Maintenance

Instruction and Discussion: Regularly scheduled maintenance is essential for a healthy database and problem-free system operation. You will need a set procedure, a schedule for maintenance, and a person responsible for carrying it out consistently.

A. Error Checking – step-by-step instructions on how to add to the built-in error checking system in Clients:

1. Table level & form level
2. Adding to error checking program
3. Making a field required
4. Locking down fields

B. Modifying the interface by table

C. Using the Calendar to generate reminders

D. Updates – making changes to the program and/or the tables and ensuring that everybody in the office gets those changes

E. Repairing and Compacting or Compacting alone – using JETCOMP.EXE from Microsoft

Troubleshooting

Instruction and Discussion: Knowing what to do and when to do it when problems occur will save time, trouble and computer downtime. It is important to have one person who knows the hardware and understands the software on a more advanced level.

A. Reproducing and/or isolating the problem

1. Is it only happening to one person?
2. What time of day does it occur?
3. Is it only on one computer?
4. Can you repeat the problem?
5. What else is running or going on when it happens?

B. Finding out where the problem is – hardware, software, operating system, network hardware or software

1. Checking the software – possible conflicts with another program, (e.g., First Aid 97 cut 400 or earlier). Do you have the latest version of all your software?
2. Checking the hardware – video resolution and hardware connections

C. Searching Microsoft Net for information

D. Searching other websites for help, e.g., Novell

E. Checking the Knowledge Base on the Kemp’s Case Works website

F. Looking at the Performance graph in Windows or Windows NT

G. Corruption to the Memo fields – check Tips on the KCW website. (An error message says the System is in use by another person when it really isn’t.)

A Maintenance Checklist

No complex system is free from maintenance. This maintenance ensures that minor problems don’t become major ones. You want to keep your system in tip-top shape. The following are a few extremely important things you will want to do on a regular basis.

Daily

Back Up Your Data
Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to run a backup of your data every day. Almost any error can be corrected or cleaned up easily, except for the loss of all your information. Use separate tapes or sets of disks for each day of the week (being sure to label them Monday, Tuesday, etc.) and rotate them. This gives you five chances in case the unexpected happens. Store a set off site. This is extremely important in case a fire occurs or computers are stolen.

Weekly

Error Checking
The Upkeep Tab contains a report that checks each Client intake sheet for more than 20 errors. This Check for Errors in Client Files report should be run at least at the end of each week to eliminate the most glaring errors on the intake sheets. An advantage of the report is that it can be run using only intake sheets opened after a certain date. This eliminates checking and rechecking the same old cases.

Update Time and Ongoing Cases for PBI
The private lawyer information on numbers of cases taken, last case date, number of hours spent, etc., should be updated on a weekly basis. Do this from the Time or PBI tabs. This report gathers the PBI cases by attorney and puts the totals on each attorney’s intake sheet.

Monthly

Repair and Compact Tables
First, and very important, be sure no one is on the system before you compact and repair your database. Microsoft recommends using their new utility JETCOMP.EXE, which you will find on the Clients 2000 installation CD in 2000JetComp folder. You will need to save the repaired/compacted database under a new name (e.g., ClientsT20001.MDB. Then rename the original (e.g., ClientsT20002.MDB). Finally, go back and rename the repaired/compacted version with the original name, ClientsT2000.MDB. When you are sure everything moved over, delete the old database (now called Clients20002.MDB).

You can also compact and repair your database by going to the top line menu in Access 2000 and choosing in the following order: Tools/Database Utilities/Compact and Repair Database.

Periodically

Update Time on All Client Intakes Using Time Slips
In order for the Client Intake sheets to reflect the total time spent on the case, the Chours field must be periodically updated. This is done by to going to the Time tab and choosing the Update Time in all cases report. This report gathers the time slips by case number, adds them up, and puts the resulting time on the intake sheet.

Empty the Contents of the C:\Windows\Temp
The Temp subdirectory should not contain anything after you first start up the computer in the morning. Use the Explorer to check and empty it.

Defragment Your Hard Disks
Defragment the server’s hard disk if it is running on Windows 95/98 or Lantastic (it is not necessary to defragment the server if you are running on Windows NT or Novell). The defragmenting process groups all the parts of a file together, like straightening out the library by putting all the Encyclopedia volumes together and in order.

Go to the Status bar and choose Programs/Accessories/System Tools/ and Disk Defragmenter. Do this for all hard drive letters on your system (C:, maybe D: and higher).

