This article outlines some possible causes of repeat corruption in the At Ease Databases on the Server.
1. Ensure that all workstations are running the same version of At Ease. If updates have been applied to one machine they should be applied to all. (for example, At Ease 3 updated to 3.0.3 or At Ease 4 updated to 4.0.1.)
2. For computers with non-Apple ethernet cards, check driver versions and verify with the manufacturer that these are up to date and compatible with At Ease and the version of System Software installed on the computers.
3. Make sure the At Ease Administration computer is in top running order. Run Disk First Aid to ensure there is no directory corruption. Make sure hard disk, CD-ROM, and third party peripheral drivers are current. This is especially important on drives that have third party drivers installed. These are most common on Mac OS compatibles and computers that have upgraded hard drives. If necessary, perform a clean install of the system software and At Ease on the At Ease Admin computer. Throw away the At Ease Items WG folder and the AppleShare Prep file from the Preferences folder. For At Ease 5.0, also remove the At Ease Administration preferences from the Preferences folder in the System Folder.
4. With repeated At Ease problems it is also a good idea to remove the At Ease Items WG folder from the system folders of all workstations (NOT the server) as well as the AppleShare Prep file from within the preferences folder on the workstations. These will be rebuilt on the first login so don't be surprised if the first connection after doing this takes longer than usual. It may be downloading quite a bit of data.
5. Try disabling 'Remember Recently Used Items' in the Apple Menu Options control panel on the workstations.
6. Next, check the server. Run Disk First Aid and repair if necessary. If repair is necessary it is probable that the server is in need of a clean install. Make sure hard disk, CD-ROM, and third party peripheral drivers are current. This includes software for CD-ROM towers and any added hard drives on the server. Minimize unnecessary extensions and control panels on the server. Use the Extensions Manager control panel and start with the built in setting for system software only. Add in the necessary components for AppleShare and At Ease. For AppleShare 5 this includes the OpenDoc software. If applications are being launched from the server and require extensions these extensions should usually be installed in the System folder of the workstations, not the Server.
7. If your At Ease problem(s) are still unresolved, they may be related to your network. Network Assistant (bundled in the Apple Network Administrators Toolkit) can run a network performance report but it may be necessary to call a network specialist to isolate the exact location of the problem. This is especially true on more complex networks.