at his desk... and dumps the print que into the printer out in the hallway!.. It's pretty funny but makes him too grumpy.

Pretty funny about the printer. Always have to work backwards. Common things are common.

Roaming profiles are the greatest thing since slice bread but can be annoying. I know Adam and I turned them off after awhile. But, there's agreat example. Roaming profiles are basically turned on at the server level after making a shared folder ANYWHERE, then going into a user profile and typing in the path at the proper place. So, if you take the path out, then the roaming goes back to local.

The roaming profiles work great when a user such as your MA always logs out before he/she logs onto another computer. Because when she logs off all of her Documents and Settings including her desktop and favorites, etc. are uploaded to the server in her account in the Profiles folder. That would be the newest profile for her. Now, when she logs onto the other computer (which will AlWAYS still have a local profile), the computer will look at the local profile and say, "Hmmm that profile is from 5/22/08 at 4:28:37; let's see what the profile on the server is -- I see 5/24/08 at 6:40:24. I will load that one because it is the newest." So, that is the profile which will look identical to her last computer and will also populate the local profile and on and on.

Now, the problem for me as the physician is I have three computers I use: my office, room 1 and room2. And I am logged onto all of them at the same time. I obviously don't want to go from room to room and have to log back in and open Amazing Charts each time. This confuses the server and all hell can break loose. It won't hurt the computers at all. I just ended up with about two thousand icons on my desktop. The theory is great.

What's your warranty?

As Bert alluded to, Roaming Profiles is a great THEORETICAL idea.
However, logging on and off sucked. Also, it took forever to log in every time because it was checking for updates on the server. This sucked too.

Bert ended up w/ 5,000 icons. I never did, but it would take like 3 minutes to log onto my computer EACH TIME......frigging ridiculous!

"Whats your warranty?" (I don't remember..) Ah hem.
I have noticed a bunch of icons showing up, and i have been guilty of logging in on more than one computer and leaving it open. I have a problem with my tablet/notebook. (actually two problems.)
#1 I set it on the floor to answer the phone, the dog thought we were going out for a walk, and 97#'s of Labrador STEPPED on the lap top and his toe nail popped the finger pad off the off the colon/semicolon key. Sigh. And when I convert it from laptop to tablet the landscape/portrait hot button doesn't work. So I took it to a store that is related to the one where I bought it, asked then if I could bring it in and leave it sometime, and they said give us ten minutes... Popped the key back on and fixed the drivers for the button. No charge. (I WAS there buying another however!) Then we restarted mine and the buttons were dead again. It seems that it is setup somehow to look for the drivers on the server, and can't find them, and so I will probably solve this little problem when I give up roaming profiles.

>>> Microsoft Windows 2008 Server

Wow... I have to study this; sounds an interesting way to tinker. But, Bert, really- why not simply keep everything WinXP and wait until 2009 when the next Windows incarnation is supposed to come out? MS now says that they will be supporting Windows XP until then. I like the "KSS" idea.

>>> Well, you wouldn't want to build a network and set up a server completely with NewEgg. However, going straight to the source such as Dell and HP you can't really go wrong. The key is getting a 3 year 24/7 five days a week warranty.

I agree- NewEgg is entirely way too expensive. If you REALLY look at the Dell/HP site specs, they do sell expensive units too. Warranty on a desktop? Save your $300. At most, you may lose a faulty card or even a hard drive... usually doesn't go over $80 and you don't have to remember where you placed the warranty certificate. Even the HP computer that I discussed last month where I had to replace the Ram, the HD, and the power brick, it cost me less than $200, and that's because I UPGRADED the various elements- only the HD really failed.

[color:#009900]>>> Did I say get a 3 year 24/7 five days a week warranty? The main point is that you get a 3 YEAR 24/7 FIVE DAYS A WEEK ONSITE WARRANTY. [/color]

This is important ONLY for expensive laptops. I used to get this with my Dells until I started buying off-lease laptops about 4 years ago. Since the off-lease laptops cost about $400 loaded, the warranty would cost as much as the item! I don't do warranties anymore. If the laptop breaks down, it'll go to the trash.

