Blue screen system halts, CA antivirus, MS Access

[ARC]

I've dealt with blue screens that frequently occur while developing in MS
Access (really bad in Access 97, not quite as bad in later versions of
Access). Finally, I had a blue screen that mentioned a driver: Vetefile.sys,
and I tracked that down to CA Anti-virus. After searching on google, I tried
a suggestion of disabling the real-time AV scanner, and have yet to
encounter a blue screen while developing. I know I should just ditch CA, but
I'm not impressed with Symantec's either. Has anyone else had trouble with
blue screens and developing in Access?

--
Andy

[AnandaSim]

CA and Symantec aren't the only players in the AV market. There are
heaps of others. I like Avast.
Are you on Windows XP? BSOD are usually indicative of major platform
instability - hardware problems, driver similar level
incompatibiliti es rather than an application like Microsoft Office or
Access.

[ARC]

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned the O/S: WinXP Home Edition...
"AnandaSim" <An*******@gmai l.comwrote in message
news:11******** *************@1 9g2000hsx.googl egroups.com...

CA and Symantec aren't the only players in the AV market. There are
heaps of others. I like Avast.
Are you on Windows XP? BSOD are usually indicative of major platform
instability - hardware problems, driver similar level
incompatibiliti es rather than an application like Microsoft Office or
Access.

[AnandaSim]

On Sep 15, 10:58 am, "ARC" <[e-mail] wrote:

Oh yeah, I should have mentioned the O/S: WinXP Home Edition...

The Windows XP family is an established platform. Access 97 is an
established platform.

You should not be getting BSOD unless your specific machine's Windows
and the software that runs on it is not in good shape.

[ARC]

For the heck of it, I downloaded Registry Mechanic, and it found over 1000
errors. Have you ever used this product, and if so, do you recommend I buy
it and see if it will solve the blue screens?

For further information, I have ran both MemTest and microsoft memory tester
numerous times, and the system comes up clean. I have checked for update
drivers for my wireless mouse/keyboard, and graphics card. I even tried
chaning out hard drives. I do however have a large 2nd hard drive (but I had
BSOD even before), and one blue screen mentioned ATAPI.sys, which seems to
relate to large hard drives.

Thanks!
"AnandaSim" <An*******@gmai l.comwrote in message
news:11******** ************@r2 9g2000hsg.googl egroups.com...

On Sep 15, 10:58 am, "ARC" <[e-mail] wrote:

>Oh yeah, I should have mentioned the O/S: WinXP Home Edition...

The Windows XP family is an established platform. Access 97 is an
established platform.

You should not be getting BSOD unless your specific machine's Windows
and the software that runs on it is not in good shape.

[AnandaSim]

On Sep 16, 12:11 am, "ARC" <[e-mail] wrote:

For the heck of it, I downloaded Registry Mechanic, and it found over 1000
errors. Have you ever used this product, and if so, do you recommend I buy
it and see if it will solve the blue screens?

That's a sign that your Windows config has been through a fair bit of
use.

Depends on what you do. If you are talking about a machine that is for
business use, since year 2000, our way of handling machines is no
longer the patch and repair way.

1. It is standard practice to have a system and a data volume.

2. We get a disk imaging program - Acronis Disk Imager, Symantec Ghost
- those kind of tools. Some of these programs are even free like if
you buy a WD or Seagate hard disk, you get a cut down, relabeled
Acronis.

3. We install Windows from scratch and the minimum of programs.
Preferably only one version of Office. We image this to another HD and/
or DVDs.

4. After some use, it's inevitable that Windows config will have lots
of registry changes, extra .dlls etc... Whenever we figure this is no
longer acceptable, we restore. Restoring the system volume from
another hard disk with Acronis or Ghost sometimes takes only 30 mins.

Trying to repair Windows using Registry Mechanic etc... can be hit and
miss. There are free and non free programs like this - it often isn't
their fault that repair does not get you back to "as new" because
Windows has been too dirtied. In any case, if you have an image that
you can restore in 30 mins with the minimum of fuss, you breathe easy
and don't waste time nor are you uncertain.

