I am having a HUGE problem with one of the clients on my SOHO network. I hope someone out there can give me some help or point out something I may be overlooking.

The Environment
I have a Dell 8100 (P4, 1.4 Ghz) desktop, running Win 2000 Pro, that I'm using as a "dedicated" server (it does get occasional usage), a Dell 4100 (PIII, 1.0 Ghz) client and 2 Gateway P6-350 clients, all running Win 98SE. I am using Linksys NICs in all four PCs and a Linksys 8-port cable/DSL router as the switch that brings it all together. I have the router running DHCP. I have a Verizon DSL installed and connected to the WAN port on the router. I have an HP LJ 4100tn connected directly to the router. The server and one client (a GW P6) are connected directly to the router, and the other two clients are connected through jacks in the wall to a small 12-port patch panel and then to the router. The network is configured very simply with specific driver letter mappings for specific software packages and very little internal security is necessary. I have NAV 200x running on all four PCs.

The Problem
My P6-350 that is connected through the patch panel is causing me all kinds of problems. The PC seems to slowdown and eventually hang at least a half a dozen times a day. The user is mostly using Word, Excel, IE and Outlook Express. The problem seems to happen frequently during a save or open operation over the network. It may to a few seconds to open a document and then change one minor word or date, etc., but when the user tries to save the change, it tries to save it for 5 minutes before the system returns an out of disk space or drive letter no longer valid error. If you open My Computer and the appropriate drive, it accesses fine, and has over 60GB of space available.

The Troubleshooting
Within my budget I've tried all of the following to resolve this:
- Reloaded operating system and all software from a clean format
- Replaced all cables
- Tried 2 different Linksys NICs in multiple PCI slots
- Ran a brand new 50ft ethernet cable from client to router bypassing wall jack, hidden cable and patch panel
- Tried other ports on the router
- Disconnected completely from network and it ran without locking up for a week
I think that's it, but I feel I'm missing a few things I've tried.

The Plea
HELP! i must be blanking on this, but other than upgrading the BIOS, I don't know what else I can do (cheaply!) without getting some sort of sniffer (too expensive!) package.

Any other recommendations???


------------------
Thanks,
John

john
i feel the problem is your RAM. u didn't specify regarding the ram on the client system which is facing the problem. try replacing ram. othe reason could be error in the software or the network cable connected to the system. so u can also try by replacing a new lan cable.
hope this solves your problem
with regards
ysk

I have replaced all relevant LAN cables a few times, so I am sure that is not that problem. I have also re-installed the whole OS and software so I don't think that's the problem. I HAVE NOT checked the RAM out yet, but I though that since the user had no problems when they PC was not connected to the network, I did not think it was a relevant situation. I will try removing/replacing the RAM in the client to see if that makes a difference.

I am still soliciting any other ideas to try as well!


------------------
Thanks,
John

Your user is losing his network connection to that other workstation. When this happens the file handle for that opened document is no longer valid even if the connection is re-established. (I'm assuming that your user is opening a document from a network share and is try to save back to that same share.)


So "save" won't work but "save as" should. To test this have the user try "save as" from the "File" menu next time he wishes to save an opened network document.

Good Luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Any ideas why the user would be losing their network connection?? I am at a loss as to what other troubleshooting technicques I can use that are short of spending the $$ for a sniffer...

------------------
Thanks,
John

Your Pro workstation has a limit on the number of connections it can serve. (each share access is counted as a connection)
This is proably the cause of your problems.


Tools such as Netstat,TCPVIEW,TDIMON can help you track the number and status of your TCP connections. (I'm assuming that TCP is the protocol used on your network. Netstat is built in to windows, the other tools mentioned are freeware) Once you get above 10 on a workstation "server" connection problems will tend to crop up.

Can Win 2k Pro adjust this "threshhold" or is it fixed? Does it count folders that are set up as shared on the server, even if they are not being shared?? If it's a server issue, how come my two other clients do suffer from the problem? If I need all the drive mappings I've set up, how can I work around this problem??

Sorry for the battery of questions, but I really appreciate the help and I'm planning on doing some testing this evening...

------------------
Thanks,
John

Can Win 2k Pro adjust this "threshhold" or is it fixed?

It fixed. You will see articles that talk about registry changes that can up a user limit. But those only work with the "server" version of Win2K.
There are also "hacks" to turn a workstation into a server, but I wouldn't use them on a production machine.


Does it count folders that are set up as shared on the server, even if they are not being shared??


It counts concurrent connections not shares. In theory you should be able to connect up to 10 users to a 2000 workstation. The number of files or resources opened by those ten users doesn't matter. However, connection problems crop up more with a worstation that is being used as a "server.

Don't forget to test this by having the user use the "save as " function from the "file" menu. If it works or comes back with an "no more connections" error that would again point to a connection problem on the Pro workstation.

If it's a server issue, how come my two other clients do suffer from the problem?


You'll have to look at how your users use the network. Perhaps this user works with more network files where as the others simply run an application. Or mabey the others use the "save as" and only this user uses "save". Without knowing your enviroment I would only be guessing.


Hope this helps http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I'm a little confused about one thing. On the PC I am using as a server, I am runningWin 2k Pro, isn't that different from Win 2k Server and Win 2k Workstation??

I didn't think I would run into any situations like this using the Win 2k Pro. I figured it would be more of a peer2peer situation then a true client/server environment.

The location is a SOHO accounting practice with 2 CPAs and a receptionist. The CPAs use the system as much as the receptionist, using even more "hefty" programs than the Office suite -- they should surely have more open connections than the MS stuff. They complain a little about slowdowns when they are both in the same package, but right now I'm not concerned with that. The receptionist uses nothing more than the MS products (IE,Outlook Express, Word, Excel) and a payroll program on the server. She's never had any issues with the payroll program or IE or OE, only Word and Excel cause the problems. I upgraded the BIOS on the motherboard last night and ran netstat which showed only 5 TCP connections running. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for with netstat, but nothing jumped out at me.

Again, I really appreciate all the help!

------------------
Thanks,
John

Windows 2000 pro is the "workstation" version of Windows 2000.
The other versions (server, advance sever and datacenter) are "server" version of Win2k. (no kidding, the crowd yells http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif )


Have you tried the "save as " test yet? What we're testing is file handles which if closed is a problem for simply file sharing (IE: saving word docs) and not so much a problem for applications. File handles point to a file and if they're lost due to a disconnect, then when you try to reuse them by hitting "save" the system will not be able to find the file and will report an error. An application on the other hand will simple creat a new file handle much the way the "save as" command in Office 2000 programs do.


So agian try that test http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Netstat will report the status of all tcp connections. For instance you can tell if a connection is opening, closing, or timing out. Most of it's readings are easy to understand even if your not use to reading TCP socket information. What I do is use the netstat command on both computers to see the progress of a connection.


[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 05-15-2002).]

I asked the user to try the test, which she said she will do this afternoon (she's is a bit busiy this morning.)

I will report back when I here from her.


------------------
Thanks,
John