[Hx] Information Needed

[Matt Strange]

To all,

In the last few weeks, we’ve become more and more aware of an issue in Helix Utility 8.0.1. We’re current getting a handle on what’s going on and how to fix it.

The specific failure we are working on is this: when “Repair” is clicked, Helix Utility claims that it has made “minor fixes” and then starts another pass to verify the fix. After 5 passes, each of which reports that “minor fixes” have been made, Helix Utility gives up and reports that it can’t complete the repair.

Note: the other manifestation of this failure is that if you attempt to Verify or Repair with “Detailed Logging” turned on, Helix Utility appears to hang: the beachball spins for a very long time. If you are exceedingly patient, it will either complete the large task and finish, or crash ingloriously. So, in this case, don’t turn “Detailed Logging” on.

Hopefully, none of you have seen this problem, but if you have, here’s how you can help: if — and only if — you have a collection that “fails” Helix Utility in this exact manner, we want to hear from you. Our request is that you send a text message to the tech support number (below) with two pieces of information: 1) the size of the collection and 2) whether you can send it to us if we request.

Thank you,
Matt Strange
Technical Support
QSA ToolWorks, LLC
https://qsatoolworks.com
Voice and Text: (+1) 570-662-8883

Additional Info:

What we have seen is a case where the Free Run Table (FRT) in a collection gets into a state where Helix Utility should be able to fix it, but fails. The FRT is a map of the “holes” in the collection, so that Helix can reuse space that is no longer used — such as after deleting a record — instead of just making the collection larger and larger.
If the FRT becomes very large it slows down the overall performance of Helix, so although we have, in general, recommended against using Helix Utility to “Compress”.a collection, in this case, compressing a collection removes those gaps, making the FRT very small. Performance is restored and Helix Utility can continue to Verify/Repair without failure.

Another anecdotal bit of information: one user reports that when Helix Utility fails in this manner, continuing to use the collection can put it in a state where Helix Utility CAN fix it. This does make sense, if you understand that Helix is constantly making and filling holes in a collection, and so the FRT is constantly changing. At some point, it “self-corrects.” Of course, we rarely suggest running a collection that has failed Helix Utility, but in this specific case, that is an option for the brave. (Who most certainly make frequent backups!)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

You received this message because you are subscribed to the mailing list <Hel...@gibhenry.com>.
To unsubscribe, send an email <Helix...@gibhenry.com>; to switch to DIGEST mode, send an email to <Helix-L...@gibhenry.com>; to contact a human being, send an email to <Helix-L...@gibhenry.com>.
Google archive since 20 August 2006: http://groups.google.com/group/helix-l.
Basic archive since March 2017: https://gibhenry.com:9100/Lists/Helix-L/List.html