Help! FMP 4.1v3 Text/Color Problems

[NewBuyer]

Hello all - I've been working with FileMaker Pro 4.1 for years and have

never seen this problem. First some background:

• Running FMP 4.1v3 and FMP 3 Server (on NT)
• Problem client is Windows 2000 Pro SP2, Dell Latitude C610 on a port
  replicator with external monitor
• Recently Installed Office XP

First of all, FMP seems to take a long time to boot. My database files have

also lost most of the background colors in the layouts. The biggest problem

however is that the text in the fields appears garbled after editing or performing finds. For example, if I'm browsing records, and then enter find

mode, the field text from the original record remains. If I enter Find

criteria the text becomes overwritten causing garbled text. If I minimize

and maximize the FMP window, the field becomes legible again. This problem

occurs on remote and local files. Other clients access the remote files

fine. Has anyone seen anything similar?

My thoughts are this is caused by one of two (or both) things. One is a

recent Office XP install which seems to take hold of a lot of applications.

The second is the fact that this problem client is a laptop on a port

replicator. Perhaps the Radeon Mobility display settings are causing this.

All other apps look fine. Any thoughts?

[pspafford]

Hey Newb.

We have had similar problems in our office with one specific computer, and have decided that the problem is RAM related - there ain't enough of it to handle all of the fancy colours and fonts.

Possible solutions:

1. Strip down your solution to bare bones - minimal colours and one to two fonts per layout.

2. Get more RAM.

3. Tell that user to suffer through it.

I know, I'm not too helpful. Sorry.

Paul

[DykstrL]

It sounds like a video problem and not a FileMaker problem. I would check to see if an updated driver is available for W2K.

I recently built a machine to run W2K for a friend. I checked to make sure that all of the components were certified for W2K - which they were all on the approved list, but I had to download updated drivers for just about every component used - including the modem. The video card was a card from ATI (I don't remember the exact model) that sometimes took 2 to 3 minutes to refresh the screen until I installed a new W2K driver.

[NewBuyer]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pspafford:

1. Strip down your solution to bare bones - minimal colours and one to two fonts per layout.

---

Only using one font now. The color issue isn't as much of a problem as the text overwriting problem is. I can live with funky colors.

quote:

---

Originally posted by pspafford:

2. Get more RAM.

---

Shouldn't 512 MB be enough? Again, it's a brand new Latitude C610, 1.2 GH, 512 MB RAM.

quote:

---

Originally posted by pspafford:

3. Tell that user to suffer through it.

---

I AM the user!

quote:

---

Originally posted by dykstrl:

It sounds like a video problem and not a FileMaker problem. I would check to see if an updated driver is available for W2K.

---

I agree. I'll look into a video driver update. However, the machine is brand new and factory-configured for W2K and every other app I'm using looks fine.

[Vaughan]

Do you have a copy of FMP 5? Do a quick convert and see if itstill occurs with the later version.

[NewBuyer]

Any other ideas? I've upgraded the display drivers and tried every setting and I still have this problem. For what it's worth, these display anomalies occur even when viewing the databases on the laptop's screen. TIA.

[NewBuyer]

Anyone else ever seen this or have any other suggestions?

[NewBuyer]

Well...I think I've figured this out. For those that are interested:

Windows 2000 allows you to run older software in a compatability mode that emulates previous OS's (right click on the app, go to properties and select "Compatability"). FMP 4.1 defaults to running in Windows 95 compatibility mode. Changing that to Windows NT 4.0 SP5 elimated my display problems! Finally!

[danjacoby]

Planned obsolescence -- a concept so prevalent that even Stan Freberg wrote a song about it.