Peculiar problem with linked tables

[stevefromdodge]

I've got a recurring problem that really has me stumped. It's causing some bad report data, which turns the heat up considerably. I have no idea where the problem is, so I'll include everything I can.

We have several Access databases stored on a Linux based file server accessed through Samba. Each of these databases is accessed by multiple users, although typically only one at a time. Each database has linked tables to ODBC connections, some MS SQL 2000, some SQLBase 7.5. Clients are using Office XP on Win XP SP 2. The only changes in our setup are a gradual rollout of new, faster workstations, configured with the same software as the old ones. Normally, things work just fine.

Three times though, in the last month, things have went wacko. Some databases have begun outputting bad data, other databases have lost their links to the ODBC databases. We've had type conversion errors in queries that have worked fine for years.

Through trial and error, we've found that we're able to fix the problems by relinking the linked tables. We remove a linked table or two, usually specific ones, relink the table and bingo, our Access database performs normally.

What's really stumping me is that it happens to several databases at once, some linked to MS SQL databases, some linked to SQLBase stuff. Some databases are opened daily, some weekly, so it's a little tough to pin down if they all go bonkers at once, but it seems that way.

Any ideas??

Steve Hart

 

[Geoff Convery]

Two thoughts, Steve, although I've no direct experience of your sort of environment I wonder if a) You've got some sort of virus or malware infection either on the server or on the workstations, or b) There's an undetected hardware problem on the Linux server. A few years ago I had had a somewhat similar, though not identical, problem and it turned out to be a failing disk in the server RAID array.