Access Users

MS SQL Server Users

WebServer Users

This message can appear if the ODBC is pointing to the wrong database or the database has been moved/renamed. Compare the SupportDesk settings of your 'ODBC Data Sources' with those of a User who can log in successfully. You can access the ODBC from the Control Panel (Administrative Tools).

In a small number of cases the problem is due to corruption of the Access database. Try repairing your Access database. You can do this from ODBC Data Sources. Locate your SupportDesk System DSN (probably called Suppdesk). Highlight this and click the Configure button. Make sure it is the correct database and click the Repair button. Please contact support@houseonthehill.com if you have any questions or require additional information. Remember to take database backups on a daily basis.

ODBC Access Driver is 3.5 or lower and is unable to handle complex queries. Ensure Access 98+ or ODBC 3.7+ are installed on client PCs. If a more recent version of Access is installed, it will automatically upgrade the ODBC drivers. Microsoft Office enables cutom install, so you can just upgrade the ODBC divers - please check with your IT Administrator or Microsoft.

If you are receiving this error when trying to login, it could be that your BDE is incorrectly configured. It is probably pointing to an Access database when you have a SQL system. To rectify this, delete your SupportDesk Alias, create a new one for SQL Server, and make sure it points to the correct database through ODBC. Please contact support@houseonthehill.com if you have any questions.

You need to check that the set up for your SQL system is correct.  Please refer to the relevant section in the 'Technical Setup Guide', and ensure all the steps have been followed. You can download the latest copy of the 'Technical Setup Guide' from the technical library which is available from the Customer area.

SQL servers automatically and transparently lock data as required, although different SQL servers vary in the type of lock used, and how granular the lock is. For example, some servers provide individual record locks, while others can only lock a group, or page, of records. Also, some servers provide automatic record versioning or database snapshots so that other copies of data being modified can be read by clients instead of waiting for a modification to finish.

In addition to the automatic locking that SQL servers provide, SQL drivers provide a particular type of record locking called Optimistic Locking. Optimistic Locking allows a client to make changes to a local copy of the record, without the performance and concurrency penalty incurred, by asking the server for a lcok over the modification duration. When the client modifications are finished, the current SQL server record is first checked to make sure no changes have occurred to the record, then the modifications are completed. The operation is said to be optimistic because it assumes that no other client will change the record, but then makes sure of that as the final change is sent to the SQL server.

If the record was changed, an Optimistic Lock failure occurs. The client is notified that the requested operation cannot be performed because someone else has changed the data. The client can then inspect the new data and decide whether or not to make changes at that time. Because server data cached on the client can immeddiately become out of date at the server, SQL drivers always perform Optimistic Locking. This protects the client against inadvertantly changing data that has never been inspected.

You need to click on your SupportDesk alias in the BDE and check the User name at the bottom of the right hand Definition Panel. Then double click on the Alias again. You are prompted to enter the database password. The password you enter here needs to be entered on the SQL Settings tab of your SupportDesk login dialogue. If the right hand definition panel turns bold, this indicates correct configuration of the BDE Administrator and successful connection to the database.

When you set up the ODBC DSN to connect to the SQL Server database, could you make sure that the SQL Server authentication is checked and your SupportDesk SQL Server Login is entered at the bottom. If it isn't, Administrator SQL Server login will be used and problems can occur.

If you look in Enterprise Manager you will probably see a list of SUP* tables in the SupportDesk database. The Owner column probably shows 'dbo' which is wrong.

Suggest you change the ODBC DSN, drop all the tables with SUP mentioned and try logging in again. Then check the Owner column to make sure your SupportDesk SQL Login owns the tables.

If you are using the native MS SQL BDE driver then the 'USER NAME' entry at the bottom needs to be changed similarly.

When you set up the ODBC DSN to connect to the SQL Server database, could you make sure that the SQL Server authentication is checked and your SupportDesk SQL Server Login is entered at the bottom. If it isn't, Administrator SQL Server login will be used and problems can occur.

If you look in Enterprise Manager you will probably see a list of SUP* tables in the SupportDesk database. The Owner column probably shows 'dbo' which is wrong.

Suggest you change the ODBC DSN, as shown in the screenshot, drop all the tables with SUP mentioned and try logging in again. Then check the Owner column to make sure your SupportDesk SQL Login owns the tables.

a) We recommend that you link to the database via ODBC rather than using the native MS SQL driver in the BDE. Further information can be found in the 'Technical Setup Guide' document, the latest copy of which can be downloaded from the technical library.

This method of connecting users to the database is our recommendation although for your situation across a slow WAN you might find the MS SQL driver faster than ODBC.

b) If you prefer to connect your new user in the same fashion as before then you need to copy the file ntwdblib.dll from an existing user's machine. The file can be found under the WINNT directory.

You need to look at the following files in your SupportDesk WebServer directory - Suphead.htm, Suptrail.htm etc, as these can be customised to a degree. You are able to add your own company logo for example. You can also configure each web guest's functionality - what view they see, whether they have access to Call Replies or Knowledgebase etc. This is done from within the Windows interface, using the User Details.

Sometimes, a User will be automatically logged out of the WebServer after a period of inactivity. You can change this setting. On the WebServer machine, locate suppdesk.ini in the C:\Suppdesk directory. In the [WebServer] section, increase the Expire= setting (this is the time in minutes). You will need to restart Web Services.

The answer is in the error message! Please ensure you have BDE Administrator installed and contact support@houseonthehill.com if you have any questions.

It sounds as if the web users have sufficient access to the SupportDesk directory (as they can get the login dialogue up). Hence, it could be that the users do not have the correct permissions to access the BDE directory on the WebServer machine. By default, the BDE will be installed to C:\program files\Borland\common files\BDE on the WebServer machine. The anonymous internet guest account must have the correct permissions to access the database.

Locate and open the suppdesk.ini file in your C:\Suppdesk directory on the WebServer machine. In the [WebServer] section, check DefaultDir=<Enter Path to location of our htm files>. Then restart Web Services.

Make sure canonical telephone addresses are used, +country code (area code) .......... e.g. +44 (161) 449 7057

On the problem machine, take a backup of and then edit the sqlnet.ora file (probably in C:\software\orant\network\ADMIN) and change the following parameter from:

sqlnet.authentication_services = (NTS)

to:

sqlnet.authentication_services = (NONE)