>PMFJI,
>I have reported similar problems with "Forms" and "Reports" on VFP6 SP4 with W2K SP1 and Seagate 36 GB SCSI Cheetah Adaptec 2940, with write cache turned OFF,[ I think Mike Stewart is aware of it. ]
Which driver are you using? I have 5.0.2183.1 described as Adaptec AHA-2940U/UW Dual/AHA-394xAU/AUW/AUWD PCI SCSI controller, two instances (I'm using the 7890 chipset) both sharing IRQ10. My burner is on my ME box (IDE device), using retail EZ-CD Creator 4 and Direct CD 3.01; I've had no trouble burning SCX, SCT, FRX and FRT files either drag and drop using Direct CD, or premastering an image using EZ-CD Creator. My HP burner required a firmware update to support the new version of EZ-CD Creator (to BIOS version 3.01 for the 8200i). I've used a Toshiba external CD-R on this system with EZ CD Creator with a premastered image; obviously, the issue of file extensions doesn't occur in that case. I've also seen problems with an IDE CD drive not reading JOLIET written in Mode 2 (CDROM-XA) that required an updated UDF driver to correct. The older UDF driver for the CD drive did not see directories that were created using Packet Writing.
Do you have SCSI Explorer? If so, run it, and look at the Cheetah; under Features page, mine is set for Synchronous Data Transfer, Linked Commands, Tagged Command Queuing and 16 bit Wide transfers. Also examine the Mode Parameters page for Caching (08h). Check the WCE (Write Cache Enable) flag. I have mine Disabled; the factory default was Enabled for both my 18GB Cheetah and the 9GB Quantum Atlas 4
>My work around is to put all Forms and Reports into a Winzip Archive. These get saved properly.
I use VSS, but again, I haven't lost anything on a SCSI or network volume.
>Also I have Adaptec CD burner software [latest W2K version] and it will not write a .scx .sct .frx .frt file that has been modified in W2K unless that file has been through the zip - unzip process.
This may be an issue with your UDF driver - the files may have been written but might not show up if a directory was written using Packet Writes. Try burning the CD on your Win2K box and taking it to another machine to see if the files show up there.
>My system is on UPS but when the power was threatened recently by a lightning storm, then I shut it all down unplugged everything and read a book, afterward I ran into some "System Level" problems that I can not be sure were applicable to this area but I am certainly suspicious. So I would like to caution that corrupted "Forms" will be part of your scene until the fix comes out, make frequent zip archives until then, and don't turn you machine OFF.
This is very different than what I see on my Win2K box, which is occasionally subjected to Ed pre-pre-beta code, and gets restarted by power switch on when I build in new and unusual 'features' which really fry Win2K's shutdown services. The current development box here is a SuperMicro P6D-GU with 256MB, a 1GB Jaz and a Connor 2GB CFP2107 on one channel, and a Quantum XP39100J and Seagate 118202LC on the other. No problems regarding file loss, but again, I turned off the WCE. I can suggest several product that can do this; it's easy with SCSI Explorer - select the drive, pick the Disk Caching page, and set it to Disable Write Caching, and click the Apply Now button. My write cache status shows Currently Disabled, with Supported and Factory both Enabled.
>The write flag seems to stick OK on my SCSI drive. All of the above is on W2K Pro. I have similar problems on W2K Server with 18 GB SCSI Cheetah, but on that machine the adaptec SCSI controller is on the mother board.
All of mine here are on the motherboard - both Win2K boxes use the P6D-GU, with the server having more RAM, 3 Quantum XP45500Js in RAID5 using the RAIDPort II with another XP45500J as the boot drive, and the ME box is an Asus P2B-S with the 7895, with another XP39100J and 118202LC, and the DAT drive. All my CD/CD-RW/DVD drives are EIDE; the ME box has the 8200i and a Toshiba DVD-ROM, this has a random CD-ROM drive running in PIO mode, and the server has another Toshiba DVD-ROM. As I mentioned, I needed an updated UDF driver on the random IDE CD drive under Win2K, and I use the MS/Adaptec drivers, which should be the same ones you use with the 2940. SCSI Explorer is part of EZ-SCSI 5 (I think it was in 4 as well), and an alternative tool to manipulate the SCSI Property tables is CSC's Drive Mechanic, which allows you to alter considerably more of the SCSI properties for a drive, but it doesn't explain what the table properties do, or stop you from trashing the disk with it. SCSI Explorer will display the current settings, but limits you to changing the cache behavior, which it can reset safely. It also lets you control removable media like tapes, CD drives and removable storage like Jaz and Zip drives.
>My registered copy of Winzip is worth its weight in Gold.
Mine, too, even with ME, which adds support for ZIP files to Explorer. I also have the licensed version of the Self-Extractor; it solves all sorts of little issues like how to create a Setup Wizard install that runs with command line switches set if it gets clicked on from Explorer...
