SLOWEN 98 not Quicken
chris...@dial.pipex.com
On Friday week, 27th March, I purchased a copy of Quicken 98 from Dixons
in Leamington Spa - I have been regretting it ever since.
On Sunday, I installed QW98 over the top of my previous QW6 installation.
I then converted my small test QW6 database to QW98 with no problems. I
then tried to convert my live database - it appeared to lock my system up.
The mouse and task bar were active, there was no disk activity, but no new
applications would start. Eventually, I used Ctrl-Alt-Del and killed QW98.
After two attempts, including reboots, I decided to leave it longer and see
if it responded. After a considerable wait, the file finally converted.
Time spent to working on this : 2 hours.
On Monday morning, I loaded the new file to check out the functionality.
It took 20 minutes. I tried to connect to the Intuit web site to register
the program and get any updates, but the connection via my Dial Pipex
account timed out. Internet access through the integrated web browser, IE3
as previously installed, works OK. Time spent : 1 hour.
On Tuesday morning, I tried again, this time with System Monitor active.
This showed that there is an initial period of disk activity, followed by
about 20 minutes during which there is no disk activity, and the system
sits at 100% CPU utilisation. Having loaded the file, I tried some
transactions, whoch used to take 1 or 2 secs to complete with QW6. Updating
a price for a share in the Portfolio view now takes 25 seconds to update
the screen, instead of 1 - 2 seconds. Moving down from one share to the
next with the cursor down key takes several seconds, during which the line
and price field are refreshed several times. Moving from one investment
account to the next, the price field is not automatically enabled and
requires a mouse click. Sorting the Portfolio view takes 15 seconds. Making
a register entry in a bank account takes 30 seconds, as does deleting an
entry. Time spent : 1 hour.
On Wednesday morning, I deinstalled both QW98 and QW6 and ensured that
there was nothing left, apart from the QW.INI file in the Windows
directory. I then reinstalled QW98 and ran the conversion. This took 34
minutes. The details of this are :
0 - 3 minutes : Converting main database, 25300+ items, file I/O builds to
a peak
3 minutes : Converting QMB, 1000 items
4 minutes : Converting category lists
4 - 33 minutes : System sits at 100% CPU, with no message box showing, and
appears locked out. Slight file I/O from 23 minutes on.
33 minutes : File I/O hits 1 - 2 K reads/seconds, Message box 'converting
QEL'
34 minutes : Main QW windows refresh.
Time spent : 1 hour.
During Wednesday, I went through the Quicken and Intuit web sites looking
for help. There isn't any ( or ain't none). There isn't even an email
address - can you believe these guys !! The UK feedback page gives a postal
address !! . The only support available is from a £1.00 per minute support
line. Checking out the much touted share price facility, I found that
symbol lookup will not find Viridian (VRD) but will find Northern Ireland
Electric (NIE), which is the old name from last year, and will not find
Arcadia Group (AG.) or Debenhams (DEB), which were demerged/renamed from
Burton Group last year. Stock quotes can be obtained for DEB abd VRD. For
AG., the correct price is quoted, but the stock description is given as
Aegis Group, which is symbol AGS.
On Thursday morning, I carried out more tests, again spending about an
hour. I timed the load process, with the followinf results :
0 - 2 minutes : Initial disk reads
2 - 21 minutes : System sits at 100% CPU and appears locked out. Slight
file I/O from 17 minutes on
21 minutes : File I/O hits 1 K reads/seconds
22 minutes : Main QW windows refresh
During the day, I called the problem in to the support line. They could
only suggest that I try to reduce the file size by only keeping the last
year's data, as my database has several years worth of data, including many
bank account. There are also 15 investment accounts, with 4000
transactions, and 130 stocks, with about 80-100 prices each. The database
is about 3.4MB is size.
On Friday morning, I tried the recommendations of reducing the file size,
with the following results :
1. Archived everything prior to 6/4/97. This took 4 minutes to create the
archived file. Wen it asked if I wanted to open the new archive or the
current file, I selected the current file, expecting it to load immediately
as it was currently in memory. It then took 14 minutes to load the file.
2. Created a New Year file keeping everything from 6/4/97, i.e. 1 years
data. This took 16 minutes, again at 100% CPU, with file activity in the
last 4 minutes. It then took 4 minutes to copy the file, and asked if I
wanted the current file or the new file opened. The new file then took 20
minutes to open.
The file sizes are :
Original file : 3.52MB
Archived pre 6/4/97 : 3.17MB
New Year from 6/4/97 : 2.79MB
Time spent, again 1 hour.
During the day, I again called the support line, getting a different
operator. This time I was told that the problem was probably due to
contention with other programs running when I did the install, or am using
QW98, and that I should run Super Validate ( which is the File | File
Operations | Validate menu option with Shift pressed. I should also run
ScanDisk and Defrag, and check the W95 virtual memory settings. I did these
on Friday evening, with no errors detected, as I has expected. I also set
up a permanent 100MB swap file. Time spent : 4 hours
I has a rest over the weekend. This morning, I created two copies of my
file. From the first I deleted all the investment accounts and stock
records. This file loads instantly. From the second I deleted all of the
bank accounts etc, leaving just the investment accounts and stock
information. This file takes 20 minutes to load. Time spent : 1 hour.
Today, I looked up QW98 in Usenet using DejaNews. There are discussions
regarding slow perfromance, and Bruce Lee at intuit has answered sevreal
problems with comments which suggest that this is a known problem. There is
also a Relese 3 of QW98 in the US which fixes some of these issues.
