Macola for DOS v.6.71 Locking Problem

[OlafBerzerker]

We've recently upgraded the hardware for our Netware 5.1 server, which went great except for one issue within Macola. Now, intermittently, whenever we try to Post Invoices to A/R, we'll receive a message similar to "A Locked File has been Encountered. Would you like to wait for the file to be released? Y/N. At this point, we have to kick everyone out of Macola in order to post. The workstation itself must be forcefully exited from Macola, as hitting the Y key, even after getting everyone out of the app, has no effect.

Has anyone encountered this issue before, or have some advice as to irradicating it?

 

[MacolaHelp]

What version of btrieve are you using? Do you have trx control turned on in the company setup? If you are using local btrieve, you would get the symptom you describe. Microfocus didn't do record locking, so you always had to have everyone out of something like posting invoices.

 

[OlafBerzerker]

We're using the version of btrieve that comes with Netware 5.1 - v7.5.1.001. trx control should be on (though I'll double-check); this setup should be identical to the setup we had previous to moving Macola to a new server (we did not have this issue prior to the move). I made sure that all the Btrieve-related Netare NLM's (btrieve.nlm, brouter.nlm, etc.) were the exact same versions.

I did check all workstations for local copies of btrieve, and found none. Very strange...

 

[MacolaHelp]

You are testing my memory, here. Scary. Netware 5 came with a limited edition of pervasive 7 (2 users, I think) & we used to have to completely uninstall pvsw7 from netware & reinstall the server version of 10+ (10 user increments) licenses. It sounds like that is what you are experiencing. Again, what version of pervasive do you actually own that you can install on NW5x? They are selling version 8 now & I don't recall if Netcellent (v6.71 Macola) runs on it or not. Ask NSI this question B4 you buy. I have only experience thru psql2000i. Btrieve has always been backward compatible, so unless the have decided that everyone is on NT/win2k servers, you should be fine.

 

[dgillz]

Please clarify, are you running Macola, or Netcellent's Elliot system, a spin-off of Macola?

Elliot would be version 6.7x, Macola Progression would be version 7.5x/7.6x.

Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports

http://www.trianglepartners.com

 

[OlafBerzerker]

Ahh, thanks. Since I'm new to Macola/Elliot, didn't realize there was a difference. Indeed, we are running Elliot v6.71 from Netcellent.

 

[maccrystal]

Based on the information supplied it would appear that the version of Pervasive is PSQL2000. Version 7 of PSQL began with 7.0.xxxx. I would suspect you have the OEM Version that shipped with 5.1, as MacolaHelp stated it has a limited number of users 2 or three after the time limit expires. The Netware server info I have shows the initial release of PSQL2000 is 7.5.146, with Service pack 4 being(7.94.251.000) is the last available for PSQL2000. Novell 5.1 was shipped with a 90 day unlimited license that will convert to 2 users at the end, so you should determine is you have the proper licensing or your users will be very unhappy at the end of 90 days. I remember this several years ago when Netware 5.1 & 4.2 started shipping...got lots of call for license disk upgrades.

You should also check you PSQL Parameters to be sure you have enough Active Clients, File handles, Max Open Files, sessions, etc.... Your error can be caused if one, file handles is set to low. You will need to change and down the server...it just easier this way.

As for Elliott Version 6.71 is an old release. Your re-seller or Netcellent can provide the service packs to get you to 6.72. Elloitt is currently shipping version 7.1 and it does require upgrade fees to move to the new version. Netcellent is actively moving their customer base to the new Windows version and away from DOS. It's too difficult to support DOS on the newer Windows platforms Win2000 and XP.

http://www.elliott.com

http://www.appstratinc.com

 

[OlafBerzerker]

Thank you, v. good info. Yes, we did run in to the 2-version limit problem w/in Btrieve (NWUCMGR.NLM) initially upon moving to the new server (unhappy users, you mentioned, you bet), but that was a case of simply copying the NLM off of the old server to the new.

I checked trx control in company setup as an afterthought and, lo and behold, it was indeed set to N. Very odd, since our old Elliot setup has the correct setting of Y. I'm wondering if running in to the issue above where our users were actually getting locked out of the application after two users were in somehow tweaked the app settings. That seems unlikely, but that's the best explanation I can think of at this point.

Thanks, all, for the help. This has turned out to be one of the most useful support sites I've come across.