March 17, 2017:  Recently, I’ve logged into a number of LiquorPOS systems where the performance of the system was not meeting expectations.  In fact, in some cases the system was so unstable as to interfere with running the business!!  In each case, a series of simple checks and steps got the system back up to par!  Most of these are things you can do yourself and make your life a whole lot easier.  So, if your LiquorPOS Point-of-Sale system seems slow, unstable or crashes regularly use the following check list:

1. Run the SMB2 Utility on all Windows7 computers:  If you are a geek like me you can read a technical description of what this does here — http://www.alaska-software.com/community/smb2.cxp.  But a quick explanation is that running the utility allows a database system (like LiquorPOS) to share the data more efficiently.  You’ll find running this utility speeds up many programs on your computer!  To run the utility, in LiquorPOS BackOffice go to the Help Menu and then select Run SMB2 Utility. Let the Utility run and then reboot the computer.  It is important to run this on EVERY Windows7 Pro Machine in your store.  DO NOT run it on a machine running Server software like Server 2012) or XP.  The Utility seems to be useful on Win8 machines as well.
2. Add LiquorPOS folders to the Exceptions for your Anti-Virus Software:  Just by doing it’s job of scanning network activity for viruses and malware, your AV Software can cripple your system.  Make sure that on the machine designated as your Server, the files LiquorPOS, LPOSDATA and LPOSMgr have been added to the exception list.  On the rest of your workstations, make sure the LiquorPOS folder is on the exception list.
3. Run backups at night:  If you are using an automated backup system like Carbonite, make sure the backup is running when the store is not open.  Any backup system attempting to copy files at the same time your registers are trying to access those files and slow or even crash your Point-of-Sale system.
4. Make sure every computer is plugged into a battery backup:  Each of your computers as well as your network switch or router whould be plugged into the battery baked up side of a good battery backup as any power issues can seriously compromise the functioning of your system.  The purpose here is not to keep the system running in the event of a complete power failure but rather to eliminate the interruption of power to your computers and give you a chance to shut down properly and prevent data loss.  Obviously, a battery backup will help you ride out a short outage as well.
5. Power settings on the Server:  You do not want the machine designated as your Server to hibernate, sleep or shut itself down.  Obviously, if it is not available at all times, it can’t do it’s job.  If some other computer than your data server hosts your credit card software, that computer should not hibernate, sleep or shut itself down either.  It is best if the registers also stay running but not quite as critical.
6. Don’t forget to run a reindex:  Running a reindex is like straighening your file cabinet.  It makes it much easier for your Point-of-Sale system to find what it needs.  A Full Set Reindex will keep things in order!

Assuming that your hardware meets System Requirements, has adequate Hard Drive Space and RAM, the above steps solve the vast majority of performance issues.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions I can help answer!!