New Win 8.1 user connecting to existing user db

I am running Samba for our restaurant in Colombia and I want to start by saying that it is GREAT and very useful for fast tracking orders. we also love the reporting features that come with samba.

Question:
I did all the configuration on an admin account which I now want to be not available to my servers. I created a new user in Win 8.1 and now when i run samba as that user it resorts back to a newly insalled version. I assume this is related to the local database created by each user for samba but how do i connect to the other user database that I have everything created and running in? Thanks for your help.

Its more than likely not the fact that its creating a database per user but more of the fact that it cannot connect to the instance now. It would be a permission issue. Give that user permission and it should work. Log in SambaPOS as that new user then double click the logo in upper left corner to change it to windowed mode and look at the name bar at top of the window.

Does it say SQ on right?

no, it doesn’t say that. it says TX

Ok this is what I thought. It is in demo mode meaning it is no longer connected to your database due to permissions. You need to grant that new user permission to connect to the database.

If it is connected to the SQL Database it will say SQ there. You should log into your admin account and make sure it is connected to SQ there as well. If that one says TX then you created your setup on a demo mode and will not be able to use it.

TX means it is using a Text based demo setup which is meant for just simply looking at it and not meant for production. It will not work in production in demo mode.

I guess my problem is bigger than I thought. I went back to look at the user we have been using for production and it also says TX. What do you think I should do now? We have been running for 6 months like that.

Is there a way to use the TX data from one user to another?

Can I convert that to using a database without losing the data?

Thanks for the help Ken!

Unfortunately you will have to rebuild it from scratch. You definitely need to install it properly and convert it to localdb. You will have to manually set it up again. It is work you did not anticipate I know but you will have major issues in future if you attempt to continue running it in demo mode.

You can reinstall and make sure localdb option is selected and when it asks to download SQL Express you must hit yes and allow it to download and install it.

You will be guaranteed to lose data and really mess your operation up if you continue in TX mode.

so best option is to uninstall samba and then re install it and select localdb? i had someone helping me with that part so unfortunately I think that was a mistake.

No need to uninstall you can just install it again but ensure localdb is selected… Here is a screenshot one moment.

Guess i will pray things go well through the weekend and then do the work on monday when things are less busy. what an idiot i am :smile:

It will come up asking for you to download SQL Server Express you should chose yes and let it download and set that up.

An alternative and recommended is to not use LocalDB and follow this tutorial to install SQL Express 2014 for more control over your database.

Will that only be available to that windows user which i install it under?

It should yes. The reason you couldnt access your demo install is because that TXT file was owned by admin and was stored in a folder your new user had no permission for. Eventually you would lose data because the TXT file would get too large. It also would not support many functions of SambaPOS.

If you choose to install SQL Express 2014 which is what I recommend you can use Microsoft SQL Management studio to control your database including backup and migration. (Technically you can do this with Localdb as well but you get much better control with SQL Express Server)

Not an idiot something we are actively trying to achieve is better new user experience. These common mistakes should get less and less as development continues.

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is it possible to move the txt file to the other user to run in TX mode for that user for now?

No that is not possible it was not made to be production.

i have installed sql express and the management console but on my new user i am getting an error when i login to samba. says can’t connect to the database. so i logged into my admin account, ran samba (which before was in TX mode) and now it says SQ but strangely enough, all my data is still there like i am still running in TX mode. Not really sure that it is connected to the sambapos database i created in sql.

when i try to log into samba as the new user it says it cant connect immediatly and doesn’t log in. it shows the admin 1234 password like it is a new install too. any suggestions?

Permission issue your new user does not have permission to that db.

thanks ken. i will keep trying to figure it out. guess i didn’t have to reinstall sql as admin on that user like i am doing now.