This afternoon, I again called the support line.The number was engaged for
sevral attempts. It twice answered, played the recorded message and then
transferred to an engaged extension before hanging up. Finally I got
through to an operator who recognised that there were performance issues.
However, his only suggestion is that I reduce the amount of share price
history - which would be a tedious job. I pointed out that they would have
problems once people started doing daily updates of share prices, as the
data volumes would grow rapidly. He did log the problem to pass back to
development, but did not hold out much hope of a fix. Apparently, the UK
version is based on the original US version, but they have little contact
with the US developers.
As an experienced IT professional, with over 28 years experience, and
currently running a PC support team, I find this attitude unacceptable -
not unbelievable, becuase that is the way the PC Software business seems to
work, as in MicroSoft.
My system configuration is as follows :
AMD 486DX4/120, 32 MB RAM, C drive (Windows) 518MB with 144MB free, D
drive (Apps, compressed volume) 1.99Gb with 1.12GB free, E drive (Data)
1.97GB with 1.22GB free, S drive (host for D) 1.27GB with 412MB free. S and
E are partitions on a 3.5GB drive. 2 speed CD-ROM on U:, Iomega Zip on V:.
Running Windows 95 + Plus! + Service Pack 1.
My live QW6 database size is about 3.4GB. QW6 opens this file in 1 - 2
minutes.
I have now spent about 12 hours on this problem. My consultancy rate is
£50 per hour, so I suppose I should be billing Intuit for £600, plus the
cost of the software. I think I shall send it back to them. with an
invoice.
Regards
Chris Hill
Intuit Customer Reference 25628
Tel : 01926 473288
Fax: 01926 472000
Email: chris...@dial.pipex.com
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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Alastair Findlay
chris...@dial.pipex.com wrote in message
<6gb386$nc2$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> On Friday week, 27th March, I purchased a copy of Quicken 98 from Dixons
>in Leamington Spa - I have been regretting it ever since.
large snip
Agreed. The level of "customer" support from Intuit is derisory. I have
telephoned four times, faxed twice and e-mailed twice and received no reply.
As a long time Quicken user, I bought Money 98 some weeks ago - it too has
its problems and quirks but peer support through the newsgroups is
excellent. I purchased Q98 Deluxe at the weekend for comparison. I was
surprised to see that the first tip was that it was nearly "time to pay
Uncle Sam". Umm, not in the UK it isn't. The "register" option is not in the
help menu, I can't find the lauded Debt Reduction Planner and I refuse to
pay £1.00 per minute for support.
IMO there needs to be good alternatives to Microsoft. Intuit seem to have
given up. Shame.
--
Cheers,
Alastair
alastair...@virgin.net
J.D. Baldwin
In article <6gcn90$lua$1...@nclient5-gui.server.virgin.net>, Alastair
Findlay <alastair...@nospam.virgin.net> wrote:
> As a long time Quicken user, I bought Money 98 some weeks ago - it too
> has its problems and quirks but peer support through the newsgroups is
> excellent.
I happen to think that peer support *here* for Quicken is "excellent."
The opinion you expressed about Intuit's tech support seems to be
pretty much universally held, and I won't dispute it, but have you
ever called MS for help with a problem you couldn't get straightened
out on Usenet? What a joke. And I've seen enough companies with
really outstanding tech support (Dell, Sun, 3com) to know that there's
just no excuse for crappy support.
> I purchased Q98 Deluxe at the weekend for comparison. I was surprised
> to see that the first tip was that it was nearly "time to pay Uncle
> Sam". Umm, not in the UK it isn't.
What, you haven't heard? We've decided to demand tribute. Cough it
up. We were going to go after the French for it, but that just isn't
enough of a challenge.
> The "register" option is not in the help menu, I can't find the lauded
> Debt Reduction Planner and I refuse to pay \2431.00 per minute for
> support.
I'm not sure what a "\" is, but if you pay 2,431 of them every minute
for support, I hope they're worth less than Italian lira!
> IMO there needs to be good alternatives to Microsoft. Intuit seem to
> have given up. Shame.
I'm reserving judgment until next year. If Intuit has decided, on the
sole basis of their Q98 sales figures, that the product doesn't suck,
and that further bloatware and expert-unfriendly "features" are
required in Q99, I'll join you in mourning their passing. My natural
optimism, though, has me hoping that Q98 was an anomaly and that Q99
will continue the upward trend set by the Q4/5/6 sequence.
--
From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
_,_ Finger bal...@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
_|70|___:::)=}- for PGP public |+| retract it, but also to deny under
\ / key information. |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew DeFaria
During the day, I called the problem in to the support line. They could only suggest that I try to reduce the file size by only keeping the last year's data, as my database has several years worth of data, including many bank account. There are also 15 investment accounts, with 4000
transactions, and 130 stocks, with about 80-100 prices each. The database is about 3.4MB is size.
This afternoon, I again called the support line.The number was engaged for sevral attempts. It twice answered, played the recorded message and then transferred to an engaged extension before hanging up. Finally I got through to an operator who recognised that there were performance issues. However, his only suggestion is that I reduce the amount of share price
history - which would be a tedious job. I pointed out that they would have problems once people started doing daily updates of share prices, as the data volumes would grow rapidly. He did log the problem to pass back to development, but did not hold out much hope of a fix. Apparently, the UK version is based on the original US version, but they have little contact with the US developers.
Andrew DeFaria <def...@cup.hp.com>
thomasf...@gmail.com
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