The Pervasive "Not Running" Message

The 4.x version of 21st Century Accounting and 3.x version of 21st Century Payroll for Adagio added some new checking and message display when a Pervasive database engine is not active at the computer where the software is being loaded from and/or where the company data resides. A number of users have interpreted the display of these messages as an indication that installing the update broke something. Here is a sample of the message:

Warning: The Pervasive Database engine is not running at the location of the company data on AcctServer. This may impact company selection or use, especially in a multi-user environment.

That message does not necessarily indicate that something suddenly changed in the operation of Pervasive. That message display in the new release was added partially because of the architecture of the new Pervasive versions and partially to inform users who do have a multi-user setup that Pervasive is not functioning at the server when in fact it was installed there and should be running. In a multi-user environment with a dedicated server where the accounting software and data reside, the typical setup is that the Pervasive database engine would also be installed and active on that server computer. If Pervasive was installed at the server, but this message is occurring, then the status of the server should be checked. The server computer may just need to be restarted to reactivate the Pervasive engine.

In few situations it is not practical or not possible to have the Pervasive engine running at the server computer. There are certain performance and connectivity implications in such a setup, but the accounting software will function properly in that mode. When this is the case, these new messages can be ignored.

Steps for diagnosing this situation:

1. If Pervasive is a single-user, 7.90 version and was installed from a workstation to a “server” computer, then Pervasive won't be and can't be installed at the server location. For now, this message will appear at startup, but can be safely ignored.

2. A similar situation as above would exist for anyone running the 3-user Workgroup in a Netware server environment. The Pervasive Workgroup cannot be installed at the Netware Server.

3. For a multi-user installation of any Pervasive version and a remotely used single-user installation of Pervasive 10, the Pervasive engine component should be installed and running at the server computer. Perform the following steps at the “server” to analyze this type of situation:
   • Run the Control Panel/Add/Remove Program (Programs and Features on Vista, Win7) and check the list of installed programs for any Pervasive components. If not installed, then install Pervasive at the server.

   • For a Pervasive 7.9 Workgroup installation, the user should see the Pervasive Database - Pre-load icon in the Taskbar. If present, right-click and select About.

   • For Client/Server 7.9 installations and all V10 installations Pervasive should be running as a Windows service and will not be visible in the Taskbar. Go to the Start/Run command and type “services.msc” (without the quotes). Look for Pervasive service in the list. Check to see that status is “Started”.

   • If everything appears to be installed properly, try restarting the server computer. That may be sufficient to reset Pervasive to a working state.

   • If restarting the computer doesn't resolve the problem, then go through Windows Start/All Programs menu and start the Pervasive Control Center. In the left pane, open up the tree to see the tables in the Pervasive DEMODATA. Double click on any table name. That should open a display of rows of data.

4. If none of this helps resolve the issue, then create a 21st Century Accounting or 21st Century Payroll problem report and a copy of the PVSW Log. You can open up the PVSW Log through the Pervasive menu under Start/All Programs. You can determine where the file is from that.