The things that come to mind are anti-virus, firewall, something else running on the same port.  I would be curious, too, to see if the workstation's drives show they got disconnected from the server at some point.

Thanks for the reply, I've checked and nothing is being used on the port, also workstations do not report any loss of network connectivity. We did put exceptions on antivirus to exclude directories to be scanned. Very odd.

You might want to look at Sage Knowledgebase article # 20320 for that error:

Error: "Windx client connection: Connection Timed Out waiting for your application to start" or "The server side process failed to start or respond" when launching  

Products: Sage 100 ERP

Description

"Windx client connection: Connection Timed Out waiting for your application to start" or "The server side process failed to start or respond" when launching or accessing a tasks within Sage 100 ERP Advanced (ADV) or Premium (PREM)

Backup Warning

Use caution when working with the below product functionality. Always create a backup of your data before proceeding with advanced solutions. If necessary, seek the assistance of a qualified Sage Business Partner, network administrator, or Sage Customer Support Analyst.

Network Warning

This solution requires advanced knowledge of your network. Contact your system administrator for assistance. Modifying Windows security incorrectly can severely affect system operations. Sage is not responsible for operation issues caused by incorrectly modifying your Windows security. Always create a backup of your data before proceeding with advanced solutions.

Resolution

Resolution 1: The Sage 100 ERP ADV / PREM server is low on resources. Try the following procedures to allocate more resources:

Stop or disable unnecessary Windows services.

Run Application Server as an Application rather than a Service. Windows allocates more resources to desktop applications than services.

Stop the Sage MAS 200 Application Server service.

On the server, open Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services.

Locate the Sage MAS 200 Application Server service.

Right-click the service and select 'Stop'.

Start Sage MAS 200 Application Server as a desktop application.

On the server, open Start / Programs / Sage Software / Application Server Configuration.

Verify that "Running" displays in the 'Status' field.

If the Application Server is not "Running", click the 'Start' button.

Note: For more information on Application Server Configuration, see the Sage MAS 200 Installation and Administration Guide .

Modify the Windows registry to allocate more resources. For more information, see SS3003-ABC ("Cannot Create a New Session with a Large Number of Users").

Resolution 2: If running Dell Servers using Windows 2003 Service Pack 1, on the raid controller, disable the 'Raid Patrol' option to eliminate any firmware latency issues.

Related Resources

Cannot create a new session with a large number of users SS3003-ABC (KB article 20344)

How to Determine if Sage 100 ERP Advanced and Premium Application service has reached the Maximum Heap size allowed by Windows OS (KB article 36357)

Hi DGR,

Thank you for the reply. We're running in application server mode and not as service. Also stopped unnecessary services, still having the problems. I cannot find the KB article 36357. can you point me to the correct link.

thanks again.

That is an older article that may not be accessible, below is information on checking that information in Windows that may be helpful.  

To check if the Maximum Heap Size allowed by Windows OS is being reached:

Within Windows:

Select: Start, All Programs, Administrator Tools, Event Viewer

Select: Windows Logs, System

Right-click System

Select: Filter Current Log

Select the following Settings:

Event level: = Warning, Event Sources: Win32k (Win32k),Event IDs: 243

Select OK

Check the General tab for "A desktop heap allocation failed." when the Warning messages are filtered in log.

That is an older article that may not be accessible, below is information on checking that information in Windows that may be helpful.  

To check if the Maximum Heap Size allowed by Windows OS is being reached:

Within Windows:

Select: Start, All Programs, Administrator Tools, Event Viewer

Select: Windows Logs, System

Right-click System

Select: Filter Current Log

Select the following Settings:

Event level: = Warning, Event Sources: Win32k (Win32k),Event IDs: 243

Select OK

Check the General tab for "A desktop heap allocation failed." when the Warning messages are filtered in log.

We have been working on this issue for some time with our client, and we think we have resolved it by installing the CSODBC driver.  Below are instructions.  Apparently this service does have memory leak issues and will close at any given time.  We are trying to resolve this by automating a restart of the service every day.

For Sage 100 ERP 2013 ADVANCED

Install the CS/ODBC service to address the printing performance.  See "Configuring the Client/Server ODBC Driver" section in Sage 100 ERP Installation and Administration Guide on the portal "

From any workstation, start Sage 100 ERP ADV

Open Library Master, Setup, click System Configuration.

Click the ODBC tab.

Select the Enable C/S ODBC Driver check box.

In the ODBC Server Name field, enter the server name or the IP address.

Enter 20222 for the ODBC server port.

Clear the Enable for All Users check box if it is selected.

Click the Accept button.

Open Windows Start menu, click Run. In the Open field, type SERVICES.MSC

Click OK. This starts the Services applet.

Right click the Sage 100 ERP Client Server ODBC Driver Service select Properties

On the General tab, set the service startup type to Automatic.

Click the Start button, and verify that the service starts successfully.

Click OK to close

Note: The service can run on the system account; there is no reason to change the log in.

Configure the Sage 100 ERP user logon:

At the server, start a Sage 100 ERP workstation client

Open Library Master, Main, User Maintenance.

Select the first remote user and click the Preferences tab.

Select the Enable C/S ODBC Driver check box.

Click Accept button.

Repeat above steps for every user