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error 61

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:26 am
by Larry TIetz
I am running BR 4.18 on a Windows small business server platform.

A uiser can get an error 61 when no other users are logged in and when shared files (using management tools) shows no open shared files other than those being used by the single user still logged on.

The server needs to be rebooted to close all files and allow the app to be run without the 61 error.

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:10 am
by Susan Smith
Larry, try re-indexing the file involved. This has helped me in the past. I think it was Luis who pointed me in the right direction years ago - that somehow the index was being read successfully, but it couldn't find the corresponding data record for whatever reason.

Is this a program that has been running successfully for a long time, or have you recently modified it? Are you opening the same file multiple times with different file handles? (If so, how are you opening each file handle - first as OUTIN and then as INPUT? Something else?)

-- Susan

err 61

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:08 pm
by Larry TIetz
Thanks Susan, I'll give it a try. Won't know till next week, client shuts down over the weekend.

Program has been running fine for a long time. Bunch of quirky things, I can't quite tell what, from hardware to maybe even a hacker.

But it can't hurt to rekey the files.

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:13 pm
by gtisdale
If the user logs out of BR so there are no users in BR can you delete the brserver.dat file?

If you can and the user logs back in again, without rebooting the server, do you still get the same error?

Clearing the BRSERVER.dat file should clear the lock error. If it does not then I would look at the cache settings because I would expect that something is not getting updated as quickly as is needed. Could be the cache on the workstation or the server. I would look at the workstation first.

FNGeorge

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:29 pm
by Larry TIetz
How do you check or set the cache settings? I am thinking the settings would be on the server, since i tried runing the app from both a station and at the server.

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:57 pm
by Gabriel
If you go into Windows Task Manager, do you see any other br processes that might have been left stuck in memory somehow?

I occationally have issues with Client Server where the internet connection fails temporarily and the server never really closes. Every now and then I have to go into the task manager and clear out the old sessions.

Also, what user does Status Locks list when you get the error?

Gabriel

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:21 am
by gtisdale
Gabriel's STATUS LOCKS recommendation should give you your first cues about where the problem arises.

If it is a write caching problem you can adjust this setting by:

My Computer
Right click on the disk Drive where WBSERVER.DAT resides
Select HARDWARE TAB
Select the drive you want to modify
Select PROPERTIES
Select CHANGE SETTINGS

(This is from a Vista machine, but I believe the settings are similar in XP)

FNGeorge

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:28 am
by Susan Smith
I would love to understand this a little better:

1. What would STATUS LOCKS tell you in this situation? I assume it would tell you which user has the record(s) locked. Or would it tell you more than that? What are we looking for in STATUS LOCKS and why might it be helpful?

2. Writing caching problems: How would I know if I have writing caching problems? What would this do to my BR program that would result in the 61 error, and by altering settings per: George's instructions, what would I hope to gain in terms of my BR record locking issue?

If these questions are too arbitrary to answer, I understand. But some of you understand a lot more at the operating system and hardware levels than I do, and it helps you troubleshoot your BR issues. So I'm hoping to learn something here.

-- Susan

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:40 am
by Larry TIetz
George -
Should write caching be enabled/allowed, or disabled?

Just reviewing a bit:

Management tools shows no users that have opened or locked the files that are needed. Since the error doesn't show after rebooting the file server, I am assuming that perhaps the problem is not with the index.

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:05 am
by gtisdale
If the problem is related to write caching then it is because the update to WBSERVER.DAT is not happening quickly enough. This could be because the write cache is only updated in memory and not in the control file on the disk itself. Turning write caching OFF would correct this problem.

Write caching is used to make the system run faster. Turning it off will decrease the thoughput of the system. You will need to determine what is most important. A possibility is relocating the WBSERVER.DAT file to a separate network drive that is NOT cached and leaving write caching active on the "main" network drive. You would need to play with this to see if it makes a noticeable difference. To relocate the file you would delete the WBSERVER.dat file form the current location and specify in your WBCONFIG.SYS file(s) the new location. BR will create the WBSERVER.dat file if it does not exist.

FNGeorge

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:28 am
by gordon
I'd like to clear up a misimpression about the WBSERVER file.

This file is used to synchronize reservations associated with workstation IDs. It is not used for file or record reservation, except it does govern which reservation area is assigned to each WSID.

When a file is OPENed a theoretical area way out beyond the end of the file is locked. Depending on what the SHR settings are and which area was assigned to the WSID, a particular set of bytes is locked. Then when the file is OPENed by another user it is easy to see what reservations are in effect.

Record locking occurs in a similar manner by assigning one byte per record way beyond the actual file. This permits unhindered access to data by report writers, and files opened INPUT, etc.

There is a program in Dll_Distr on the FTP site that dumps out this area. It is called printlocks.exe. It has a usage statement that indicates a filename is required as the first parameter. I would have uploaded it, but the forum doesn't allow exe's to be uploaded.

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:11 am
by dmeenen
Another possibility is that the Anti-Virus software on the server or workstation is scanning the file and locking the file.
Turn off scanning of the BR drive or folder and see if it makes a difference.
We have had problems with Trend Micro, Norton, & others where turning off the scanning eliminated some of these problems.