UPDATE 12.9......Customer Service has the GUTS to be closed

[Cathy]

I just updated to 12.9 from the ATX web site. I chose the selection to automatically have my program updated each time I open it. Needless to say, 12.9 would not download that way and I had to retrieve it from the website.

Instructions on the website tells one how "To download and install 2012 Program updates using program Updates feature:

You know the routine...connect to the internet, open your 2012 program and click the updates button. This instruction was on the same page as the "To download and install 2012 Program updates without opening your program".

Pardon my French folks, but why in the hell did ATX not test the update to see if it would download through the program? Even more mind boggling is why the hell is Customer Support closed today at 6:30 PM central time (EVEN IF IT IS SUNDAY) on February 17, 2013, when they still have so many issues with their program? Simply unbelieveable!!!!! I have had to work till 3:00 in the morning every day since tax season began simply because this program is so flawed! One would think CCH would have the common decency to pay overtime to their programmers and support personnel to get ALL of the problems solved.

I still cannot print 2 copies of each return as only 1 copy will print! After I downloaded from the web site and installed 12.9 I performed the following test: I checked ONLY "custom print" and ONLY chose "billing" to print....2 copies, of course. Instead I got many, many pages I had not requested and ONLY one copy of those pages at that.

Each year, I comtemplate switching software but tell myself in January of each year that it HAS to be better this year. Contemplating the idea of converting ATX to another software now is so minor and I can't wait until next year!

It seems as if the ATX software has been turned over to high school students or freshman college students at best. The programmers cannot possibly be of the calibar needed to work with a tax software this time of year. Of course, I can appreciate the fact that ATX was no longer able to use the Excel spreadsheet as the mechanism of the program due to having to keep up with new technology, however, for us to be the ginnea pigs is again, mind boggling! Also, as the Excel spreadsheet worked fine last year with IRS's MEF system, I'm not convinced that ATX had to get rid of the Excel spreadsheet to run the program.

Every single one of these time consuming issues we are facing should have been remedied long before the season began. I would have been glad to work with them to test their new program engine in the off season as I'm sure many of our gang would have been glad to do as well....not to say that it should have been our responsibility in the least, but why didn't they do that rather than selling us a piece of C _ _ _ during the filing season.

Take care,

Cathy

[Cathy]

To add fuel to the fire, I just watched ATX TV where they talked with the President of CCH SFS, Jeff Gramlich, and he stated that their customer service department is working day and night including weekends!

A man is only as good as his word! I hope Mr. Gramlich reads my post.

Cathy

[Jack from Ohio]

Have you made all the adjustments to your system as recommended?

1. Are you using XP or WIN7? WIN7 PRO 64bit is the most compatible.
2. Told your anti-virus to ignore all ATX and CCH files?
3. Upgraded your computer to maximum RAM?
4. Using a newer fast processor?
5. Using a 64bit Operating System?
6. Checked for malware or spyware?
7. Made sure all firewalls are either disabled or told to allow all ATX or CCH files?
8. Deleted the Assets folder as described in several posts here?
9. Are you using standalone or a network?
10. Did you map the drive where ATX resides on the server on the workstations and install netsetup from the mapped folder?
11. Have you uninstalled the ATX2012Workstation program from the workstations then delete the ATX2012 folder from the workstation, reboot the workstation and run netsetup again?
12. Checked firewall settings on the server?

All of these steps that have made a difference in our network and my standalone setup, I found on this discussion board. I have yet to call tech support. Installed 12.9 Friday at 5:30 PM and it appears to have solved many of the issues. Tomorrow morning will tell for sure.

Just hoping to give you some help.

For the record, every person reaches a point where rest is necessary. Software programmers do 10 times the mental work us tax preparers do. I can only imagine that some of the programmers are completely disgusted with managements choices concerning the engine they are using.

Also, for the record, the spreadsheet based, Access 97 database program used by ATX till 2011 was barely compatible with the latest operating systems and server software. The change is 5 years overdue.

[taxtrio]

I understand that support does work on Sunday's. I see them answer post's on the community board at all hours.

They just don't answer the phones on Sunday to work on answering the customer support emails, and fax in questions.

Don't think they are not working just because they are not answering the phone.

I just fax them my questions or problems... I also post on the official community board and have gotten answers from

the support people who monitor the posts on the board. I don't even try to reach them by phone.. I'm too busy

with appointments.

Taxtrio

[Cathy]

Thanks Jack and taxtrio,

Jack.....Yes, I have done all that you suggest. And, you are right. I do need some rest, desperately, and possibly I would have time to rest if it didn't take me twice as long to prepare a return as it should. I completely understand your sympathy with the programmers at ATX, but don't you find it a little strange that our program wan't beta tested BEFORE tax season?

