Why is Access So Slow?

[gnosis13]

I seem to have changed something that makes Access run extremely slow through the network.

For example:
I can start a database on a network share and it will run half as fast from my PC as it will from another much slower PC.

I don't think I have a hardware problem...everything else runs great. I may have made some change in the options that has caused this...can anyone help?

A+, N+, MCP

 

[UncleJack]

Are you running a front end/back end? If so, try putting an empty table in the back end. Establish a DAO link between the front end and the empty table at startup, but don't close it. This will keep the local system from having to establish the connection each time a network call is made.

Move static data (such as data sources for combo boxes) to each front end to cut down on network traffic.

Check your record locking scheme on the slow computer. Check both the database and each form's locking schema.

Uncle Jack

 

[gnosis13]

More explaining...

I am a network admin/programmer/toilet scrubber/etc. I have a number of users who use Access but are not very good at building/maintaining databases. When they ask me to fix or add something for them I just pop out to the network share and open the db....just like they do. For some reason, my PC is very slow to open/close/save anything in Access out on the network. In fact, it is easier for me to copy the entire db to my hard drive, make the changes, then copy it back.

For example; I can click on a form in the database window and hit the delete key. This might take a minute to a minute and a half. Their PC - 4 seconds.

I do not intend to redesign 75 different databases to run well on my PC. I just need to figure out why I am different.
A+, N+, MCP

 

[UncleJack]

Might be a hardware problem . . . network card or something like that. If it's software the only thing I can think of that would affect all databases is that your installation of Access may have got whacked somehow. Trying reloading it and see if that helps. Either way it's a rather curious problem. If you get it solved post the solution so we can all benefit from your misfortune.

Uncle Jack

 

[JimHorton]

Choc,
I'm still not getting where the .mdb is. When you say 'network share', is it the users computer? ie, when *they* open it, they're opening a local copy of the .mdb from their hard drive, but *you* are always opening that .mdb over the network? If this is the case, the next task obviously is to open someone elses .mdb from yet another PC, and see if it's faster or slower than yours.

If the network share is a network directory on a server, and both you and the user are opening the .mdb across the network then it's a tougher issue, and probably is a hw problem or sement issue.
--Jim

 

[Ninabunny]

sounds like he has linked all of their databases to another ie linked the tables to the forms/queries/reports etc. and he is having a problem because access needs to be repaired on his computer...sometimes it happens try to uninstall, after saving your important info to disk then reinstall. I have had to do that myself!!

 

[gnosis13]

more info...

I have a network share mapped on a user's PC as X-drive. User has a self-contained database called Purchases.mdb on that share.

I map an X-drive on my PC and then open that database. The database opens very, very slowly. I click on a form, it opens very slowly.

Users PC is a Pentium I - 166. I am running Pentium II - 350 with 3 times the user's RAM.

I have a friend who said he had the same problem and he installed a program called Cache Man or something and it fixed it. I am not one to put junk on my machine when the problem could be a misplaced checkbox. Was hoping someone knew a quick fix.

I am checking my hardware....thanks everybody for the help.
A+, N+, MCP

 

[tlbroadbent]

Choctaw,

I suggest that you copy the database to your PC and check the speed. Chances are the DB will open very quickly. If you are getting the MDB off of the user's hard drive, the user's PC is acting as a server. I have to believe the "166 mhz server" is the reason for the slow performance.

It is probably performing other tasks at the same time. You'll also be limited by the user's LAN connection, OS, RAM and I/O speed. There is no way you'll open the database as quickly as the user will from his own PC. Terry L. Broadbent
FAQ183-874 contains tips for posting questions in these forums.
NOTE: Reference to the FAQ is not directed at any individual.

 

[gnosis13]

The files are on a network server, not the users PC. The files will also run very fast if I copy them to my HD. The reason I have been looking for a problem with Access is because I can run other very large files off the network with no problem. Access files are the only ones that run slow. A+, N+, MCP

 

[tlbroadbent]

I apologize. I misread the description of the network share.

There is a known issue regarding slow performance on Access 2000 and 2002 databses if the user PC is running NT 4 with a different service pack than the server. See the article at

Access 2000:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q264/2/39.ASP

Access 2002:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q293/1/99.ASP

There are some other issues listed in an article at

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q240/4/34.asp

One of the issues is the version of MDAC and the Access Jet engine. Are the PCs at the same versions of the Jet Engine? Terry L. Broadbent
FAQ183-874 contains tips for posting questions in these forums.
NOTE: Reference to the FAQ is not directed at any individual.

 

[gnosis13]

Not sure....you just gave me a bunch to work on. Thanks for the great help! A+, N+, MCP