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File in use by another process

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    File in use by another process

    I have a database shared on a file server that everyone in the company has access to. (It contains employee names and their unique ID numbers.)

    The problem we're having is that we get an error (through a generic error handling routine) that states the "file is in use by another process" ... and then it lists the employees.dbf file as the culprit. I did not set this database up in exclusive mode so no one person should be able to lock the database. And no one should have been writing or changing anything in the database (it's pretty much used as a look up database.)

    What we end up doing is rerunning the network optimize on the client side and that seems to the user's problem. (We tried rebooting figuring that would do it, but that never works.)

    Any help will be greatly appreciated!

    #2
    RE: File in use by another process

    Hi Scott
    With 30-some users on our system I have found that some operations require exclusive access, regardless. Like updating indexes, restructure, that kind of thing. To do that, no one can have the .dbf open, even if they are just looking at it. What is trying to run when you get the error? Something must be firing on the employee.dbf to get an error.

    You can also check the server to see who has the file open, and close the resource. Much faster than optimizing every time.

    Also, if the user does a ctrl-alt-delete to restart the computer, the server doesn't get the "I am done with you, close all the files I had open" message, and the server will just keep them open without the user actually being logged in.

    Mick

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      #3
      RE: File in use by another process

      The only process this database is used for is look ups. (For example, a data entry screen the user is completing requires the employee's number. The employee number is a field which has a lookup table associated with it.)

      So there's no way to keep these other processes (reindexing, etc.) from happening? This has become a major problem for us. I figured I was safe by having a database that was only read from.

      Any suggestions will be appreciated.

      Comment


        #4
        RE: File in use by another process

        One thing that might be happening is that the indexes used for the lookup are getting damaged, and Alpha is trying to rebuild them ( it can't while others are on the system )Are you on a5v4.5 build 266??

        In the lookup have you tried to put some kind of filter with a variable?? That could also create the necessity to rebuild the indexes.

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          #5
          RE: File in use by another process

          Yes, I have a5v4.5 build 266. I don't have any filters set up on this field.

          Comment


            #6
            RE: File in use by another process

            Scott, you'll need to watch closely to figure out what's triggering the error. For example, is someone else on the network editing a record in the employee table, when a different person is trying to lookup an employee id number from the same table?

            You might want to change the data entry routines for new records in the employees table. Prevent the user from beginning a new record and then walking away leaving the partially entered record hanging. Do this by saving the record immediately, assigning the new employee ID immediately, then reopen the record in change mode for edits to the 'now' existing record. The 'save' should immediately update the related index file for the employee table.

            Do you notice the error occurs while some on the network are running reports that are based on the employees table, or which are based on sets containing the employees table? I'm guessing here, but this might be a possible source of the problem you're seeing.

            What happens if you don't network optimize again? Could you trap the error at the workstation, wait a bit, and then try it again?

            -- tom

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              #7
              RE: File in use by another process

              The chances of someone entering a record into the database are slim. We only have one person who maintains the database and that only happens maybe once a week. We seem to be getting the errors at least half a dozen times during the week from various users at various times. Though you bring up an interesting idea on doing an inital save and then going into change mode. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

              "Do you notice the error occurs while some on the network are running reports that are based on the employees table, or which are based on sets containing the employees table? I'm guessing here, but this might be a possible source of the problem you're seeing."

              I'm sure this is a possibility. We have the report being run based on a set which contains the employees database file. Why would running a report cause a problem, though?

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                #8
                RE: File in use by another process

                Scott,

                Just thinking out loud here (which is always dangerous!) but might the tables get locked if the report specifications require Alpha Five to build or refresh a query list?

                -- tom

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                  #9
                  RE: File in use by another process

                  Scott,

                  Another idea has occurred to me.

                  Is the error occurring when someone tries to lookup a record from the employee table during data entry into another table?

                  If so, check the specs on the lookup. Is it filtered or unfiltered? If you find it filtered, release the filter and see if the errors stop. I say this because I recall other message threads wherein folks were having trouble using filtered lookups, and I believe the error they got was 'table already in use'. You might search this forum for the threads I am referring to.

                  -- tom

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                    #10
                    RE: File in use by another process

                    I did find one filter on the lookup tab in the employees.dbf. I took that off. We'll see what happens. thanks for the ideas! I'll look at the other posts.

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