>>>>I have a client who has gone against recommendations and purchased a real fancy Mizellan computer (AMD 200 megahertz)
>>>>
>>>>The customer is experiencing a bug that seems to be impossible to reproduce on a pentium machine. The receive an error 10 syntax error and then the machine locks up. No other client has reported a similar error running the same software.
>>>>
>>>>Any experience or referrals that can help me convince the customer to by a good computer (Gateway, Dell, etc...) would be appreciated.
>>>
>>>Are you blaming this on the AMD itself or the PC? Have you tried to run the same process your self with the users files?
>>>
>>>I have a wierd one onetime where a client added a field to a file that had the same name as a memory varible I had in the program. Caused a problem only iwth this persons data.
>>>
>>>BTW: Compaq and Dell make PC's with AMD chips.
>>>
>>>BOb
>>
>>
>>I didn't know about Compaq and Dell using AMD processors.... hmmm
>>
>>Thanks
>
>
>
>I have downloaded their data and run it here in the office on a pentium workstation running from a NT server. (They are also running NT server)
>The problem can not be reprodeced here.
>
>It seems to me to be a definate 'environment' problem. One thing that jumped out at me about their environment was the use of AMD processors on the workstations...
First, there are several AMD processors on the market; presumably this is a K5, K6 or K6-2, probably a K6. This machine is below what I'd consider entry-level at this point; HP, COmpaq IBM and others have systems based on the AMD K6-2 266, Cyrix MII 300 and Celeron 300A, with everything but monitor for well under $1000 at retail.
The K6 processor itself is not a problem, except for some easrly releases of the K6, it's pretty close to a Pentium MMX in terms of compatibility. It is necessary to use a BIOS that can handle the K6's slightly different identification and setup code, and the motherboard needs to supply the proper voltages 9which are not the same for all chips.) You'll need to check their motherboard to ensure that it's set up properly.
Any number of things besides the processor may be an issue; motherboard base drivers, video, network and print drivers are all possible suspects.
I'd strongly advise that they reconsider if it's a K5 or K6 (the K6-2 isn't a bad chip) and look into a system based around Intel's Celeron processor. An HP Pavilion models 6355 has a Celeron 333, 64MB of RAM video, USB, 56K modem, sound, speaker, a ~6GB hard drive and 32x CD ROM drive for under $800 locally at Staples without a monitor. HP has a great rep for service, and I've installed a couple of dozen of these both at my office and at client sites; they're a piece of cake to set up (in our case, we add a 3COM 3C905B/TX 10/100Mbit NIC for ~$50 and a monitor; the machine boots and configures out of the box, recognizes the card, and with minimal selection, comes up live in our LAN environment (mixed NT/Novell environment.)
