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dbase iv and windows 2000 1

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anyone had any problems running dbase IV under a windows 2000 environment? we seem to be suffering from file being thrashed and indexes being distorted...help! thanks
 
Is it limited to particular files?

Are you getting an error saying :
[Microsoft][ODBC dBase Driver] Unexpected error from external database driver (8961).

Any help you could suggest would be greatly appreciated...
 
have you already found a solution for the problem, if so, i want to know it too.

i have the same problem but i don't know how to solve it.

m.exterkate@ictools.nl
 
Problems with some versions of dBase IV arise on fast-processor machines due to timing loop problems. The program 'falls over itself' - re-indexing files particularly shows the problem. Don't know of any real solution. Sometimes disabling ALL caching solves the problem, but at the cost of much slower execution. Fast can be anything over 166 MHZ - have encountered the problem on some slower machines.
 
Has anyone found a good solution to fix this issue. Is there an updated driver for DBase files possibly?
 
I am using a Dbase IV program on DOS, and it has a problem when I print, it says too many files-opened. I think it's a fast-processor problem, because It works fine on my old 486 computer. Anyway I want to update this and use this on a Windows Format. Since I am not really a programmer, I was wondering if I could just import the *prg, dbf, mdx, ect.. too another program for windows, and make it work. I need help??
 
I am running some major dbase Dos applications in Windows Nt and Windows 2000 absolutly hassle free but I am using DBase 5 Dos not DBase iv.

Maybe you could upgrade.
 
Well, I work for Ebinezer Scrooge. LOL

--MiggyD It's better to have two heads to solve a problem from different angles than to have tunnel vision to a dead end.
 
I use Access2000, and was getting the "Unexpected error from external database driver (8961)" message when I tried to import .dbf files. In my case, the client used FoxPro5.0a, and was exporting the file as a .dbf. Even though it showed up in the import window under dBASE3,4,& 5, it was still a FoxPro file when all was said and done. (And probably had the .dbc extension.) In previous versions of Access, you could choose FoxPro as a file type for import. In Access2000, microsoft appears to have eliminated the foxpro option from the standard import file type list in the import window. We had to follow the steps in the knowledge base to load the appropriate driver through start/settings/ODBC. For more information on Access/FoxPro issues and drivers go to then choose Support(under Resources) from the lower left side option bar. Go to searchable knowledge base. Articles of interest #Q180105, #Q239114, #Q230125, and #Q225861. Hope this helps others out there. Good Luck!
 
As far as the too many files open error gos you need a command that says files=127 in your autoexec.nt or .bat.
However this doesn't fix the indexing problem.
 
I found a fix for the "File already open" problem in dBase IV running on fast processors. It is at:

It is build xx71 of dBase IV, ver 1.5.

You will need the serial number from your original 1.5 disks to use it.

I have not installed it so I can't confirm that it works but it sounds good.

Pat Riley Ottawa ON
 
I use dBAse III+ with Windows2000 - everything is running smoothly. Printing all adress-labels of one file (more than 100- printing OK
BUT as soon I try to print just one or two labels NOTHING HAPPENS!! how can I push windows2000 to print me just one label??? (I use NEC-PinwriterP6+)
 
I had the same problem on a dbf. When I tried to open it with visual Dbase it said this: Table dBase not correct.
So I think de file is corrupted.
 
Talkingh about indexing I use Dbaseiv and have resorted to sorting my files instead of indexing and include in my programmes deletion of the temp files that are created on sorting. this sould sort some of the problems i hope

Boniface
 
Regarding Pat Riley's (Visitor) post of Oct 17, 2001:

>I found a fix for the "File already open" problem in dBase
>IV running on fast processors. It is at:
>>It is build xx71 of dBase IV, ver 1.5.
>You will need the serial number from your original 1.5
>disks to use it.
>I have not installed it so I can't confirm that it works
>but it sounds good.
>Pat Riley Ottawa ON
--
I found this same new build several months ago.

It does improve the situation greatly, but not completely. I still get the "file already open" complaints, but much less. I have been able to work around them. Mind you, I do nearly everything manually. I am not using "applications".

I find old dBASE IV the best tool I have for some occasional tasks, but the "file already open" problem almost forced me to give up on it. I installed it on my Dell Optiplex GX1 (500 MHz). It dual-boots DOS 6.2 and Windows NT 4. So far, I have always used dBASE under DOS.

And yes, it's a full installation. You DO need a serial # that it will accept. Also, it makes diskettes - and only 720KB (double-sided DOUBLE-density - not "high" density) will work. I tried standard 1.44 MB diskettes. Sorry - doesn't work. They were not standard years ago when this package was made. But... you CAN make them in a standard 1.44MB disk drive.

I had thought the "file already open" problems were due to Windows and/or NetWare 5 interfering with the old dBASE IV mechanisms, since it was only certified up to NetWare 3. I would re-boot into DOS without letting the network drivers even load. That seemed to help for awhile, but I still had so much trouble that I nearly gave up on it.

This new build works pretty well even with our NetWare 5. I no longer bother booting without the network drivers.

I usually get the "file already open" error when pressing F2 DATA on a couple of my mult-file queries. Some queries have trouble often. Simpler ones rarely do. When it persists in happening, I find that bringing up the query in Modify (Shift-F2) and then pressing F2 (DATA) from that screen usually works. One complex query I had to split into two - write the first query view as a file, and base the second query on the file made by the first.

Sometimes I have to try several times before it "gets through".

It's definitely NOT a "robust" platform, but for some simple tasks I have found it the most useful tool in my collection, and still "worth its salt".

Erick Starren
San Diego
 
Regarding the post by:
>RobinHood (Visitor) Oct 30, 2001
>I use dBAse III+ with Windows2000 - everything is running >smoothly. Printing all adress-labels of one file (more >than 100- printing OK
>BUT as soon I try to print just one or two labels NOTHING >HAPPENS!! how can I push windows2000 to print me just one >label??? (I use NEC-PinwriterP6+)
--

I get this same phenomenon printing single envelopes from Word 5.5 (DOS) on my Windows 95 machine.

In my case, what is happening is that Windows is "spooling", or collecting, the output - as the printer Properties directs it to. It's a valuable feature that one can turn on and off as needed. The old DOS programs have no way to "tell" Windows they're done. So it waits about 30 seconds, then "times out" and sends the output to the printer. If I close the program, Windows senses it and releases the output to the printer immediately.

Here's how to adjust this in Windows 95. I haven't seen Win2K, but perhaps it is similar. Go to Start | Settings | Printers, select the icon for that printer, right-click it and then left-click on "Properties". Click the button labelled "Spool settings". You will probably find it set to "Spool" the output for faster response. Change it to "Raw". This causes Windows to send the output directly to the printer immediately, not collect it.

When you're finished with your small printing tasks, set it back to "Spool". "Spooling" is more efficient with large jobs - you don't have to sit and wait for the printer for finish before you can do anything else. "Raw" is more efficient with tiny, interactive jobs that you want printed at once.

Erick Starren
San Diego
 
I run dbase4 on a Novell network. The work around is use dbase5 to sort/reindex, it was released after windows and can handle muti indexes
 
What should the memory settings for the dBaseIV application be in WIN2K? (Right-Click Properties on dBase.exe, Memory Tab)

The default settings are:

Conventional Memory:
Total: AUTO Initial Environment: Auto
Protected: unchecked

Expanded (EMS) Memory:
Total: NONE

Extended (XMS) Memory:
Total: 0
Uses HMA: checked

MS-DOS protected-mode (DPMI) memory:
Total: AUTO
 
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