When Good Databases Go Bad

So you think your database is trashed, eh? Well, it may or may not be. The first thing to do is follow a few troubleshooting steps. Depending on what we find, there will be different courses of action.

Step 1: Is the problem happening on everyone’s workstation? Go to two or three different workstations and try to re-create the problem. If you can re-create the problem, go to step 2 below. If not, or if it only happens on one or two workstations, the problem is probably with the database on the individual workstation. Standard fix: 1) Go to a workstation that works correctly. Make sure Clients is closed, then copy the CFW2000.mdb from C:/CFW/ to a shared location on server. 2) Go back to the problem workstation and copy the CFW2000.mdb from the server to C:\CFW2000.mdb, replacing the existing file.

Step 2: Is the problem with a function in the program, or are you locked out of your database? If the problem seems to be with a function, go to step 4 below. If you are locked out, go to step 3.

Step 3: Verify there is no one in Clients. It is possible there is one workstation logged in and has the database locked. If this is the case, exit the program on that workstation, then re-enter the program.

- After logging in, proceed to the “Upkeep” tab. Once there, click on “Share Tables.” You won’t see any activity or messages and it does not hurt to hit the button more than once.
- Exit the program, then login again. Go to other workstations and try to login.
- If the problem continues, exit the program and open Microsoft Explorer. Now locate ClientsT2000.mdb on the server. Go to the top menu bar, click on “View,” then “Folder Options.” Now click on the “View” tab in the “Folder Options” window, then click on “Show all files.” Finally, click on “OK.”
- Go back to the location of the ClientsT2000.mdb file and look for a ClientsT2000.ldb file. If you find one, delete it.
- If your problem is still not fixed, proceed to step 4.

Step 4: Compact your ClientsT2000 database. There are two main methods for compacting the ClientsT2000 database. However, they both start with verifying that there are NO users in Clients for Windows. Start with method one and if you get error messages, then try method two. Method one uses the standard compact utility built into Access 97/2000, while method two uses the JetComp utility. The JetComp utility is available from the Clients program CD, it can be downloaded from the Microsoft website, or it can be downloaded from www.kempscaseworks.com. If you receive an error message during compacting or this does not fix the problem, proceed to step 5.

Method One:

1. Verify there are no users in the program.
2. Open the full version of Access.
3. Hit “Cancel” on the “Open Database” window.
4. Click on “Tools,” and choose “Database Utilities” then “Compact Database.”
5. Locate ClientsT2000.mdb through the “Locate” window.
6. Click on ClientsT2000.mdb and then “Compact.”
7. Choose a new database name to compact in and then click on “Compact.”
8. When compacting is finished, close Access and open Windows Explorer.
9. Go to database location on server, rename ClientsT2000.mdb to oldClientsT2000.mdb and rename compacted database to ClientsT2000.mdb.

Method Two:

1. Verify there are no users in the program.
2. Double-click on jetcomp.exe (the JetComp utility).
3. Click on button with three periods next to “Database to compact from.”
4. Locate ClientsT2000.mdb through the “Locate” window.
5. Highlight source database path, then hit Ctrl C.
6. Place cursor into destination blank and then hit Ctrl V.
7. Change the database name in the destination blank.
8. Hit “Compact.”
9. When finished, close JetComp and open Windows Explorer
10. Go to database location on server, rename ClientsT2000.mdb to oldClientsT2000.mdb and rename compacted database to ClientsT2000.mdb.

Step 5: When attempting to compact using method one, did it prompt you to repair the database? If yes, let it repair the database, then go back to step 4. If not, go to step 6.

Step 6: Does the database appear to compact, then give you a “No read permission” error message? If yes, proceed through the re-naming steps for compacting and try to use the compacted database. Sometimes the compact utilities will give the “No read permission” error message as the compacting is completing, but it does not affect the usability of the compacted database. If this is not the error message you receive or thecompacted database still doesn’t work, proceed to step 7.

Step 7: Still not fixed? Unplug the server, carry it to the top of the roof of your building…then drop it! Just kidding. If none of the above has helped, now would be the time to call Kemp’s Case Works and speak with anyone on the support team.

