PRB: Computer "Not Responding" When Certain Commands Issued (190312)

SYMPTOMS

When you issue commands such as INDEX, REPLACE ALL, or PACK, some computers may take a long time to finish processing the results. This only occurs if the computer is running the Windows NT 4.0 operating system. Also, the faster the computer and the more RAM that is installed, the more time that it takes for the computer to finish the command's tasks. Visual FoxPro also shows as "Not Responding" in the Application tab of the Task Manager, but in fact, is working to complete the task.

MORE INFORMATION

In testing this, it seems that setting SYS(3050) to 1 MG seems to decrease the time it takes to finish these tasks. Try this command before issuing the other commands listed in this article.

    =SYS(3050,1,1000000)

FoxPro can normally process one of the commands listed in the SYMPTOMS section in a very short time, even on a large table. However, on several of the new faster computers, Visual FoxPro slows down drastically when processing these commands. The computers that seem to have this problem are 233 MHz and up, and have at least 64 MB of RAM. It has been reported that 200 MHz computers also display this behavior, but the sluggishness is more pronounced as the speed and amount of RAM of the computer increases.

Another way to observe that the computer is struggling to process the command, is to open the Windows NT Task Manager, click the Applications tab and note that Visual FoxPro is "Not Responding". During the whole process, the hard drive of the computer runs constantly, trying to finish the task.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Locate a computer with a 233 MHz or higher processor and at least 64 MB of RAM with Windows NT 4.0 as the operating system.
USE a table with 100,000 records or more as a good test.
Issue the PACK command in the Command window, and note that it takes a considerable amount of time to pack the table. Open the Windows NT Task Manager dialog box and click the Applications tab. In the status section, it shows that Visual FoxPro is not responding at various times during the packing of the table.