Durn Winders ain’t werkin!!! (Or, how do I get MS Access to Multi-task?)

Factual Questions
1

OK, this one is a bit esoteric, but I thought if anyone could come up with answer, it would be you-all.

I run Windows 2000, (Service Pack 5) on a reasonably new Dell Pentium 4 with 1Gb of RAM.

For my work, I create and run MS Access queries, programs and reports. Big ‘uns. In some cases, 10-30 million rows of data. (For those that want the technical terminology, I ODBC to an Oracle DMS Server). This means really long queries and waits while the query is processing.

The problem I have is while queries are running (both ODBC, and internal to Access); Access causes other Microsoft products to lock up. For example, while Access is processing, I can surf the net, UNTIL a pop-up occurs.

IE locks up EVERY TIME that a pop-up window appears, and Access is processing. No error, it just stops displaying everything. I can <ALT-TAB> tab to other programs

I can open another copy of IE, and it will work until I hit another pop-up. Then it locks up also.

When Access completes its processing, everything frees up, and suddenly I’m hit with all of the pop-ups that were encountered during the process. ( I know, I can load some pop-up killer, but this is my work PC, and they frown upon unauthorized software)

Other Microsoft products have the same issue, in the following frequency order: Outlook (opening attachments), Start Menu, Excel (opening Save As menu), and Word. However, the other programs (mostly proprietary) that I run simultaneously don’t lock up. Ever. I’ve tried to lock them up, and had no luck.

I’ve lived with this issue for almost a year, so this is not a new phenomenon. I’m guessing that MS allots a particular DLL (or something) to the Access job, rendering it unavailable to other MS programs. But I’d like to fix/improve the issue so that I can really multi-task while Access is running.

Any ideas?

2

I’ve experienced this and the only reasonable solution I came up with is to set up a dedicated machine to run all of my access stuff (as an aside I put all of the queries in macros and use batch files to run the databases at pre-determined times so no user intervention is required - that way I don’t have to remember to do this stuff and it’s always ready when I need it).

So in short I would recommend another PC dedicated to your Access work, and another for e-mail, Word, Excel etc. Access is just a big hog and will grab all the resources it can to the detriment of all other programs.

3

My employer used to have a proprietary system that issued nearly constant writes to an Access database, 24/7 in a 365 application.
Engineering discovered the very problems you cite, and as a result the next revision of the application used an SQL back-end, and totally removed Access from the devices.
Things got much, much faster. And more reliable.
In short, the phenomenon you experience is not unique.

4

There may not be a satisfactory solution to this other than switching to a multiprocessor machine. However, you could experiment with changing the priority of Access. Hit Ctrl-Alt-Del, choose Task Manager, and go to the Processes tab. Right-click MSACCESS.EXE, go to Set Priority and choose BelowNormal or Low. (Note: Do not set it to Realtime.) In theory this will devote less processing power to Access and more to your other programs. In practice the results are unpredicable, so you may have to play with it a little.

So where did you get Service Pack 5? Do you have friends at Microsoft?

5

How about you switch your browswer to Firebird, that automatically blocks pop-ups? That might work.

6

Because Firebird can’t do word processing, spreadsheets, or open the Start menu, maybe?

7

Number
I do have <ahem> “friends” at MS, but I also seem to have an irrational need to press “5” instead of “3”.

To the rest of you:
So I’m not alone in this phenomenon; that’s nice to know. I’ll try playing with the priorities, and start lobbying my Director for an additional machine.

I knew you would come through for me! Thanks!!

Eli

8

Does Oracle support remote functions? Then the remote server can do the brunt of the work, and merely transfer the data back to Access.

Another option is running a virtual machine (VM) such as Virtual PC or VMWare. Install Access on the VM and let it hog all of the VM’s resources.

9

Speaking of service packs, have you installed the [;282010]latest one](http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN) for the Jet database engine? It should show up in Windows Update under Recommended Updates if it’s not already on your system.

10

I know this can be done but honestly I don’t know how to do it.

I’m also going to give a shameless plug to a great site I recommend for anyone using Access – UtterAccess.com is a great resource! The members are helpful and nearly godlike in their knowledge of all things relating to MS Access!

11

Do you have more than one version of Access installed remotely? I was getting odd conflicts like this when I had Access 97 and 2000 both installed on the same machine.