Connection, Performance, and Networking Issues

Help & Support Overview | Help & Support Resources | Troubleshoot

Connection Issues

I get error messages saying Point of Sale cannot connect to my company data

My firewall is blocking me from the POS company data

How do I set my port filters to allow access to needed ports?

When trying to update my Point of Sale program, I get an Error 12029

I cannot launch Web pages using links in Point of Sale

General Performance

Does your PC meet the minimum system requirements?

Do you have the latest updates or Service Packs for your Windows operating system?

Is the configuration and scheduling correct for anti-virus software?

When Windows comes out of hibernation, Point of Sale crashes

I had a power failure and now am getting error messages about data corruption

Networking Issues

Many network configuration parameters can influence the connection or performance of Point of Sale. An improperly configured network can cause all system resources to work harder, deterring from their ability to serve Point of Sale and other application requests. Following is a list of questions and answers related to the most common parameters that can adversely affect Point of Sale performance. Every computer and network configuration is unique; consult a qualified computer consultant for help, if necessary, to address networking issues.

Note: Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and wireless networks tend to be low bandwidth (slow) and therefore are not recommended for use with Point of Sale. These network configurations may be unreliable.

Is the configuration and scheduling correct for anti-virus software?

Is any network backup software on the Server Workstation scheduled to run while Point of Sale operations are being performed?

Does the Server Workstation have appropriate hardware?

Does each client workstation have the appropriate hardware?

Is each device connected to a 100 Mbps Hub/Switch that is transmitting at 100Mbps?

Warning: The following advanced network issues should be addressed only by a qualified computer network consultant. These issues assume you have addressed the basic network settings posed in the questions above

Are the switches and network cards capable of auto-negotiating 100Mbps/Full Duplex?

Does each computer-switch port link auto-negotiate to 100Mbps/Full Duplex properly?

Are all devices connected to a 100Mbps hub operating at Half Duplex?

Is the Server Workstation hard drive defragmented on a regular basis?

Are system performance options properly set according to Point of Sale usage on the Server Workstation?

Are Port Filters set to allow access to needed ports?

Didnt find an answer to your question? Try these other resources:

Visit the Point of Sale Community Message Board to ask questions and share ideas, solutions, and advice with other Point of Sale users and experts.

Check out our support website to search our online database of answers to frequently asked questions at www.quickbooks.com/support/pos.

Related Topics

Help and support overview

Troubleshooting overview

Configuring firewalls

When trying to get the latest Point of Sale update, I get an Error 12029. What is wrong and how can I fix this?

This error indicates that Point of Sale cannot connect to the update servers using your current Internet connection. Follow these steps to fix this problem:

1. Make sure your Internet connection is active and working outside of Point of Sale.

• Can you successfully connect to other Web sites? If not, use the Windows Network Connections manager (available from Control Panel) to configure and test your Internet connection. Contact your Internet Service Provider for assistance, if necessary.

2. Select Preferences Workstation from the Point of Sale File menu.

3. Select Automatic Update from the preferences list on the left side of the window.

4. Click the Internet Connection Setup button.

5. Select the choice labeled Use my computers Internet Connection settings to establish a connection when this application accesses the Internet.

6. Select Next and then Done to finish.

7. Select Save to exit Workstation preferences.

8. Try updating Point of Sale again (select Update QBPOS from the File menu and then select Get Updates.

If this does not correct the problem, then there is probably a firewall installed on your computer that is blocking the Internet connection. Read Configuring firewalls and refer to your firewalls documentation or a qualified computer consultant for information about configuring the firewall for the following settings:

• Ports 80 (for HTTP) and 443 (for HTTPS) are enabled

• The following files are configured to allow them to connect to the Internet and download updates:

• The Point of Sale executable file (qbpos.exe, located in the Point of Sale root directory))

• The QuickBooks Delivery Agent module file (qbupdate.exe; located in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks\QBUpdate folder)

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Does the PC meet the minimum system requirements?

Review the system requirements in your Point of Sale User Guide. Generally, increasing system RAM is the most cost-effective way to increase the performance on a single PC, assuming all other minimum requirements are met.

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Do you have the latest updates or Service Packs for your operating system (Windows)?

Maintaining your Windows operating system with the latest updates and/or Service Packs is critical to ensuring optimum performance and data protection. Visit the Windows Update Internet site regularly to review and update your operating system files as necessary. For most versions of Windows, the update site can be accessed by selecting Start and then Windows Update.

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When Windows comes out of hibernation, Point of Sale crashes. How can I fix this?

