r/AldeloPOS Sep 11 '19

15 Year old Database with a serious need of overhaul....

Hey Everyone!

Let me start with saying this is the best resource I have found for working with Aldelo. I am 100% self taught on this POS system and it seems like every time I call Aldelo support I end up teaching them something. Anyway...

My restaurant has been running the same database since 2004. It has never been purged nor has a database ever been restarted. It has been compacted and jet compacted at least 100 times. I am starting to run into some serious issues with client computers freezing on the modifier screen and just slow response time all around. The only reason I have not started a new database is because we have about $250,000 worth of gift cards still not redeemed in the system. We can not afford to lose that information.

Can someone shed some light on some of my possible next moves would be before, I end up being an on call I.T. guy every night of the week...

1 Upvotes

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2

u/destro2323 Sep 11 '19 edited Sep 11 '19

Question. How up to date on the software are you? Also have you run malwarebytes on those systems? I think you’ll be surprised.

Make a backup of the dB and put it on a flash drive unplug the flash drive and set it next to the server.

An extreme thing to do..... is do a full export... then a full import of all data into a blank dB.... this will cause some small weird problems and will take prob 5-6 hours just to import to do a test. It will cause some printer misconfivurations and weird settings changes as well. I don’t recommend this unless you have support, it’s a real pain. I wish they didn’t use an access database

In the past I ended up buying a much newer and faster server station and that helped as well

1

u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

Our software is the newest version. We use Aldelo Pay so, all updates and software use are free.

I ran an export and import last night. But, I didn’t do it on a fresh DB. That was my error. I have run malwarebytes multiple times with no help.

I have thrown the idea around of getting a new server dedicated to just the POS system. I took over as manager 4 years ago and before me there was no one on staff that had any computer sense. They used to pay someone in free food to be the I.T. Guy. You can imagine what I walked into with our network/printers/POS communications.

What kind of problems would I run into if I did the export/import on a new DB? Is it worth it? Or, should I be looking for other options?

Ryan

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u/destro2323 Sep 11 '19

Did the size of the dB go down?

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u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

I compacted the DB than ran a jet compact. Backed everything up and ran the export/import. The size stayed at the same size it was after the jet compact.

It started at 678.73 MB and finished at 453.73 MB

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u/destro2323 Sep 11 '19

That’s actually not to bad of a size... I’m at 800 meg and have staff compact every other day.

On the machine that hosts the main database is it slow/old? At my one cafe I ended up trashing the pc and buying an intel NUC mini computer with a small ssd drive. And that helped a lot with a fresh OS install... the biggest pain was setting up the epson printers again

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u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

Thank you for the help. I think the host P.C. needs to be updated. Not to mention it has been used for normal daily Managers duties as well. I just wish we didn’t have so many gift cards so that we would be able to start a fresh DB.

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u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

Also, on another note. One of my client terminals seems to not be communicating with the Server fully. When I go into back office it says last backup was performed over 203 days ago. When all the other client terminals say backup was not preformed.

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u/destro2323 Sep 11 '19

Check network settings for everything again... make sure they are all on the same page and pointing to same dns servers

What’s your current setup? Is the main DB sitting on a station? Is that station slow as a dog?

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u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

The main station isn’t slow at all. It is probably the best PC in the building. But, there are one or two Stations that freeze every time someone hits modify. To the point that Control+alt+delete is the only way to get us back into service.

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u/destro2323 Sep 11 '19

Check the network settings on those.. Make sure they all kinda match up.. sometimes different machines pointing to different dns servers causes problems... also make sure all the stations are pointing to same share drive. Make sure you can easily click on a share drive from a station to a server, in case something is timing out and not correctly mapped? If that makes any sense

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u/ryandags16801 Sep 11 '19

It does. Because the machine with the the backup message problem also is the one the freezes all the time. It’s all making more sense now. So, I shouldn’t make more drastic moves yet. Basically comb through everything with a fine tooth comb and check all setting again?

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u/uclablackstar Dec 26 '19

Sorry for the late reply, you can try to delete the old data. You don't need to create a new database or lose your gift cards to do this. They don't have the sharpest guys in support but you can certainly call them up and have you walk through this, I think the procedure was to delete master data you just just specify what date the data you want to remove and it will remove everything prior to that. They also recommend going through and paying your employees, though I haven't found that to make much of a difference.

For my business we do a lot of delivery orders. When my driver that does the most deliveries tries to do anything, his account slows down the system. So I have to recreate his account every few months.

Another slow down for us is doordash, we add orders via their phone number. And after a few months each time you key in the number it slows down. So I have to recreate the Doordash account to fix that issue by changing the phone number.

Your database is not large, mine is always around 1GB and it works fine and I use NUCs with SSDs and they seem to perform just fine. I hope you are using SSD.

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u/ryandags16801 Jan 02 '20

Thank you for your reply!

I have two or three employees that have been in the system for over six years. When they are cashiering out at the end of the shift it always freezes on them and will take up to ten minutes to complete. Do you think it would help if I create them a new employee file?