Access 2000 runtime problems with RAID hard disk drives

[Max Brown]

I have written an Access 2000 database and distributed it to various users
via the runtime libraries so no computer is required to have Access in order
to run this database. One user has written back saying she has experienced
problems with her RAID hard disk and thinks it is related to the Access 2000
runtime libraries. I'm not sure of the exact nature of the problem she
experienced and am not familiar with RAID hard drives. Can anyone offer any
insight into this problem?

 

[Chris Mills]

This is just a guess...I have no experience of RAID drives.

It sounds like "happenstance" to me. Can this be proved for more than a single
installation? They may have other problems, merely by happenstance. That is
how I'd see it, if I came across it and until I proved otherwise. I don't
recall a discussion of RAID drives in this context.

Either RAID drives work reliably with all software or they dont...

It is often said that Access is particularly sensitive to things like (network
reliability, whatever). There are enough reports, to suggest Access is a good
test of a "system"!

Other than that, I wouldn't speculate. For instance, with a Runtime Access she
has no business speculating that it's to do with "runtime libraries" (Since
Access is actually identical but with different disabling registry settings).
Even if they were different libraries, what is the speculation of "runtime
libraries" vs something else? This would assume they have tested OK under full
Access, but you haven't said that they have. Also, you don't really give a
precise error description.

(I myself am struggling with some imaging extensions which works on some
installations and not others. The customer thinks it's related to Runtime
Access or not, because that's how it seems to them. But I think it's related
to Graphics Filters or OLE Imaging Servers and the like, which is not really
related to Runtime at all it just seems so, on the face of it. Irrelevant,
except how easy it is to blame something when you have insufficient
installations or in my case inexperience with a given aspect)

Chris

(does her installation otherwise work fine if she installs the files on her
local disk? Access itself should always be installed on the local disk
(excepting Terminal Server), so "runtime libraries" would (for yet another
reason) hardly be that problem)
(I'm just thinking, and I'm now out ;-) )

 

[Max Brown]

Thanks for the insight Chris,
Sorry, I did leave out the error - it is - "You do not have exclusive access
to the database at this time. If you proceed to make changes, you may not be
able to save them later." This message comes up about 15 times but after that
there are no further problems. Changes can be saved with no problems, it is
just a nuisance to have to click OK to 15 messages before you can use the
program.

I have heard from one other user that they have seen this message but there
are at least 30 - 40 other users that have not reported it (they could be
seeing it but not reporting it). I did some testing on my machine. I do not
get the error on various testing machines around here but on my development
machine I do get the same error but only one time and only if I am connected
to the system.mdw. I develop under my own mdw file but distribute with the
system.mdw.

I also dug up the original user's idea of what is causing her problem. This
is what she wrote to me - "I believe I have the "error" figured out. This new
computer has a RAID
drive. Access 2000 is simply not designed for a dual drive storage device
that is polling and storing database between the device. The database is "in
use" because it is a dual drive design."

Since it is not causing any real problem, I am not that worried about it,
more curious.

Thanks again for taking the time to give me your thoughts.