I tried to access the Server 2003 forums, as this one specifically states it's for Server 2008, but using "Microsoft Newsgroups -> Windows Server 2003 -> Forums -> General" brings me right back here. I have a PC at work running Server 2003 R2 that acts as a file server. We have a workgroup environment and about 15 users. For the last week or so, I've been experiencing network problems with the server at random times throughout the day. The problem is that although I'm pretty good with computers, I don't know much about the Server OS, is still new to me. The computer was functioning flawlessly for the last year and a half. Now, for some reason, it will become unresponsive to certain types of network traffic. It uses a static IP address outside of the normal DHCP range. I am using 192.168.1.55 for the server address and my normal range is 192.168.1.100 - 192.169.1.199. When it becomes unresponsive, I am still able to RDC into the server and can access shares from within the server. But all incoming requests from clients go unanswered. Additionally, I am able to ping the server but other than that, it will answer no outside requests. I have checked the event log and can find nothing out of the ordinary. A reboot solves the problem until it decides to become unresponsive again. Sometimes it a couple hours and other times it's a couple days. I have tried resetting the TCP/IP stack with the netsh command, which didn't work. I have also tried swapping out to the other NIC just in case there was a driver or hardware issue with the NIC that was in use. The second NIC is a different brand which will eliminate any driver issues. One unusual thing I noticed today was the number of open files from some of the users. Mainly this server is used to host the backend of our Access database. It's a custom designed / written LIMS system (Laboratory Information Management System). Typically, you'll see the users accessing the .mdb and .ldb database files which shows two open files. For some reason, the sessions screen will show that two of the users have 300+ files open, but when you look at the list of open files, it will only show those two files. I wonder if that has something to do with the problem? I have also run the net config server /autodisconnect:-1 command and will see if that has any effect. It was locked up again when I came in this morning, so I shut down the two PC's that were showing 400+ open files and am testing that right now. I ran the Windows Diagnostic Memory test through it's 6 passes and it didn't show any errors. The PC is a Dell Precision 390 that we did a couple upgrades two when we switched from XP Pro to Server 2003. With the old box we were running out of incoming connections because of the XP Pro limit on concurrent sessions. It is a Core 2 Duo T6700 @ 2.66GHz with 4GB 667MHz Unbuffered ECC RAM, 2 x 150GB WD Raptor Drives partitioned into the OS section and the Data_Storage section with redundant NICs and some generic video card. I'm at a loss here and taking a lot of slack at work for the problems. Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Hi, Is there any anti-virus application software installed on the problematic server?According to our experience, it is reported that some anti-virus applications, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection, may affect the file sharing function and its performance. If we install Symantec Endpoint Protection as the Anti-Virus software on the Windows Server 2003 file server, this may decrease the performance of the file server. For more detailed information, please visit the following Symantec Web site: Windows Servers stop accepting network connections with Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 installed http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/docid/2007102613484948 NOTE: This response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft can make no representation concerning the content of these sites. Microsoft is providing this information only as a convenience to you: this is to inform you that Microsoft has not tested any software or information found on these sites and therefore cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. There are inherent dangers in the use of any software found on the Internet, and Microsoft cautions you to make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any software on the Internet. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Hi David, I did see that KB article during my searches, but there is no anti-virus software running on the file server. Any other thoughts?

Where are you seeing the 400+ connections? If in the LDB then the Access front end probably isn't closing connections cleanly. Otherwise the file names and or file types of the open files may be a great clue as to what's going on.Regards, Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup. Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] http://www.microsoft.com/protect

There were two computers showing excessive open files, so I took them off the network completely as a test. Everything was fine for 5 days and then it crashed again on Tuesday. They were showing up under Computer Management -> Shared Folders -> Sessions. But when I would check the "Open files" section, it would only show the two files associated with the Access database: E:\Data Storage\LIMS\ML_LIMS.ldb E:\Data Storage\LIMS\ML_LIMS.mdb

What were the excessive files?These two articles may help you determine who the database users are at the time of issue.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299373/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/285822/Regards, Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup. Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] http://www.microsoft.com/protect

Hi Dave, I honestly don't know what the other files were. The "Open Files" section only showed the users as having those two files open, but the "Sessions" tab showed 300+. I've read your two links, but honestly the one about the VB app to track who is logged into the database confuses me. The server only hosts the database and doesn't have Access installed. Most of the client machines are running the Runtime version of Access and don't have the full version. I do have the full version on a couple PC's, but it's the 2003 version. Can I run this remotely using the same code inside of 2003? It also shows you using the NorthWind sample database, but how would that apply to my ML_LIMS database? Thanks for your help.

It sounds like the front-end application isn't closing connections cleanly for some reason. Oplocks settings on the server may play a role in this issue. You should also consider upsizing the back-end to SQL Server as Access doesn't perform well when it comes to multi-user environmet of ten of more users. Also I think I'd ask them here about this issue.http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.access&cat=en_US_973e53c3-c10e-4523-9213-cdfd537838f1&lang=en&cr=USRegards, Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup. Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows] http://www.microsoft.com/protect

Sorry, I was on vacation all last week which is why I didn't respond. Would that cause all share requests to stop? As of right now, once it crashes, I cannot gain access to any shares. Even simple requests for Word or PDF documents, located in other shared folders, go unanswered by the server. I should have also been a little clearer on the environment when I initially posted my question. At any one time, there is never more than 8 users using the database back end at one time and that would be rare. There are normally 3 - 5 users adding data, at any one time. The rest of the building uses it for Word documents, PDF files, Excel, etc.

I'd sure hope something gets logged to either the system or appliaction event logs when this happens. If not I'd consider malware as a possibility.Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft MVP [Windows]

Nothing that I'm seeing as abnormal. There are only a couple things listed as warnings and errors. The error occurs when I initiate the RDC session to the server from my PC. I get the TermServDevices error regarding my printer. I was told this is normal and can be turned off, but I forget where I go to turn it off. I have also been getting these warnings Printer HP LaserJet 1200 Series PCL on ICP-LAB (from XRAY) in session 2 was purged. Printer HP LaserJet 1200 Series PCL on ICP-LAB (from XRAY) in session 2 is pending deletion. Printer HP LaserJet 1200 Series PCL on ICP-LAB (from XRAY) in session 2 was deleted. I'm not sure what's going on there, because that printer isn't even installed on my machine. Either way, unfortunately, none of the errors / warnings occur consistently at the time of crash. I also get these warnings but only on reboot. I've run the net share xxxxxx /delete command, but that doesn't seem to be fixing the issue. I saw a KB article stating that you can remove them from the registry, but I haven't gotten to that yet. But I can't see that being the problem either. But, here is one thing that has me a little stumped. Every day I've crashed, but one, I receive this message right around 7:59:30. Warning: 10/15/09 - 7:59:33AM APCPBEAgent Event ID 2000 "UPS On Battery" Information : 10/15/09 - 7:59:34AM APCPBEAgent Event ID 1003 "Utility Power Restored" Then again, there are some times the error occurs, but there is no problem with the server. I'm almost always sitting here at my desk around 8am, and never hear the UPS beep, and I don't notice any odd power fluctuation problem with anything else in the building, such as the lights, instrumentation, other PC's etc. There are also other times the warning occurs, but the server doesn't crash for 6 hours, the next day, or not for 3 days. That's leading me to believe it isn't the problem. Other than those messages, there is nothing else occurring in the event log, other than informational events.