Access Manager

Richard · Site Admin Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 986 Location: UK

On some systems Access Manager is slow to open. This is due to the behaviour of the shortcut placed on the Programs menu and on the Desktop by Windows Installer.

A solution is to create a new shortcut to the application file AccessManager.exe. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder where Access Manager is installed. Right-click on the AccessManager.exe application file and choose Send To > Desktop (create shortcut). This will create a new shortcut on the desktop which you can use to open Access Manager.

You can improve the opening times of all programs that utilise the Microsoft .NET Framework by placing a shortcut to the StartNDF.exe application in your Programs > Startup folder. Download this utility from www.AccessManager.co.uk/Updates/StartDNF.zip

LedAstray · Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 18

It still takes anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds for Access Manager 2 to open even after I created a new shortcut and installed Start DNF.exe. I am using Windows 2000 SP4 with .NET Framework 1.1 on a 750mghz machine with 512ram 20GB HD & 160GB External HD. Version 1.3.360 was much faster. Should I switch back to it? Any other suggestions to speed it up? I think it ought to start instantly. Confused

Richard · Site Admin Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 986 Location: UK

The reason that AM does not start instantly is that it may have to load different parts of the .NET Framework - especially if AM is the first .NET program to start after your PC starts.

This process is much faster with Windows Vista as the Framework is more integrated into Windows.

On our 500mhz XP test machine it take 4.5 seconds to start AM2 - without using the StartDNF.exe utility.

You could try a few things:

1. Defragmenting your disk.
2. Clearing out the \Windows\Prefetch\ folder (more info on Google).
3. As a test, try opening the AccessManager.exe file directly from Window Explorer, and see if it is faster.

I hope this helps.

LedAstray · Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 18

Hi & thank you for your quick response. Your customer service is outstanding! In response to your suggestions:
1. I defrag my disk daily
2. I have no \Windows\Prefetch\ folder to clear out
3. I have .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 already installed
4. My machine has 512MB of memory
5. I opened the AccessManager.exe file directly from Window Explorer
and it is the same.
When I start up or reboot my machine, Access Manager takes 10 to 14 seconds to open. You are right, it is usually the first .NET program I open. Afterwards, it only takes about 4 seconds. I just wish it would open in 4 seconds all the time. I'm curious, is Access Manager written in Visual Basic, C++, or C#? Question

Richard · Site Admin Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 986 Location: UK

Access Manager is written in C#.

If you do upgrade to Windows Vista, I think you will see a significant performance improvement, not just with AM2 but with other applications as well.

ganda · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 24

TascSoftwareIRL · Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 21 Location: Ireland

The following comment would beg the question 'why?' (its the 'Daily' bit that would worry me personally).

Richard · Site Admin Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 986 Location: UK

Unfortunately it is a fact that .NET programs are a little slower to open. This is especially true for the first program that is opened when Windows starts. We are working on this and we expect some significant improvements with version 2.0 of the .NET Framework.