>There may well be memory leak issues with FPW26 but you're completely correct in saying this would affect only the workstations, not the file server.
>
>If the "network consultant" persists in his (or her) assertion, ask him to fire up Task Manager on the server and point out to you the FPW process whose RAM usage is increasing.
>
>It sounds like the consultant has "hit the wall" with a problem he doesn't know how to fix, and is trying to place the blame elsewhere.


You are correct. This server problem has been around for months. The consultant's "sniffer" laptop didn't reveal anything either.


>To be fair, these problems can be hard to track down. The first thing to check is the server's System Event Log. If the server is spontaneously rebooting there are 2 possibilities:
>
>- it's doing so because of a W2K or driver bug it detected. This is known as a "bugcheck" and appears as Event ID 1001, "Save Dump". This is usually not due to intermittent hardware failure, you typically address this with updates to the latest W2K service pack and patches, and updates to the latest available hardware drivers (preferably Windows-certified or manufacturer reference drivers, especially for video). It may also be worthwhile looking for updated firmware (e.g. BIOSs) for the Dell motherboard, optical drives etc. if available.
>
>- the other possibility is that the reboot was not due to a bugcheck. These will appear in the Event Log on subsequent boots with "Previous reboot was unexpected". These are usually due to hardware issues of some kind - can be as simple as poor quality power (does the server have a good-quality UPS?) or something subtle like flaky RAM, network card etc. Because these hardware issues are intermittent they are tough to track down. Dell has good hardware diagnostics for most of their systems; there are 3rd party and free ones (like MemTest86, google for links). You may need to run these tests for extended periods (e.g. overnight) to get an intermittent error to show up.
>
>Flaky network connections can be due to failing hardware such as hubs/switches/routers, or if these devices are not hooked up to UPSs and are subject to power fluctuations. They will usually not cause a server reboot unless the network device in question is the server's NIC.

Hey, these are great tips Al, I'll work my way through them. Thanks so much.
Steven-