>>> Make sure it has a dual-core processor and at least 2GBs of RAM, preferably three.

Actually, I just went through this in purchasing my son's gaming computer yesterday. A "dual core" processor can be either a Pentium D or a core 2 duo, the latter of which is a much better, efficient CPU (see http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070421120250AAQuGlO). The quad-core CPUs are overkill at this time.

What I don't get is why the server cost $8000. Heck, my son's computer's specs were as follows:

-- Core 2 Duo E6850 4GB 320GB DVDRW 8600GT 512MB Gaming PC
-- Intel Core 2 Duo (2 x 3GHz)
-- GeForce 8600GT 512MB HDTV-Out PCI-E16X (this is a top-of-the-line video card)
-- Memory: Patriot 4GB DDR2 PC6400 800GHz Dual channel
-- Hard Drive: Westrn Digital 320GB 16MB SATA300 Hard Drive (most HD have only 8MB on-board memory, the WD HD is one of the best HD companies)
-- plus a whole host of other amenities, including the cool case

COST: $723.00 (including shipping, URL- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300227277459&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=020)

The only upgrade that this would need is to have another HD ($80) for ghosting and backup.

Now, it doesn't have an OS- I'll put that in separately, from the WinXP Pro license from an old computer being retired.

For all the talk about servers, let me chime in. I was able to build a server with a 5 drive raid array, 8gb RAM, and a dual-core Opteron processor for under 2K.

What was my warranty? I purchased a second power supply, motherboard, 2 additional hard disks for under 1K. So for 3K I got all the warranty I need.

That being said, people buy what the need. There are those people who need support, and I recommend they pay for it. I don't so I won't.

Hey not to loose out to one of you in the future, I like the compromise I struck. I bought from the Dell refurb side at less than half the price and got almost new with like new support. these are some of their top of the line 690 work stations. The support add ons where dirt cheap compared to the brand new retail side and my new quad core towers are xeon fast with 4 gigs of Ram and two 250 harddirves I set up RAID 1 (they came zero) and the support folks walked me thru that too. Although the first tech I got a few days earlier were very good, I was actually doing hald the work with this guy. See how much you guys have taught me...

But I go these two identical towers, with a 20 quality 20 inch digital monitor (eyes are finally getting old and Nancy has always needed such assistance) for just about $2300 a piece. I just couldn't walk away. So they are over kill, the one I just bought for home will last my family for at least half a dozen years. Pop in an extra graphics card and video input card, program with any extra drive for what I create (i just saw a 1 terabite drive for like $199 at one of the local stores) and I can do professional editing on this puppy all day long without it breaking even a sweat. Heck I just might try and do that as a cottege industry thing for extra bucks now and again....

And I've got top of the line, 3 years, bumper to bumper, accidental damage (dogs, cats and kids...) next business day coverage. Just about right for a shade tree mechanic trying to turn computer tech support for starving practice...

And on that same week I got the laptop I'm banging on now. 680 Insperion duel core also with 4 gigs of ram and the same coverage to. And this one only went for about $1200. Oh and the best part is they all came with the Vista cross grade. So I have Windows XP Pro on all of them and it's media, as well as I am the legal owner of an extra copy of Vista Business for each of them as well. Now these come as they were originally order unless you care to pay extra, which I did for the monitors and speakers ($59 a piece speakers, $250 for the monitor and the prices I'm quoting include my upgrades no less, and now those are covered too)

I just couldn't resist..... How could I? We are set for a while, now all we need is some money....

Paul I am extremely wary of "terabyte" drive configurations in anything except RAID5. The reason is very large drives are difficult to back up. If they are not backed up and they fail...that's a lot of stuff to lose.

Gee,
See you and I are alike. That was actually my first gut feeling. So what do you suggest as an alternative? Are these external SATA drives as fast as an internal? Smaller, mutliple drives, Two big mirrored drives? If I want to do video one day at a semi-pro level (and I do!) then what is the best solution for massive amounts of data like that, that also needs to move quickly so you want speed of access too...