Some Windows systems come with a hibernation feature that puts the computer to "sleep" after a set period of inactivity. This feature can be problematic with some programs. If you experience any difficulty returning from hibernation it is recommended that you disable this feature on your system.

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Is the configuration and scheduling correct for anti-virus software?

If a workstation or network running Point of Sale seems to be abnormally slow, try reconfiguring your virus scanning software. By default, most virus scanning software scans all files in all folders. This can cause significant load on the system resources resulting in decreased performance for Point of Sale.

Be aware that changing the options of your virus scanning software can reduce its effectiveness. Consult a qualified computer technical consultant prior to making any changes to ensure that you understand the consequences of those changes.

Some anti-virus configuration options that may improve performance are:

• Disable continuous scanning and schedule virus scanning during off-peak hours.

• Limit scanning to specific file types (such as .exe, .vbs, etc.).

• If you are operating in a network environment, make sure each workstation is configured to scan only its own hard drive and not entire network.

• If scanning in continuous mode, exclude the \Program Files\Intuit\Point of Sale n.n folder from INBOUND and OUTBOUND scan operations. (n.n = Point of Sale version, i.e. 10.0)

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I had a power failure and now am getting error messages about data corruption. What do I do?

A power failure that occurs while Point of Sale is writing to your company date file may result in data loss or corruption, and any transaction or activity in process will most likely be lost. If you can access your company data, print out all transactional documents made after your last backup. Then restore your data from the backup and re-enter those transactions.

If you are integrated with QuickBooks financial software, and the re-entered documents have already been sent to QuickBooks you can mark them so that they are not sent again. With the document selected in your Point of Sale history list, select View Financial History from the I Want To menu and then select the check box labeled Mark this document as successfully sent.

Note: Data Recovery Service. If your attempt to restore your data is unsuccessful or if you need additional help, you can contact Intuit Technical Support for assistance. There may be a fee for this service.

We strongly recommend installing a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) on at least the Server Workstation, which stores your company data, and on the workstation you use to communicate for electronic funds transactions. Ideally, every workstation running Point of Sale should have a UPS installed. A UPS will give you the time to finish and save transactions in progress and shut down your system safely in the event the power loss lasts more than a few minutes.

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Is any network backup software on the Server Workstation scheduled to run while Point of Sale operations are being performed?

Network backups are demanding on system resources and may cause performance degradation. There may be resource contention among the different services, applications, and Point of Sale on the server. It is recommended that you not use your Point of Sale Server Workstation for other network services, such as a domain controller, web server, file server, etc. If backups or other scheduled tasks must be run from the Server Workstation, schedule them for a time that does not conflict with Point of Sale operations.

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Does the Server Workstation have appropriate hardware?

To perform optimally as data host for several workstations, the Server Workstation will require more than the Point of Sale minimum hardware requirements. Consult your network professional for more information and recommendations.

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Does each client workstations have the appropriate hardware?

Each client workstation must meet the minimum system requirements, e.g. Pentium III or equivalent, 500 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM and a minimum of 250MB of free drive space.

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Is each device connected to a 100 Mbps Hub/Switch that is transmitting at 100Mbps?

Since hubs operate at Half Duplex and transmit all frames to all ports, if one device is connected to a hub at 10Mbps, all devices will be downgraded to 10Mbps. There are intelligent hubs that do support independent speed settings per port, but you must confirm whether or not your hub supports this and that it is working correctly.

Full Duplex switches with auto-negotiation capabilities are the preferred connectivity devices for networks.

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Warning: The following advanced network issues should be addressed only by a qualified computer network consultant. These issues assume you have addressed the basic network settings posed in the questions above

Are the switches and network cards capable of auto-negotiating 100Mbps/Full Duplex?

A workstation or server connected to a switch port by a CAT5 cable is identified as a 'link'. The computer network card and the switch must support operating in 100Mb/Full Duplex. If either does not support this, the potential exists for a speed/duplex mismatch.

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Does each computer-switch port link auto-negotiate to 100Mbps/Full Duplex properly?

Whenever possible, configure the network card and the switch port to auto-negotiate the speed and duplex setting. If the auto-negotiation protocols are working to industry standards, they will negotiate to the highest available speed and duplex setting (100Mbps/Full Duplex). This will result in the least amount of administration.

When using auto-negotiation, you must verify that the negotiation is occurring properly. If either device fails in the negotiation, the result can be a speed/duplex mismatch or a reduction in the speed/duplex settings the devices have negotiated. Either of these conditions will cause performance degradation. (See below for verifying speed/duplex settings).

