Old Filepro application runs slow under Windows XP

[kyleknapp]

We have a multiuser application (Gallery Software) built on Filepro which was last upgraded around 1990 (how can I tell what version it is?)

We're running it in a DOS window under Windows XP, which works okay, but lately has begun to slow down.  Any suggestions on how to configure a DOS Window to run it most efficiently?  (the application is no longer supported, the company that created and sold it to us is no longer in business)

(We have an peer-to-peer network of 12 computers, all running XP Professional, one machine is dedicated to host files, typically 3 or 4 stations are running the Filepro application at the same time).

I'd like to upgrade to a newer version of Filepro, but it's not my call, and my boss is pretty cost-conscious right now.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
~kyle knapp
Lewis Art Gallery, Omaha NE

[kenbrody]

Can you define "slow"?

You can determine the version of filePro by setting the environment variable PFVER=ON and running one of the filePro programs.  Its version number will appear in the upper-right corner.  (Not from the menu, as the developer can set the version number that appears on user menus.)

You say it's "begun to slow down".  What parts are "getting slower"?  How "slow" is "slow"?  Has anything changed about the network recently?

[kyleknapp]

mostly it's "noticibly slower", sometimes maddeningly so.  Long pauses, slow keyboard response, sometimes you press a key and wait several seconds (sometimes minutes) for it to respond.  Used to be virtually instantaneous.

As for network changes, we recently moved the business to a new location, and at the same time the HD failed in the computer that hosts the files.  So I had to re-setup the network (new cabling etc) and the file-hosting machine (which I upgraded to a faster, newer machine).  All seemed to work fine for about a month, THEN we began experiencing the slow keyboard response.  I can't figure out what I might've changed in the network that might cause this.  I've scanned all machines for viruses and spyware.

But I confess, there's a lot about how networking works that I don't understand, most of my configuration has been done by trial&error and Googling for answers to questions (my last formal computer training was in the 80s, except for a 1-day crash-course in Win95 I took about 15 years ago).  It's entirely possible I have some Windows service misconfigured or permissions set wrong or something on one or more of the machines.

[kyleknapp]

setting the environment variable PFVER=ON

thanks!  I tried this, and now upper right corner now says:

4.00.00 at the Main Menu
4.00.01D when running "Define Files"
4.00.12RN when running "Inquire,Update, Add"
4.00.02D when running "Define Screens"
4.00.03R when running "Define Processing"
4.00.03 when running "Define Output Formats"

I presume this means I'm running v4.0 and the characters after the second dot refer to which component is running.

[brent.fontaine]

mostly it's "noticibly slower", sometimes maddeningly so.  Long pauses, slow keyboard response, sometimes you press a key and wait several seconds (sometimes minutes) for it to respond.  Used to be virtually instantaneous.

As for network changes, we recently moved the business to a new location, and at the same time the HD failed in the computer that hosts the files.  So I had to re-setup the network (new cabling etc) and the file-hosting machine (which I upgraded to a faster, newer machine).  All seemed to work fine for about a month, THEN we began experiencing the slow keyboard response.  I can't figure out what I might've changed in the network that might cause this.  I've scanned all machines for viruses and spyware.

But I confess, there's a lot about how networking works that I don't understand, most of my configuration has been done by trial&error and Googling for answers to questions (my last formal computer training was in the 80s, except for a 1-day crash-course in Win95 I took about 15 years ago).  It's entirely possible I have some Windows service misconfigured or permissions set wrong or something on one or more of the machines.

We might need to think outside the filePro box here...  it *might* be a networking issue, and not a filePro issue.
I would definately test your network cables.
1)  I've had major problems when someone replaced a straight-UTP cable with a cross-over UTP cable.  Sure the switch was able to determine it, but it still slowed the network right down.
2)  How many switches do you have in your topology?  More than 1?  If yes, you may have switching loops.  Layer-2 packets don't have a TTL (time-to-live) like layer-3 packets do.  (Cisco appliances prevent this with STP, [spanning tree-protocol])
3)  Check Microsoft's knowledge base for W.o.W.  Windows XP doesn't have a "real" DOS box.  It's an emulated version...  (windows on Windows), and sometimes flakes out with certain DOS applications.

I would definately start with your network cables first.  Make sure they are terminated correctly, and try to stick to one standard.  Check this site out: http://www.incentre.net/incentre/frame/ethernet.html

I really hope this helps a little bit.  Let me know how things work for you!

[kyleknapp]

Thanks!  I'll follow-up on those suggestions and see what happens