>
For further information, I have ran both MemTest and microsoft memory tester
numerous times, and the system comes up clean. I have checked for update

That means your RAM appears to be fine. That's only part of the deal.

drivers for my wireless mouse/keyboard, and graphics card. I even tried

Have you checked your Control Panel Hardware System?
Have you checked your Event Log?

chaning out hard drives. I do however have a large 2nd hard drive (but I had
BSOD even before), and one blue screen mentioned ATAPI.sys, which seems to
relate to large hard drives.

ATAPI.SYS is the generic disk driver supplied by Microsoft. That
shouldn't cause BSOD unless your hard drives are really incompatible.
You should set your Windows not to automatically reboot so that you
can see your BSOD error code.

In any case, chasing BSOD and wondering whether your hardware is
compatible or stable or whether Windows is dirty is for the hobbyist -
if you are mainly interested in developing Access and using Office,
you've got to put some distance from those uncertainties.

[ARC]

Thanks for your time in replying! I seem to have more trouble as the .mdb
files inflate over time. I can't rebuild a db on my development machine
(where I import all the objects in a clean db), as this process will rarely
finish without lockups or BSOD. To rebuild, I end up transferring to my
laptop, do the rebuild and transfer back.

So far, the only thing I've found that seems to lessen / eliminate the BSOD
is to disable the real time scanner in CA antivirus. Right now, I'm trying
to focus on getting my program done, and really don't have the time to
reload my system, nor spend too much time trouble-shooting. This pc has gone
through a few O/S's, and does have older hardware, but is still decent in
speed (AMD Athlon 2700). I think for a long term fix, I'd like to just buy a
new case, at which time, I should take your suggestion and ghost the machine
after it's all set.

For now, I'll have to live with the arm-wrestling I go through to get a good
version. I do notice the BSOD's are much more severe in Access 97 versus
Access 2007 (just like BSOD's were less in Access 2000 vs. 97). A frequent
BSOD for me is in notes/memo fields in Access 97, for whatever reason.

Thanks again, Andy

[ARC]

Oh, one more thing. Starting earlier this year, I could no longer use the
system restore feature to set restore points. Just trying to load system
restore gives an illegal operatoin and the good old "Send error report"
dialog. I always hit "Send error report" in hopes of bothering Microsoft
into fixing things. A few times I've got the message that my error report
was corrupt, but their suggestions aren't really helpful. I've tried the SFC
/ scannnow util, but it will prompt for a windows xp cd sr2, and won't take
any of my xp discs, naturally.

Fun, fun...

[Arch]

On Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:43:34 GMT, "ARC" <an**@andyc.com wrote:

>Oh, one more thing. Starting earlier this year, I could no longer use the
system restore feature to set restore points. Just trying to load system
restore gives an illegal operatoin and the good old "Send error report"
dialog. I always hit "Send error report" in hopes of bothering Microsoft
into fixing things. A few times I've got the message that my error report
was corrupt, but their suggestions aren't really helpful. I've tried the SFC
/ scannnow util, but it will prompt for a windows xp cd sr2, and won't take
any of my xp discs, naturally.

Fun, fun...

IMO - you're going to have to bite the bullet and reinstall. One of
these days it will crash and not restart.

[AnandaSim]

On Sep 16, 1:38 am, "ARC" <[e-mail] wrote:

Thanks for your time in replying! I seem to have more trouble as the .mdb
files inflate over time. I can't rebuild a db on my development machine

MDB files always inflate over time. That's how they work.

So far, the only thing I've found that seems to lessen / eliminate the BSOD
is to disable the real time scanner in CA antivirus. Right now, I'm trying

If you don't surf the web on this machine or receive email and the you
know what files are coming in, switch off all anti-virus.

to focus on getting my program done, and really don't have the time to
reload my system, nor spend too much time trouble-shooting. This pc has gone

Yeah. Been there. I feel your pain.

through a few O/S's, and does have older hardware, but is still decent in
speed (AMD Athlon 2700). I think for a long term fix, I'd like to just buy a

Athlon 2700 isn't bad at all. I have seen slower Athlons perform more
than fast enough with Office - it's only the 3D Games that show speed
differences. That's assuming you can shove in oh, 1Gb to 2Gb of RAM
and a reasonable HD.

new case, at which time, I should take your suggestion and ghost the machine
after it's all set.

Only way to go so that you avoid predicaments like this.

When you get a new machine, make sure you get 2Gb of RAM and run your
different versions of OS and/or Office in separate Virtual Machines
(free Microsoft Virtual PC).

Regards

Ananda