Server retry issue STILL plaguing us.

[Jack from Ohio]

I would ask each of the users on this board to send and email to [email protected] with the following complaint:

Fresh install of 2015 MAX.  No other ATX programs running.  Receiving the server busy - retry error.  I was told by 3 different top level people in the ATX department that this problem was going to be corrected for 2015.  I am immediately disappointed in the program and the programming AGAIN this tax season.

(your name)

I was assured that this nagging problem was going to be corrected as a reason to accept the increase in price for 2015 software.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.................

I am waiting to see what kind of response I receive from ATX.

[Abby Normal]

Are you running Server 2008? We're just a Mickey Mouse peer-to-peer and haven't had this issue (yet).

[Jack from Ohio]

Server 2011 Small Business

I have complained about this rookie programming problem since it showed up in 2013.  When they stood firm on their price increase, I told them that if this problem and 3 other nagging things like the automatic backup feature that does not work, were not corrected, I would send an e-mail to the entire group in the tech/development division every day till it is fixed.

I was given solid assurance, by more than one person, in more than one department, that those problems were corrected.

[RitaB]

6 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

I would ask each of the users on this board to send and email to [email protected] with the following complaint:

Fresh install of 2015 MAX.  No other ATX programs running.  Receiving the server busy - retry error.  I was told by 3 different top level people in the ATX department that this problem was going to be corrected for 2015.  I am immediately disappointed in the program and the programming AGAIN this tax season.

(your name)

 

All due respect, Jack, they know who called and talked to the three big guns.  We can't copy and paste your letter unless we had the same experience as you.  Nothing is plaguing me so far. They're not going to bend over backwards to accommodate a bunch of people who don't have any idea what we're talking about.  I've not called ATX three times in four years.  They keep records.

[Jack from Ohio]

29 minutes ago, RitaB said:

All due respect, Jack, they know who called and talked to the three big guns.  We can't copy and paste your letter unless we had the same experience as you.  Nothing is plaguing me so far. They're not going to bend over backwards to accommodate a bunch of people who don't have any idea what we're talking about.  I've not called ATX three times in four years.  They keep records.

Use my name and say this was HIS experience.  For 3 tax seasons they have lied directly to me and everyone else about this issue.  My software engineer son tells me it is a problem that is not difficult to correct, IF, they truly want to take the steps, and handle the cost of doing so.

I have been told, by the TOP President of ATX division, that they will not invest time and resources for just a "few whiners" concerning a certain item.  I was also assured, when I agreed to their price(s) increase for this tax year.  I tire of being ignored about a real problem that they know exists and refuse to make changes.  I am only asking for participation by others on this board to help hold their feet to the fire of their promises.  If you wish to remain quiet, then do so.  Last season, after we reached about 400 clients, this issue popped up multiple times each day.  This is NOT just a minor problem.  Sometimes the error box opens behind another box on the screen and can't be seen.  This causes the program to appear to be locked up, at which point the user goes through the steps to restart, costing time.

It is ok to be silent, if you choose. 

[Abby Normal]

Done!

[Patrick Michael]

This problem was why I finally jumped to Drake.  At times it would take 10-15 minutes to get the program to open and numerous calls to support did no good. And I am not running it on a network.

[Gail in Virginia]

This was one of the reasons that I switched to ProSeries, and the fact that I continue to see posts about this issue is a major reason that I have not switched back.  And I won't switch back until I see a tax season where this does not pop up.  With all of the program issues that have to be done last minute due to law changes, and the glitches that result from that, why would I want to use a program that won't fix a KNOWN issue during the off-season?

[Abby Normal]

In my inbox this morning:

Good morning Mr. Davis,

Thank you for calling our attention to the Community Board posts.
I will forward your email to the appropriate department. 
Often times, the can't connect to server message is due to a delay in the ATX service starting.
Usually within a moment or so the service starts and then software can then open.
However, I do appreciate your letting us know about the complaints.

[Abby Normal]

33 minutes ago, Gail in Virginia said:

This was one of the reasons that I switched to ProSeries, and the fact that I continue to see posts about this issue is a major reason that I have not switched back.  And I won't switch back until I see a tax season where this does not pop up.  With all of the program issues that have to be done last minute due to law changes, and the glitches that result from that, why would I want to use a program that won't fix a KNOWN issue during the off-season?

I can only speak for my situation: peer-to-peer network, high end computers, win 8.1, less than 400 clients. This is a nonissue for me. I think it happened once last year and I just clicked retry and I was in. In 2013, my first year with ATX, it happened maybe 5 times but was again no big deal.

[jasdlm]

This has happened to me 3 times this morning.  I wish I knew what it was about my setup that causes it to happen since some of you have no problems at all.  It was constant last year, and from this morning's experience, I assume this year is not going to be any different.

[Jack from Ohio]

I get the server - retry error while using the program.  Not just when starting.  The CS(?) response is invalid.  Also, it is the server program that resides on each computer that is the culprit.  Whether you have stand alone or a network, each computer and workstation has an active server program running in the background.

This is NOT news to the developers.  My beef is that it has now been 3 tax seasons and the problem still exists.

GGGRRRRRRRR.........

For the record, I have yet to receive a response from the email I sent.

[Abby Normal]

2 hours ago, jasdlm said:

This has happened to me 3 times this morning.  I wish I knew what it was about my setup that causes it to happen since some of you have no problems at all.  It was constant last year, and from this morning's experience, I assume this year is not going to be any different.

Maybe if everyone who has this issue could post their system configurations in great detail, even including things like processor, RAM, router, etc., we might be able to discern some pattern.

[Richcpaman]

Jack:

Thank you for fighting ATX on this issue for us.

It is a stupid problem, and should be fixed.

