| PublicationDate: 4/14/97 Summary: Referential Integrity Errors Author: CPS - Central Processing System (CPS) To: All EDExpress Users From: CPS Customer Service Subject: Referential Integrity Errors A very small number of EDExpress users have experienced database corruption problems in 97-98 EDExpress which have been serious enough to break the referential integrity within the database. The majority of these users are operating in a standalone environment using Windows 3.1. The problem is caused when system resources drop below an acceptable level that each PC needs to operate. When this happens, it creates an environment in which, if the PC locks up or gets a General Protection Fault (GPF) error, the EDExpress database can be rendered completely unusable and must be recreated either from a back-up or from scratch. Normal procedures for fixing a damaged database is to run Repair and Compact. When the user runs the Compact utility they will receive a "Cannot add or change record. Referential integrity rules require a related record" error in a specific table. No workaround exists for this problem. Users who receive this error will need to fully reinstall EDExpress and reimport all ISIR files into the software. Packaging and Direct Loan data must also be recreated. To avoid this problem, make sure you are running EDExpress on a CPU that meets the recommended requirements as listed in the version 3.3 EDExpress Install Guide. Do not have other applications active and taking up system resources while running EDExpress. This problem is occurring because the number of tables opened while importing ISIRs has increased from last year. Currently, EDExpress opens 10 tables while importing ISIRs. NCS is modifying the software to open tables only when they are needed during the ISIR Import process. This in turn will require less resources from the client CPU therefore eliminating the problem. NOTE: It is critical for all EDExpress users to back up their databases at least once per day. Users who regularly backup their database but want additional data security can do so quickly by making a copy of their EXPRESS8.MDB. Ensure you have enough hard drive space for this copy before you start the process. Please consult with your institution's technical support for assistance in making a backup or copy of your database. NCS is working diligently to get this change into Version 3.4 which you can expect to receive by May 10, 1997. If you have any questions please call CPS Customer Service at 1-800-330-5947, Option 8. |