Taxtrio, I finally found myself with no clients at 6:30 pm tonight and called customer support. I have very little time to post to this board or read the comments from the other members as I'm up to my eyeballs with clients. I am a long time customer with ATX and I think I, or rather I should say "we" (even if one is a first year client) deserve better from the customer support and the entire ATX staff than we are getting. I tried to log on to the "official community board" but found myself locked out of it for some unknown reason. I haven't posted anything on it since this site has been up and running.

Thanks to both of you again.....

P.S. My program still closes for no reason even after installing the 12.9 update...thanks for the update, ATX!

[TAXMAN]

Hey Jack,

I am still having crash problems. When I look at the event viewer on my workstation running xpro 4gig ram I keep seeing the same source as NET Runtime 4.0 error and then it tells me what the description error appears. Any idea what this might be?

[Law1918]

Possible solution - - - I updated to 12.9.216.1 (Don't forget the Admin is the user name when logging in to downloading). First run through was the SAME problems with the forced closing as with 12.8 version. I just went into the program file and deleted the "ASSETS" folder as was suggested in another post. (I typed ( C:ProgramDataCCH Small Firm ServicesATX2012 ) into the search function in windows search box it pulled up the location to find the Assets folder - easier than going through the computer and into the c drive fishing.

Went back and then had to update the files (just the normal update). 700's something of them (gave me time to go make a taste beverage).

IT ACTUALLY WORK.

HOLLY COW. I have an OPENED tax return. At this point, it is like winning the lottery.

I hope this helps. Thanks for the extra drink ATX.

[Jack from Ohio]

Hey Jack,

I am still having crash problems. When I look at the event viewer on my workstation running xpro 4gig ram I keep seeing the same source as NET Runtime 4.0 error and then it tells me what the description error appears. Any idea what this might be?

We updated workstation computers from XP Pro to WIN7 Pro and much of the crashing went away. XP is very old now, and Microsoft is close to removing support for it. I would recommend a new workstation with i5 or higher quad core processor and at least 8GB RAM and make sure system is GigaBit compatible.

ATX2012 is NOT friendly with XP or Microsoft Server software prior to Server 2008.

[TAXMAN]

Is there a way to upgrade to win-7 without wiping my drive out? Maybe a second drive with win-7 os and boot to that one? I don't really want to lose and or reinstall all my programs.

[Jack from Ohio]

Is there a way to upgrade to win-7 without wiping my drive out? Maybe a second drive with win-7 os and boot to that one? I don't really want to lose and or reinstall all my programs.

No. You must do a complete wipe and reinstall. Better to get a new workstation computer. You will benefit greatly from the speed of a new computer. Start over on the new computer. Make it a new workstation and watch how much better it works with ATX2012.

I switched workstation computers that were ordered with a downgrade to XP. Upgrading to WIN 7 wiped the hard drive.

You will be greatly pleased with the additional speed.

[TaxMan60601]

Hey namesake, I am not sure and must say this is the top of my knowledge in this area but this "NET Runtime 4.0 error" have something to do with Microsoft .NET Frameworks 4 - check if your pc is "okay" with this software and if you have all the current MS updates on it. Also check you client letter preferences - this was the most current reason for my crash problems, after installing 12.7.

Fingers crossed as I am going for 12.8 and 12.9 now ....

Completely agreed with Jack - 'Start over on the new computer" is ALWAYS the better option ... if you have the time and resources to afford this now ...

[Chowdahead]

Have you made all the adjustments to your system as recommended?

1. Are you using XP or WIN7? WIN7 PRO 64bit is the most compatible.
2. Told your anti-virus to ignore all ATX and CCH files?
3. Upgraded your computer to maximum RAM?
4. Using a newer fast processor?
5. Using a 64bit Operating System?
6. Checked for malware or spyware?
7. Made sure all firewalls are either disabled or told to allow all ATX or CCH files?
8. Deleted the Assets folder as described in several posts here?
9. Are you using standalone or a network?
10. Did you map the drive where ATX resides on the server on the workstations and install netsetup from the mapped folder?
11. Have you uninstalled the ATX2012Workstation program from the workstations then delete the ATX2012 folder from the workstation, reboot the workstation and run netsetup again?
12. Checked firewall settings on the server?

All of these steps that have made a difference in our network and my standalone setup, I found on this discussion board. I have yet to call tech support. Installed 12.9 Friday at 5:30 PM and it appears to have solved many of the issues. Tomorrow morning will tell for sure.

Just hoping to give you some help.

For the record, every person reaches a point where rest is necessary. Software programmers do 10 times the mental work us tax preparers do. I can only imagine that some of the programmers are completely disgusted with managements choices concerning the engine they are using.

Also, for the record, the spreadsheet based, Access 97 database program used by ATX till 2011 was barely compatible with the latest operating systems and server software. The change is 5 years overdue.

I have to disagree with the hardware upgrades. According to the manual the minimum is 2GB of RAM and a 2Ghz processor. This is what ATX posts in their manual. Why should a user need 6-10 times the recommended amount of RAM and 10 times the recommended processor speed in order for the program to simply function?