If auto-negotiation is not an option on both devices, or it fails, manually set the speed/duplex settings for both devices identically ; 100Mbps/Full Duplex is the target configuration when connecting to a switch that supports this. Link speeds and duplex settings are configurable per switch port. All Point of Sale devices should be set to operate on 100Mbps/Full Duplex links for best performance.

With fiber optics, auto-negotiation is less likely to be supported. If you connect two switches, or a server and a switch, with fiber, you should manually configure both ends of this link for the same speed (100Mbps or 1000Mbps) and Full Duplex.

Auto-negotiation protocols will not detect an inferior cable, such as a CAT3 cable. The auto-negotiation will resolve to 100Mbps/Full Duplex, then errors will begin occurring during normal data transmission if you elect to use CAT3 cabling.

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Are all devices connected to a 100 Mbps hub operating at Half Duplex?

Hubs are not compatible with Full Duplex communications. Full Duplex devices do not detect other devices that are transmitting on the wire; they will transmit at will. A Full Duplex network card connected to a hub will transmit data whenever it is received, without regard for any other devices transmitting on the wire, causing excessive collisions.

Full Duplex switches with auto-negotiation capabilities are the preferred connectivity devices for networks because of better performance.

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Is the Server Workstation hard drive defragmented on a regular basis?

Periodic defragmentation of the hard drive is essential to optimal server performance. Files become fragmented over time as they grow in size and as the OS tries to conserve space by writing new data to open, non-contiguous blocks on the hard drive. Under severely fragmented conditions, a disk read-write head may have to perform 10-15 seek operations to read a fragmented file vs. one seek operation if this file were written contiguously to the disk.

Windows 2000 and XP both include a defragmentation utility. Refer to your Windows help for instructions to run this utility. There are also many good third-party utilities that allow for scheduling and automated defragmentation as well as other features to help maintain your disk subsystems.

Even if the defragmentation utility reports that defragmentation is not required, you should select View Report and look at the "Most Fragmented Files" area for critical files and their level of fragmentation. If you find critical system files or Point of Sale files heavily fragmented, you should run a defragmentation operation.

Note that files that are in use, or held open will not be defragmented, so this operation should be performed with everyone out of the system or at a time of low utilization.

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Are system performance options properly set according to Point of Sale usage on the Server Workstation?

Application Performance

On the Server Workstation, access Control Panel System Advanced tab Performance Options:

• Set to Applications if using the server as a workstation (normal).

• Set to Background Services if most Point of Sale work is done over the network by client workstations.

This setting affects how the system allocates CPU cycles to each thread. If you use Point of Sale regularly on the Server Workstation and you want to allocate more CPU cycles to this instance of the program, select Applications. If you rarely run Point of Sale on the server, you should select Background Services. This will distribute CPU cycles equally among all services.

For client workstations, this setting should always be set to Applications.

The Pagefile

By default, the pagefile is created on the boot partition, where the system files are located and has an initial size equal to 1.5 times the amount of physical RAM, with the ability to grow beyond that initial size.

If a STOP error occurs and you want to create a memory dump file for debugging purposes, it is necessary to have the pagefile on the boot partition. For optimal performance though, the pagefile should be located on a separate physical drive from the boot partition to eliminate the disk access contention created between pagefile I/O and system file I/O. To balance out the need for creating a memory dump and the need to optimize performance, you can leave the pagefile on the boot partition and create an additional pagefile on a physically separate drive. Windows 2000 uses an algorithm for paging to the pagefile on the least busy drive.

Also, consider setting the initial and maximum size of the pagefile the same. This prevents the pagefile from growing. Resizing the pagefile takes CPU cycles and causes pagefile fragmentation, which, in turn, causes slower paging. Make sure the page file's initial size is at least 1.5 times physical RAM.

To view or revise pagefile settings, open Control Panel System Advanced tab Performance Options, and under Virtual Memory select Change.

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Are Port Filters set to allow access to needed ports?

Windows 2000 and XP allow TCP/IP and UDP ports to be filtered, which could affect Point of Sale operations. To determine if this is the source of the problem, do the following:

1. From the Windows Start menu or Control Panel, right-click My Network Places and select Properties. (Called Network and Dial-up Connections in Windows 2000.)

2. Right-click Local Area Connection and select Properties.

3. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). (Make sure the box is checked.)

4. Select Properties.

5. Select Advanced.

6. Select the Options tab.

7. Select TCP/IP Filtering and then Properties.

If Permit All is checked in each category, your ports are not being filtered and are not blocking Point of Sale actions at the operating system level. If Permit Only is checked in any category that is needed for Point of Sale, or required ports are not in the list, the same problems will occur as with a firewall. See the table below for a list of ports and which program files access them. Add the appropriate port to the permit list where necessary.

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