Alpha Software Mobile Development Tools:   Alpha Anywhere    |   Alpha TransForm subscribe to our YouTube Channel  Follow Us on LinkedIn  Follow Us on Twitter  Follow Us on Facebook

Announcement

Collapse

The Alpha Software Forum Participation Guidelines

The Alpha Software Forum is a free forum created for Alpha Software Developer Community to ask for help, exchange ideas, and share solutions. Alpha Software strives to create an environment where all members of the community can feel safe to participate. In order to ensure the Alpha Software Forum is a place where all feel welcome, forum participants are expected to behave as follows:
  • Be professional in your conduct
  • Be kind to others
  • Be constructive when giving feedback
  • Be open to new ideas and suggestions
  • Stay on topic


Be sure all comments and threads you post are respectful. Posts that contain any of the following content will be considered a violation of your agreement as a member of the Alpha Software Forum Community and will be moderated:
  • Spam.
  • Vulgar language.
  • Quotes from private conversations without permission, including pricing and other sales related discussions.
  • Personal attacks, insults, or subtle put-downs.
  • Harassment, bullying, threatening, mocking, shaming, or deriding anyone.
  • Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Sexually explicit or violent material, links, or language.
  • Pirated, hacked, or copyright-infringing material.
  • Encouraging of others to engage in the above behaviors.


If a thread or post is found to contain any of the content outlined above, a moderator may choose to take one of the following actions:
  • Remove the Post or Thread - the content is removed from the forum.
  • Place the User in Moderation - all posts and new threads must be approved by a moderator before they are posted.
  • Temporarily Ban the User - user is banned from forum for a period of time.
  • Permanently Ban the User - user is permanently banned from the forum.


Moderators may also rename posts and threads if they are too generic or do not property reflect the content.

Moderators may move threads if they have been posted in the incorrect forum.

Threads/Posts questioning specific moderator decisions or actions (such as "why was a user banned?") are not allowed and will be removed.

The owners of Alpha Software Corporation (Forum Owner) reserve the right to remove, edit, move, or close any thread for any reason; or ban any forum member without notice, reason, or explanation.

Community members are encouraged to click the "Report Post" icon in the lower left of a given post if they feel the post is in violation of the rules. This will alert the Moderators to take a look.

Alpha Software Corporation may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it.



Bonus TIPS for Successful Posting

Try a Search First
It is highly recommended that a Search be done on your topic before posting, as many questions have been answered in prior posts. As with any search engine, the shorter the search term, the more "hits" will be returned, but the more specific the search term is, the greater the relevance of those "hits". Searching for "table" might well return every message on the board while "tablesum" would greatly restrict the number of messages returned.

When you do post
First, make sure you are posting your question in the correct forum. For example, if you post an issue regarding Desktop applications on the Mobile & Browser Applications board , not only will your question not be seen by the appropriate audience, it may also be removed or relocated.

The more detail you provide about your problem or question, the more likely someone is to understand your request and be able to help. A sample database with a minimum of records (and its support files, zipped together) will make it much easier to diagnose issues with your application. Screen shots of error messages are especially helpful.

When explaining how to reproduce your problem, please be as detailed as possible. Describe every step, click-by-click and keypress-by-keypress. Otherwise when others try to duplicate your problem, they may do something slightly different and end up with different results.

A note about attachments
You may only attach one file to each message. Attachment file size is limited to 2MB. If you need to include several files, you may do so by zipping them into a single archive.

If you forgot to attach your files to your post, please do NOT create a new thread. Instead, reply to your original message and attach the file there.

When attaching screen shots, it is best to attach an image file (.BMP, .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, etc.) or a zip file of several images, as opposed to a Word document containing the screen shots. Because Word documents are prone to viruses, many message board users will not open your Word file, therefore limiting their ability to help you.

Similarly, if you are uploading a zipped archive, you should simply create a .ZIP file and not a self-extracting .EXE as many users will not run your EXE file.
See more
See less

A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

    Michael,
    I (and doubtless others) have had A4 and A5 applications coexisting on the same machine for several years without experiencing conflicts between them.

    I think it is probably just a coincidence.

    Bill
    Bill Hanigsberg

    Comment


      #17
      RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

      First, re the license count exceeded. For some reason we can never get beyond 5 users, even though we've purchased 10 licenses and a single license. Following Selwyn's emails should have worked, but didn't. I've hacked and broken their license count numbering system (sorry, won't tell anyone, so don't ask - just did it to see if it would make a difference, which it didn't, but it's only 1 way to bypass the license count . . . ). The most common cause of this message is the MUF (MultiUserfile ?) not resetting when someone exist A5. You might want to check the server. Sometimes a user will log-off (or crash) and leave an open reference in the server's AppName.MUF file. Get everyone out of A5, and then go to each system, and do a [Ctrl][Alt][Del] to see if they still have A5 or A5 halt loaded. If so, click [End Task] to get them out. Sometimes you have to reboot the server and then delete the AppName.MUF file, which keeps track of how many users are using the app) to reset it. You can also use Win98's network checker to see who's still connected and then disconnect them from the menu bar. WARNING. Sometimes the user will be shown to have open files. If this is the case, shut down from the user's system in order to lower the chance that any of the open files may become corrupted.

      Secondly, Elliott and I frequently "discuss" VxD errors.

      While a VxD error can exist from memory over-writes, it can also occur if you have removed some software/hardware and, while the uninstall program is supposed to do it, not all references to the VxD are removed from your start-up/ini files. There was a discussion concerning this on ZDTV (satellite tv station). You might be able to find more info re this at their site (probably something like www.zdtv.com). If it helps, and you can come up with a Win9x equivalent (PLEASE LET US KNOW!), in Win 3.11 (A5v1.02) we used the memory range exclusion in the bootup HIMEM command to cover the video board's RAM to exclude it from available RAM for Win programs. It fixed almost every problem we had with heap lock errors.