Rich

 

 

[Abby Normal]

Keep Task Manager open and when the Server Retry occurs, see if your hard disk is maxed out at 100%. That is the most likely culprit, if it is a hardware issue.

Shoot, I just checked and the Win7 task manager doesn't show hard disk usage. They added that in 8. But you can see it in Resource Manager in Win7, which you can access from a button at the bottom of Task Manager.

 

[RichRhodesEA]

I have been having the server issue on start up also.  I believe that I know what the problem is in my case.  I am stand alone, no network.  I have my tax data files on a separate, encrypted section of my hard drive.  The files and tax program are unavailable when the computer starts up.  In order to access the program files and data files, I have to log into my encryption software (truecrypt).  The part of the tax program that we have to dilly dally with at start up sometimes is the "ATX 2015 Service". I think that program initiates at computer start up, but it can't find the program files or data, because the appropriate section of my hard drive is encrypted yet (unavailable until it run the truecrypt program).

Here is what I have to do to over come the issue every time I reboot my pc. Once it is booted, I log into truecrypt program. Control-Alt-Del to start task manager. Click on services tab, click on services button lower right.  Scroll down to "ATX 2015 Service". I click on that, then click on stop the server.  I click on stop the server one more time, then I click on start the server.  After that, ATX will start.  I need to do this for 2014 as well.

Rich Rhodes, EA

[Jack from Ohio]

This problem is NOT a hardware problem.  I have 3X the recommended system including a SSD and 8GB RAM on all computers.  This is a programming issue.  ATX has known that the issue exists since the 2013 software.  It is absolutely lousy programming if I have to go through the steps that Rich described each time I open the program.  Imagine at our office trying to teach 8 users how to take those steps each time the program is opened.

I just sent the e-mail again.  Once a day till something gets resolved!!

[RichRhodesEA]

Fortunately I only have to go through these steps if I (or Microsoft) need to reboot my computer. 

Rich

[Abby Normal]

My entire drive is encrypted (Bitlocker) and I don't have to go through any steps when I boot.

The only times I've gotten server connect error, it was because the server service was not running or my hard drive maxed out.

[Randall]

11 hours ago, RichRhodesEA said:

I have been having the server issue on start up also.  I believe that I know what the problem is in my case.  I am stand alone, no network.  I have my tax data files on a separate, encrypted section of my hard drive.  The files and tax program are unavailable when the computer starts up.  In order to access the program files and data files, I have to log into my encryption software (truecrypt).  The part of the tax program that we have to dilly dally with at start up sometimes is the "ATX 2015 Service". I think that program initiates at computer start up, but it can't find the program files or data, because the appropriate section of my hard drive is encrypted yet (unavailable until it run the truecrypt program).

Here is what I have to do to over come the issue every time I reboot my pc. Once it is booted, I log into truecrypt program. Control-Alt-Del to start task manager. Click on services tab, click on services button lower right.  Scroll down to "ATX 2015 Service". I click on that, then click on stop the server.  I click on stop the server one more time, then I click on start the server.  After that, ATX will start.  I need to do this for 2014 as well.

Rich Rhodes, EA

Back in 2012, I had the program on one drive and my files on another drive.  Not a good idea.  After that, I had all ATX on the one drive (C).  That was my previous computer and my C drive was an SSD with limited space.  That's why I initially had the files on the D drive.  With my current computer, my SSD is much bigger and space is not a problem.  I still have a 2nd HD (traditional type).  I think ATX recommends having everything on the same drive.  Like Abby, I have it encrypted too (Bit Locker).  Would prefer PGP (now owned by Symantec) but PGP told  me my new drives were not yet ready for PGP.  That was a year and a half ago though.

[ETax847]

I, like Jack, have had this issue come up quite frequently over the past couple of years.  It happens randomly, but when it does, it's a huge time suck as it can often waste 15-30 minutes to get the program running.  I don't know how widespread this problem is, but I would hope to see it addressed in one of their updates since they are fully aware of it.

[Randall]

1 hour ago, ETax847 said:

I, like Jack, have had this issue come up quite frequently over the past couple of years.  It happens randomly, but when it does, it's a huge time suck as it can often waste 15-30 minutes to get the program running.  I don't know how widespread this problem is, but I would hope to see it addressed in one of their updates since they are fully aware of it.

Is it due to being on a network?  or number of clients (Jack mentioned 400 clients)?  If number of clients, why would it happen so early or are you rolling over all clients up front?  Just wondering why some are having the problem and not others.

 

[Abby Normal]

It would be nice if we could detect some pattern for those who do and do not have this problem. It could be a problem with one of windows networking files. Windows networking is notoriously flaky.

I have 399 files in 2014. I'm going to duplicate 50 files to see if that triggers the issue. My computer is a server/workstation, but I will try running from one of my workstations as well.

Edit: Jeez, you can only duplicate 1 at a time.

[Jack from Ohio]

1 hour ago, Randall said:

Is it due to being on a network?  or number of clients (Jack mentioned 400 clients)?  If number of clients, why would it happen so early or are you rolling over all clients up front?  Just wondering why some are having the problem and not others.

 

It makes no difference whether a workstation on a network, or a standalone computer.  This is a KNOWN issue by ATX.  It was massively huge problem in 2013, a much reduced, but still occurred often problem in 2014.  It is NOT hardware related.  Trust me on these matters.  I have spent hours with tech support discussing this issue. 

My disdain is due to the fact that ATX told me, as an answer to the direct question about this issue, that it was going to be resolved.  Again, misleading, inaccurate information was being given to customers.

[Abby Normal]

But we still have the mystery as to why some of us do not experience this problem. Unless you've determined that it happens after a certain number of clients?