Excel 2002 problems opening files over network

[Daniel F]

Hi,
I??m currently upgrading some windows 98 (some office 97 some office 2000) computers to brand new Compaq Evo??s with windows XP and office XP.
The problem is that we have excel worksheets stored on a file server but sometimes when opening a worksheet on the new computers you get an error message stating that this worksheet is locked for editing by user xxx (representing the last user to open the file) although that user has closed the file long ago and this persists until reboot of the user who is said to have the file open.

I have applied SP1 for windows and SP1 and 2 for office XP but it does not fix this problem.

Best regards,
Daniel F.

[Roger Faucher]

Daniel:

Although it's not an exact match, under the conditions you describe, I would be inclined to test this on one of the failing machines.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327764

Roger

[Jon Finley]

This looks like it may apply:
It has to do with the type of record locking being applied and how to change it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;812937

Jon

[Daniel F]

Hi,
Roger: Unfortunately this does not apply as I have brand new computer that have never had earlier versions o
f office software installed.

Jon: I??m currently trying the solution you suggested and followed the guidelines on this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;296264 which was linked on the page you suggested.
I created the OplocksDisabled REG_DWORD 1
key in the registry (sorry I didn??t mention my fileserver is 2000 SBS) and I have not yet been able to reproduce the problem but I??ll give it some time into the day and see what happens.
I??ll let you know what will come out of all of this.
Best regards,
Daniel F.

[Daniel F]

Hi,
the problem is still there,
I tried opening one of the files several times and it worked fine at first, opened without lag and all good. I waited for a couple of minutes and tried again and then I got the message that "the file was locked for editing by Daniel F." (me)and if I would like to get notified when he (I) stops using the file, read only or cancel and after that if I try to open the file it takes about 1 minute trying to open and then I get the error message "cannot access xxx" (xxx being the filename)
I also tried adding the key

EnableOplocks REG_DWORD 0
(neither of the registry keys I??ve mentioned existed) but no luck.

Best regards,
Daniel F.

[Jon Finley]

I'm anal, so I have to ask.... Did you reboot after making the registry changes?

Jon

[Martin Byrne_3]

Greetings,
We are having a very similar problems with one of our clients. We have applied all known patches, removed all forms of power saving modes on the Evo D510 - created new spreadsheets (to verify the problem was not a compatibility of pre 2002 versions. We have also had the same problems with Word documents. All networking has been checked, including replacing the server NIC. This site is a small 5 user site.

Happy to try any suggestions.
Regards

[Daniel F]

Hi,
Yes Jon I did reboot after the changes but I still have the problem.
The machines I have are Evo D510 too, think this might be hardware related?
Best Regards,
Daniel F

[Roger Faucher]

Daniel:

There are 4 configurations of the D510 (Small Form Factor or SFF, Convertible Minitower or CMT, Micro desktop, and e-PC). I will assume that you have an SFF for now, but please try to clarify this issue.

There are several things I would check if I were you. If you're running XP Home Edition, I'd be very concerned about that depending on my network configuration. I would ensure that the NIC drivers are at Rev. 5.40A (if it's a 3COM 3C90x NIC). The driver is available from: http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/evodesktop/us/index.html
where you'll have to enter your model number and OS to get to the correct list of drivers/updates.

While you're there, I would suggest updating anything that's downlevel but especially, the BIOS RomPaq V2.20A and the Intel Chipset Support V4.10.1012A.

If your Hard Disk is 137GB or larger, grab the "Large HDD Buffer Cache Fix for WINXP"

I hope something here helps.

Roger

[Daniel F]

Roger,

Yes, I have the SFF machines.

I am running XP pro and I have the Intel NICs and latest drivers for those.

I have updated RomPaq and Intel Chipset support.

Only 40GB disks.

No change

[Daniel F]

Martin
Have you found any solution to your problem? Was it maybe just a virus? Cause I??m running out of ideas here and we seem to have the same problem with the exactly same hardware.

Best regards,
Daniel F.

[Jon Finley]

What OS and version are you using for your file server?

If ou are using NT 4.0 Workstation, or 2000 Professional you are hitting a resource problem that can only be resolved by either upgrading (moving) to a Server product, or downgrading to Win98se.

MS put all sorts of limits in the "Workstation" flavor of each OS.

Jon

[Shayne Heidemann]

Hello, I am the actual engineer working on the problem with Martin who posted above.

I have significantly reduced the issue, but not gotten rid of it completely.

I found we had an under capacity UPS running on the server, replacing this helped a little, secondly ensuring the Virus checker was up to date (Inoculateit 6.0) with the latest service pack 2.

As I say, it has reduced from happening multiples times daily to around once per week, but the customer is still not happy.

I would like to know if you are getting any errors in the health monitor under SBS particularly in regard to network disconnects or high data rates.

Cheers

PS My next step is a total reinstallation of SBS.

[Roger Faucher]

Shayne:

What Service Packs have you installed on the SBS server server elements? I think SP3 for WIN2K might be particularly helpful.

Roger

[Shayne Heidemann]

I have applied 2000 SP3, Exchange SP3 and SBS SP1.

I have also applied all of the driver/Rompaq udates to botht he server and the workstations.

Also see seperate post on the forum.

http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0xf25f28c64656d71190080090279cd0f9,00.html

Cheers

[Roger Faucher]

Shayne:

I would install it (WIN2K SP3) as part of SBS 2000 SP1. See: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;326914

Roger

[Shayne Heidemann]

*Looks up at his previous post*

Err I have. See above.

Cheers

[Roger Faucher]

Sorry Shayne! I didn't see your intervening post.

Roger

[Roger Faucher]

Shayne:

This has to do with Opportunistic Locking.
Try this:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;812937

Roger

Roger

[Shayne Heidemann]

Sorry, I should have mentioned I have already tried this.

I hava also tried a new swtich, and locking down the network to 10Half Duplex.

Cheers

[Roger Faucher · Accepted solution]

Shayne:

On the SBS listserver, I found a thread showing a user with what seems like an identical symptom. The resolution was to apply MS02-070 to the WS AND to the server. See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q329170

Roger

[Daniel F]

Hi I applied this fix to both workstation and server and I have not gotten any errors today. I have not tested it thoroughly as the user who has been experiencing this the most has not been in for the day, I??ll let you know after the weekend.

Have a nice weekend!
Daniel F.

[Daniel F]

Roger

Could you please post a link so I can take a look at the post on the listserver?
(hope I??m not a total fool not knowing what that is)

But hey I??m Icelandic, you can??t beat that!

Best Regards,
Daniel F.

[Roger Faucher]

Daniel:

Actually, I'm the fool for just not posting the link (can you imagine how many SBS listservers there must be?).

Try this: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbs2k/message/24794

Good luck!

Roger

[Shayne Heidemann]

Thanks for the research, I will also try this today and repost the results.

The article doesn't really say anything about fixing the fault, but worth a shot anyway.

Cheers