User locks on Access DB

[dsoutherland]

I have a weird problem with a VB6 app that fronts an Access 2000 database. Occaisionally, a user will experience a record lock on a table when a new record is being created. The message indicates the machine that has the table locked and it has always been the same machine. That user on the offending machine usually has no record accessed in the application, but the application is active. The user on the offending machine can close the application and the user trying to save the new record is successful. This has been going on for a couple of years and it began when I installed a new PC for that user (WinXP). I have tried everything in the world to correct it. I have even clean-installed XP on that machine and the record locks still occur. Recently, however, I had to replace a different PC in the network, and I replaced it with one that had seen service in the network before with no problems. Now we occaisionally get a record lock where that machine is the offender. The only eveidence I can find that something is different with those two machines is looking at the open files count from the server (W2K Server). The database is always opened with a multiple (ususally more than 3) file count.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Dwight Southerland

 

[dilettante]

Could be almost anything... besides the machine. ;-)

Have you checked Task Manager on the offending machine for an orphaned copy of the application that never terminated properly? It might be holding the database open and holding a lock when it went into limbo.

Does the offending user ever complain about the application "crashing?"

My guess is that you have a user with an odd pattern of behavior combined with faulty application code. It could even be something persistent like a corrupt application INI file or registry setting.

 

[SBerthold]

To start, make sure you are using the latest OS Service packs for client and server. There are some file locking issues on earlier releases.

 

[SBerthold]

And the latest SP for JET under XP:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...c4-350e-4cd0-a12a-d7f70a153156&DisplayLang=en