      Since we infrequently (Elliott says not quite infrequently, and he's there during days, me at nights, so he'd know better) have heap locks in testing v5 in a full production environment, and since Microsoft has a nasty habit of changing lots of (almost said a bad word) stuff with each release of their software (sentence will be MUCH too long, just pretend it ended making sence). In emails with Dr Wayne he suggested, and I agree, that there could be something in newer versions of Microsoft's language compilers, Win9x APIs, etc, which results in the heap locks. In numerous emails with Selwyn, he's stated that Alpha hasn't changed anything that would affect the heap lock problem. This would tend to support Dr. Wayne's comment.

      I gotta learn to write 20 word responses.

      All I know is that v5 is more stable (and a LOT more powerful - Micorsoft is in trouble!). We have issues with a couple of things, and Selwyn's emails state that they are working on them. I have total faith that Selwyn and his wizards will resolve these issues, making v5 the most flexible and most powerful database developement tool on the market. (So, for those of you who think I'm too hard on Alpha in some of my posts, relax. I just get stressed and burnt out sometimes too. Especially when the boss isn't happy and I can't do my "magic" - his words - and come up with a work around.)

      Comment


        #18
        RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

        Finally...I've been able to figure out what (not why) is making my A5 crash.

        This is what is happening when I load A5

        *I double click the A5 icon on my desktop

        *A5 opens

        *a window titled "welcome to A5" displays a list of most recent databases to choose from with the first A5 db listed being the one I want to open, also being highlighted in blue.

        *I press "enter" on the numeric keypad to select that database

        *nothing happens

        *I use my mouse to select the database by pressing the "finish" button at the bottom of the window.

        *the database begins to load, however, a box is diplayed indicating "this program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down."

        *I press close, and the program closes.

        *when I try to reload the program I am shown the message "alpha five license count exceeded. DB already in use by one or more A5 users on the network. (nobody else is using the database or A5 anywhere on the network)

        *I "must" reboot to be able to get A5 to load that database with no problem and I "cannot" press "enter" to select the DB, otherwise the problem will re-ocurr.

        I have found that if I try to select the database that is first in the list and already hightlighted in blue by pressing "enter", A5 will crash every time and I must then restart windows to get A5 to load and if I again press "enter" to select the first database in the list A5 will crash each time. If I make the selection using the mouse, A5 & the databases will open without any problem.

        Well, thanks for listening. Seems like pressing enter to select the DB is somehow the problem. Could it be a bug within A5? Is it repeatable on your machine?

        Thanks,
        Mike

        Thank you,
        Mike Konoff

        Comment


          #19
          RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

          Mike,

          What version and build number of A5 are you using? When I start A5V4 build 230, I do not get a Welcome to A5 screen. I also don't have a finish button. I get a blank screen with 3 menu options File, View and Help. Hitting the enter key opens the file list. Down arrow to the first database listed and press the enter key again to open the database. Both the full and runtime versions work the same.

          Are you using an autoexec script? Have you compacted the database that causes the problem? Or does the problem occur regardless of what database is at the top of the list?

          In any case, memory problems can cause weird behavior in any program. I have a home computer running Win98 that "loses" the Tab key when system memory is low. Tab behavior becomes erratic and then stops working altogether. My work conmputer just gets very slow if rescources are low.

          Jerry

          Comment


            #20
            RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

            I'm using A5-V4.03 build 230. I get the cabinet-guy when A5 loads. Then I'm supplied a window listing the most recent databases for choosing. It's at that point if I press enter A5 will crash upon loading & I'll have to reboot to be able to get A5 to load without seeing the licence count exceeded message.

            Mike
            Thank you,
            Mike Konoff

            Comment


              #21
              RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

              Strange behavior. I use the same version and build and can't duplicate the problem. Have you tried to reinstall A5? What has focus (is highlighted) as soon as the A5 window opens? I get the cabinet guy and then a blank screen. I have to take some click on "file" on the menu to get the file list. Pressing the enter key does nothing until a menu item has focus.

              Also, I have found that some "crashes" don't give the license count exceeded message since it appears that A5 actually closes correctly in those cases.

              Jerry

              Comment


                #22
                RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

                Hi Mike,

                >>If I make the selection using the mouse, A5 & the databases will open without any problem.

                Comment


                  #23
                  RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

                  Yes, when I get the window the adb is highlighted blue.

                  Funny thing, today, when I load A5, I don't get that window at all. I too now have a blank screen and have to make my adb selection from the File menu. So, with no window open showing a highlighted adb there is no reason for me to press enter...nothing to select. So at this point, I just go in there with my mouse and choose my adb.

                  Using Win98.

                  Strange.

                  Thank you,
                  Mike
                  Thank you,
                  Mike Konoff

                  Comment


                    #24
                    RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

                    To get the most recently used files screen on startup, you have to change a registry entry. I don't remember how to do it so I'd post a message.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

                      ..."of which I am aware." :>)

                      Comment


                        #26
                        RE: A5 crash, then can't load & must re-boot

                        The following registry entry controls the opening file dialog:

                        [HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Alpha Software/Alpha Five 4.0/Application]
                        "Disable Startup Database Dialog"=dword:00000000

                        If dword is 0, the dialog is disabled or displayed. If it is 1, it is not displayed.

                        Also, the program StartCop might be named Startup Cop. It is great.

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X