Measuring and Maximizing
Window Performance

1. Where do all the resources go?

Windows 98 at start-up: 25MB allocated; 2MB free physical; 1.1MB of swapfile in use
Network components require an additional 2MB
Loaded components: OS only

2. What happens when running an application?

Internet Browser:
Open browser, visit www.microsoft.com
31MB allocated, 68K free, 5.5MB of swapfile in use

Outlook:
Open Outlook and read one e-mail
59MB allocated, OK free, 7MB of swapfile in use

3. Performance factors to keep in mind:

The single biggest OS performance impact is swapping.
OS requires a lot of resources for full functionality.
RAM size is critical, more so than CPU speed.
Incremented I/O included:
RAM bandwidth (66mhz vs. 100mhz)
Storage I/O (i.e. seek time, transfer rates…)
Expansion Cards (PCI vs. ISA)
Video (AGP vs. PCI)

4. Areas for monitoring performance:

Memory accesses
CPU usage
Disk I/O
Network I/O

5. Where do I monitor?

Windows 95/98/2000 – system monitor
Windows NT – performance monitor

6. Performance indicators to check:

Processor usage
Allocated memory
Locked memory
Available physical memory
Swap (paging) file size
Swap (paging) file in use
Page faults
File system bytes written/sec.
File system bytes read/sec.
Network transactions/sec.
Network bytes written/sec.
Network bytes read/sec.

7. Extra Information for NT:

Pieces of CPU usage
% Processor time – graphs processor usage, treats multiple processors as one line
% User time - % of processor time spent processing user requests
% Privileged time - % of processor time spent working with NT service layer (i.e., Exec. Routines, NT Kernel)

8. Ways to increase performance with spending money:

Run Scandisk and Defrag regularly (at least weekly).
Remove any services not used.
Remove any unnecessary applications and/or data.
Have a separate system and data partitions on the hard disk. If you have room, another partition for the paging file would be nice.
Compact databases regularly (at least monthly, but weekly is recommended).
Clean out Temp directories.
Use TCP/IP or NetBEUI at network protocol.
Use most recent drivers and service packs.

9. But I want to spend money!

More RAM is the overall best bang for the buck for your server and workstations.
What do you need? Think about where the bottlenecks occur?

OK, this is all cool stuff, but I don’t want to do it. How do I find a consultant who has a clue?

Question (to prospective consultant): How can I increase my computer’s performance?

Answer #1: You need XYZ….
Wrong: If the consultant hasn’t looked at the system, how can he/she possible know what it needs?

Answer #2: Well, let’s look at the system and see where the bottlenecks are.
CORRECT!

Answer #3: XYZ would me my first guess, but let’s look at your system and see where the bottlenecks are.
CORRECT!

Ask some basic questions regarding the prospective consultant’s knowledge and experience with your particular system:

How do you set up a printer in this system?
How do you add a user?
What experience do you have with this system, and how many users did you support?

Definitions:

Swapping -
Step 1: Windows needs a page of data not in RAM.
Step 2: The processor issues an exception fault Oeh (page fault).
Step 3: The exception code tells the virtual memory manager (VMM) to page (get) the data from disk to RAM.
Step 4: If there isn’t enough room in RAM, the VMM pages data out of RAM to the paging file of the hard drive.

Allocated memory – memory block set aside to be used by an application, part of which could be paged out to the hard disk

Locked memory – memory block set aside to be used by an application that can not be paged out of RAM

Web and E-mail Resources

Looking for help on the web? Here are some places to start….

Kemp’s Case Works website – www.kempscaseworks.com

The Kemp’s Case Works website contains a wealth of information. Announcements for training, program updates, new versions, and other various items of CFW user’s interest can be found. There is a Tips/Talk section (message board) for user discussion and support. A knowledge base and access to additional reports, queries, and modified screens are also available. For those of you with extra time on you hands, there is even a humor section. Need to prove to your director that you REALLY attended the training? There are pictures posted of all the national seminars.

Clients for Windows Users (CFW Users) – E-mail List Serv and Website
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cfwusers/

The website has links to other pages of interest and an archive of mail from the CFW Users list serv. Subscriptions to the list serv are also processed from here.

The list serve is a collection of users and administrators discussing various issues involving Clients for Windows software. The list can be joined by going to the above listed website and filling out a request.

Technology in Legal Services (LS-Tech) - E-mail List Serve
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LS-TECH/

The LS-Tech list serv is a group of legal aid employees and various others close to the industry exchanging ideas and exploring the role of technology in legal services programs. Once you join, you will have access to an archive of prior discussions. The list can be joined by the link above or contacting Hugh Calkins with your name, e-mail address, and name of your program or organization at hcalkins@ptla.org.

Microsoft Support – Website
http://support.microsoft.com

From here, you can search all of the Microsoft sites and knowledge base for support on any Microsoft product.

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