This is not a hardware issue. I am running a Dell with an Intel Core i3 3.3GHz with 3GB or RAM and since the 12.9 update the software has been much more stable and faster. Not as fast as 2011, but creeping there, and with fewer crashes.

How did that happen if I am running the same hardware as I was on Jan. 17? This is a software issue and ATX quite simply improved the software. No amount of hardware is going to fix this. There are just as many people running high-end systems that are having many issues.

[Jack from Ohio]

I have to disagree with the hardware upgrades. According to the manual the minimum is 2GB of RAM and a 2Ghz processor. This is what ATX posts in their manual. Why should a user need 6-10 times the recommended amount of RAM and 10 times the recommended processor speed in order for the program to simply function?

This is not a hardware issue. I am running a Dell with an Intel Core i3 3.3GHz with 3GB or RAM and since the 12.9 update the software has been much more stable and faster. Not as fast as 2011, but creeping there, and with fewer crashes.

How did that happen if I am running the same hardware as I was on Jan. 17? This is a software issue and ATX quite simply improved the software. No amount of hardware is going to fix this. There are just as many people running high-end systems that are having many issues.

My experience with our network, using ATX since 2002, 3 different servers and server software in that time frame, replacing all 10 workstations in that time frame, Windows XP, WIN 7, adding RAM, changing video cards and assorted other hardware improvements have ALL increased speed, reduced errors and increased productivity. My recommendations are from first hand experience.

My recommendations stand.

I'll bet you drive a 3 cyl Geo Metro, right?

[Chowdahead]

My experience with our network, using ATX since 2002, 3 different servers and server software in that time frame, replacing all 10 workstations in that time frame, Windows XP, WIN 7, adding RAM, changing video cards and assorted other hardware improvements have ALL increased speed, reduced errors and increased productivity. My recommendations are from first hand experience.

My recommendations stand.

I'll bet you drive a 3 cyl Geo Metro, right?

Improving hardware make sense when the software is working optimally. This made sense in ATX 2011, ATX 2010, ATX 2009, etc. Or in any other Windows program.

But this software is flawed. I would hate to see someone go out and spend $10,000 in computer equipment, and still see the dreaded "ATX 2012 program has stopped working and must be closed".

When Windows 7 issues that message, it's because the program is poorly engineered. I was seeing this 15 times a day a few weeks ago, maybe more. I have performed no hardware upgrades, yet since 12.9 I only see that error message when I try to open a return in use by another user. So ATX has refined the software to work correctly. No new hardware needed.

And no, I drive a 2012 Nissan Altima SL. And no amount of fuel engine upgrades or rear deck wings will make it go faster if I have four flat tires.

[Jack from Ohio]

We have spent $0.00 this year. If we replace the last 4 oldest machines, we will spend approx $2,500 or less. Count 3,000 clients with returns and that is peanuts.

A Geo Metro meets minimum requirements for transportation of one person. To match your analogy. Why have larger car with bigger engine if a Metro will do the job?

[Chowdahead]

We have spent $0.00 this year. If we replace the last 4 oldest machines, we will spend approx $2,500 or less. Count 3,000 clients with returns and that is peanuts.

A Geo Metro meets minimum requirements for transportation of one person. To match your analogy. Why have larger car with bigger engine if a Metro will do the job?

A Metro meets the minimum requirements for getting from point A to point B. But if it has 4 flats, putting a turbocharger on the Metro won't get you to point B any faster. ATX 2012 doesn't meet even the minimum requirements of being a stable software for many users of both high end and low end syetems (well.. pre-12.9).

If the software were performing sluggish yet stable and I the user wanted more speed in processes, then of course more advanced hardware will yield faster processing times.

However, I have yet to see my Intel Core i3 3.3GHz even pass 10% is usage while using ATX, so processor capacity has not been an issue for me. Only 70% of my total RAM has ever been used at one time by the entire system. In fact, running any other software package on my PC, including MS Office 2013 has not been an issue.

I haven't even seen an application on Android is bug infested as this one is quite frankly.

[joanmcq]

I have; Windows Explorer. Freezes, crashes, and uses a lot of RAM. This I've noticed since I've had the task manager open while I'm working..

[mcb39]

Since downloading 12.9, the only REALLY noticeable problem I have is the inability to open more than one return at a time. BUT, that was yesterday. The program is so unpredictable that I don't know what to expect today. Pretty much able to work around most problems. I could learn to like this new program if it only were dependable and I didn't have to check every little thing.

[Gail in Virginia]

I also have been unable to open more than one return, and I have found since 12.8 that I cannot import K-1 data without the program shutting down. I can work around those issues, however, so I am just glad my problems are not worse.

[SFA]

After reading this topic yesterday, I ordered several screaming fast computers to replace two of my slower desktops. They will be delivered on Tuesday. I had an office meeting with my employees and used the "flat tire" scenerio and they thought it hit home with us.

Jack, your 12-point checklist is also useful.