Technical White Papers

This page contains white papers created by Goldstar Software Inc. Click on the PDF icon to download the complete document in Acrobat format. Click on the paper name to see the HTML version (if available).

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White Papers Regarding Data Access...

Accessing Btrieve Data From ODBC or Other Applications

Determining Your Pervasive or Btrieve Engine Version
This article covers the various aspects of determining your database engine version, from Btrieve 5.x through the current versions. (Updated March 2010)

White Papers Regarding Status Codes...

Status 161: Troubleshooting License Problems
Pervasive returns a Status 161 to indicate that you have exceeded your license count. This paper explains how to verify your license and address the most common issues! (Updated March 2010)

Status 46: Troubleshooting Read-Only Files
Having problems with Status 46 messages coming back from your application, causing users to lose database changes? This paper can help! (Updated January 2007)

Accessing Status Codes From Applications
Are you a developer that wants a way to access status code information directly from within your application? Check out this concept! (Updated May 2009)

Status 8013 After Installing Pervasive.SQL V8.5
If you just installed Pervasive.SQL V8.5 onto a system and you are now getting a Status 8013 when starting the application, here's how to fix it!

Status 94 Frequently Asked Questions
Many sites fight the dreaded Status 94 -- Permission Denied -- and cannot figure out how to get around it. This document reviews the primary causes of Status 94 errors with Btrieve and Pervasive.SQL.

Status 95/3111 Frequently Asked Questions
Are you plagued by chronic Status 95 (or Status 3111) problems? This FAQ list details the primary causes and provides some relief!

Status 2009 After Installing Pervasive.SQL V8
If you just installed Pervasive.SQL V8 onto a system running Pervasive.SQL V7 and you are getting a Status 2009 when starting the application, here's how to fix it!

White Papers Regarding Installation and Configuration...

Downloading Pervasive PSQL v11 or Newer
This document describes the process of downloading the PSQLv11 database engine and client. (Updated February 2011)

Updating Pervasive PSQL v10 to PSQLv10.30 or Newer
This document describes the process of patching an older Pervasive PSQL v10.20 (or older) database engine or client to the latest release. (Updated January 2011)

Virtualizing Your Pervasive Database Servers
Virtualization is the latest hot topic in the IT industry. Read this paper to help determine if this solution will work for your Pervasive database server! (Updated July 2010)

Tech Tip: Is My Pervasive Database Cache Big Enough for My Data?
This white paper was released as a Pervasive Tech Tip and helps you analyze your server to determine if your database cache is large enough for your data, or if you may need to adjust some settings. (Released February 2010) You can also read the Japanese version, translated by AgTech Pervasive Division.

Entering your Pervasive PSQLv9 License Key
Having problems with your Pervasive PSQLv9 License key? Try this paper! (Updated March 2010)

Entering your Pervasive PSQLv10 License Key
Having problems with your Pervasive PSQLv10/v11 License key? Try this paper! (Updated October 2011)

Checking your Pervasive Installation for Proper Operation
If you are wondering if you have successfully installed the Pervasive engine, here's how you can check the basic operations to make sure it is working. (Updated November 2006)

Setting a Permanent Gateway
The Pervasive.SQL 2000i and Pervasive.SQL V8 WorkGroup Engines work best when you can lock down the gateway to a single computer. Here's how & why...

Setting up the WorkGroup Engine as a Service
If you use the Pervasive.SQL WorkGroup Engine on a server and do not log into the server every day, then you will need to configure the database engine to start as a service. This paper explains how to configure this so that the WGE works without logging in. (Updated July 2010)

Forcing the Requester Version Information
This article explains how to force the Pervasive.SQL 2000i (or newer) requester to return an older Version Number, so that older applications can work with the newer database engines.

Disable the DOSBOX Redirector
This article explains how to disable the DOSBOX redirector to get an old Btrieve for DOS application peacefully coexisting with a newer Pervasive.SQL application.

Pervasive.SQL 2000 Backward Compatibility
Pervasive Software bills the Pervasive.SQL 2000 database engine as "backward compatible" with older applications. This paper examines the core issues in this claim!

Creating a Pervasive ODBC Data Source for PSQLv10/v11
If you already have DDF's, and just need to create a data source to access your database from ODBC, follow these quick instructions!

Creating a Pervasive ODBC Data Source for PSQLv8 and Earlier
If you already have DDF's, and just need to create a data source to access your database from ODBC, follow these quick instructions!

White Papers Regarding Maintenance and Troubleshooting...

Btrieve Data File Maintenance
What does it take to recover corrupted Btrieve data files? This excerpt from our first Service & Support class covers most of the basics for you! (Updated April 2010)
Note: If you have valid files and you just want to rebuild them to reclaim deleted space, please see the paper below.

Using Continuous Operations For Proper Backup
This paper is provided to explain to you the benefits and inner workings of Continuous Operations Mode, a database feature that allows you to take snapshot backups of your data at any time. (Updated March 2010)

Monitoring Your Database With Continuous Operations
This Pervasive Tech Tip (written by Goldstar Software) provides helpful information for monitoring your database backups with Continuous Operations Mode to ensure that nothing goes wrong, or that you are at least informed when the process does experience a problem. (Updated April 2010)

Rebuilding Database Files to the Newest File Format
Rebuilding files to the latest Pervasive file format can often provide substantial performance gains. Here's how to do it! (Updated March 2010)
Note: If you have corrupted files in need of recovery, please see the paper above on Data File Maintanance.

Testing your Network with the Pervasive System Analyzer
This article explains how to test your network's communications speed and reliability with the Pervasive System Analyzer, or via SmartScout for old environments. (Updated March 2010)

Pervasive PSQL Startup Process
This article explains what the startup process should look like on a client/server system connecting to a remote server for the first time. (Updated September 2011)

Obtaining a UserDump on a Windows Server
This paper discusses how to get a memory dump of the Pervasive database process on Windows Servers. (Updated December 2006)

Obtaining an MKDE Trace to Troubleshoot a Failing Application
This paper discusses how to get a Microkernel Database Engine trace to show the exact point at which an application fails. Having a valid trace leads to quicker resolution of problems you may encounter. (Updated March 2010)

Capturing Network Traffic With Wireshark
This paper discusses how to use Wireshark to get a network trace of your failing environment. Having such a trace can lead to quicker resolution of problems you may encounter. (Updated July 2010)

Understanding Server Memory Counters
This paper discusses the various server memory counters available in Windows, and how to find them out for your environment. This infomration is critical knowledge to have before reading the next paper. (Updated September 2010)

Interpreting Server Memory Counters
This paper expands on the above by showing you how to interpret the various server memory counters which can impact the performance and stability of your database engine. (Updated September 2010)

Capturing Virtual Bytes to a Log File (And Graphing it in Excel)
This paper details the process for collecting a single Performance Monitor counter (such as Virtual Bytes) from an active server, and then details a process to quickly graph the results to help analyze the resulting data. (Updated September 2010)

Checking Your Pervasive Server CPU Performance
This paper details one process for confirming the performance of your core CPU on the Pervasive database server environment. (Updated November 2010)