SYSOM 1.0 - Duplicate Userlog Entry Problems

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

DUPLICATE USERLOG ENTRY PROBLEMS
--------------------------------

THIS INFORMATION APPLIES ONLY TO SYSOM VERSION 1.0, WHICH IS USED ONLY WITH 
TBBS VERSION 2.1.  IT DOES NOT APPLY TO CURRENT VERSIONS.

INTRODUCTION

Many people are experiencing problems when new users are added to the system 
via SYSOM ULEDIT.  When new users are added to the system, they seem to 
"disappear" with new users not being recognized by TBBS when they sign on. 

TECHNICAL EXPLANATION

There are two parts to a TBBS userlog.  USERLOG.BBS. which contains the actual 
user information, and USERLOG.INX, an index that TBBS uses to quickly look-up 
user information. 

SYSOM ULEDIT changes the USERLOG.BBS file on the disk when information is 
changed or added.  SYSOM ULEDIT does NOT change the disk file copy of 
USERLOG.INX - just the memory image of the file. When you bring the system 
down, the memory image goes away.  At this point, the USERLOG.INX index is out 
of synch with the USERLOG.BBS.  When the system is brought back on-line, TBBS 
can't find the users which were added in SYSOM ULEDIT, even though they are 
actually in the USERLOG.BBS file.  In this condition, TBBS will create 
duplicate user entries.  NOTE:  If TBBS remains on-line at all times, the 
condition will never be noticed because the memory image is always current.  
It gets out of synch only when the system brought off-line. 

Duplicate user entries cause serious operational problems for TBBS, and should 
not be allowed to occur. 

TBBS will rebuild the index file automatically after every five (5) user 
additions, whether those additions were handled by SYSOM ULEDIT or through new 
users signing themselves on, which hides the real problem in some cases. 

SOLUTION

To keep the problem happening, edit your RUNBBS.BAT file. Immediately before 
the loading of MLTBBS, insert a line that says: 

        DEL USERLOG.INX

This will delete the userlog index.  When TBBS loads, it will be forced to 
rebuild the index, and will keep it current in all cases.  This adds a short 
amount of time to the loading of TBBS that is unavoidable. 

Further, make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that NO duplicate entries remain. If you find 
duplicate entries, use the stand-alone (non-SYSOM) version of ULEDIT from DOS 
to delete these entries, then perform a userlog backup.  Duplicate entries 
CANNOT remain without causing serious side-effects. 

- END -
SYSOM001
Rev. 1/91

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

