If you are experiencing crashes while running a Helix product, particularly crashes that result in a Mac OS type error code you should first take steps to eliminate extension conflicts and system/disk driver corruption. Many types of crashes and freezes can be resolved by doing a "clean" system software install, updating disk drivers, or running with a base set of Mac extensions. Use Apple's Extension Manager control panel to select the Mac OS Base extension set and run with just those extensions long enough to determine if the problem has been eliminated or not. If the problem persists, boot from a System CD and run from that (if possible). If your hard disk is formatted with Apple's disk drivers, run Drive Setup and choose Update Driver from the Functions menu. Lastly, run the System Software Installer and click the Options button to select Install Clean System. Performing a clean installation has two advantages: 1) it removes the possibility of a corrupt system file being the source of the problem and 2) your old System Folder is renamed Previous System Folder and left unchanged. If you discover that the problem has not been resolved, you can reactivate your old System Folder and avoid reconfiguring your system.

Type 11 errors are caused when the 68k code interpreter built into the Mac OS fails to correctly convert it to PowerPC code. Most occurrences of a type 11 error are eliminated by the most recent versions of Mac OS and Helix. If you are running the Helix 4.5.5 or later under Mac OS 8.6 or higher, and are still experiencing Type 11 errors, you should check your third party extensions for PowerPC compatibility. Also, Apple has published a technote on eliminating some common crashes.

Yes. Refer to the Appendix in The Helix Reference.

Something in the structure does not check out properly. This could be caused by anything from a defect in Helix to a momentary power fluctuation on your computer. It is generally advised that you go to a backup copy of your collection when this happens, but if that is not a reasonable option, Helix Technical Support can repair most databases. Contact Technical Support for details.

Technically speaking, you cannot. However, just as with any problem, if you have a backup, you are safe from losing your Collection. If you find that you are getting recurring 302 errors after working in Helix, contact Technical Support. We are eager to document and fix any repeatable problem.

While it is usually impossible to determine exactly "what went wrong," the majority of Collections that are sent in for repair indicate that the damage was caused by some sort of failure related to storing the data on disk. Briefly: When Helix needs to work with data on a disk, it has to ask the OS to ask the disk drive to do what we need. If something goes wrong anywhere in that chain, and the error is not reported back to Helix, chances are that the data on the disk is not accurate. Fortunately there are many levels of error checking in place to make sure that if the data can not be stored correctly, you are informed. You are usually informed with a "crash" Ñ either a Helix or Mac OS error dialog appears and you have no other option but to restart. A crash is never pleasant, but it is better than having bad data stored in your collection and not be aware of it. Collections sometimes get damaged when an error slips by unnoticed. If you are experiencing frequent crashes or occasional collection damage, making sure your hardware and software are in good shape is the first step to resolving the problem. Make sure that you have allocated sufficient memory to Helix, that your system is virus free, and your disk drivers are up to date, that you have stable electrical service at the outlet where the computer is plugged in, that your hardware is running properly, that all cables - internal and external - are in good shape and securely fastened... the list could go on and on.

Yes, there is an internal pointer that thinks that object is still in use, when it really isn't. A number of ways of fixing this have been suggested in the past, but the easiest is just to reuse the icon for another purpose. The engineering team is looking into this to determine whether the utilities can be made to automatically correct this problem.

When paste structure was introduced in Helix Express 4.0, there were many types of constructions that were not fully considered. Pasting those types of structure would either result in an immediate crash or a damaged collection. Version 4.5 eliminated most of those problems but a couple remain. If you attempt to paste structure that includes a view with a subform and that subform is restructed by an abacus query, you will develop a 302 error. If you are seeing any other repeatable error when pasting structure, contact Technical Support with details and a sample if possible. We want to eliminate all of these as soon as possible.

Memory is a tricky issue. Some collections work better with smaller memory allocations, some collections require more. The ideal is to use as little as possible while ensuring reliable operation. Helix is committed to making your collection work for you. Contact Technical Support if you have questions or would like specific recommendations about memory.

Before you submit a defect report, please contact technical support and make sure we haven't already isolated this defect. Technical support may be able to provide workarounds, or if this is a new defect, may ask you to do further testing to attempt to isolate the cause.

A sample collection with clear instructions on replicating the defect will help us wliminate it quickly. It is important that you strip away all of the unrelated elements of your construction until you have a simple, focused sample that illustrated the problem. A view that has 50 elements and crashes when you press Enter probably has a root cause in one or two objects and their interraction with each other. When you think you have narrowed it down, try removing the objects that are causing it and recreating them from scratch. You may have a corrupted object that is not being detected by Helix Update Collection. Try building the defect into a new collection. If you can build it again, you've got something we definitely want to see.

We do! Using the latest version of Helix Client, visit the tech support collection at the server named techdb.qsatoolworks.com. Log in as user "Guest". There you can look up the error code you are seeing.
Please note that the information in the error code list is not actively maintained. Some of it is quite outdated. In all cases you should contact technical support before attempting to act on the information you see in that list.