Software Conflicts

[Trader Question]

I am experiencing software problems when I have my P&L charts open. If I simply open one workspace it interferes with another trading software to function properly. I have been thinking of likely sources and I can only think that the only thing that is different this week is that I did upgrade to the latest TradeStation version, but I have no idea if this is related or not. If I run other charts in TradeStation without Drummond indicators then I have no problems. The problem is that when opened, my PL workspace creates a freeze up of any other software opened. As soon as I close that workspace then the other workspaces have no impact. Also I have tried just opening 1 PL workspace and the same freeze up happens to my other trading software.

Any thoughts as I cannot execute trades this way all week because of this problem.

Also perhaps of note is that my PL workspaces have always been very slow to change windows. For example if I am looking at a single workspace with a monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, 30 and 5 minute chart open then when I click to another timeframe window it has always taken a few seconds, maybe 5 or so to change over and make the other window become "active"/highlighted. Again this has always been the case with PL charts and not in other charts within TradeStation. I question this because when I watch Charlie's videos at night he can click on a different timeframe and it becomes almost instantly active. I mention this only because I don't if it is related to the new problem I am currently experiencing.

M.S.

[pldot]

first, some questions... what build of TS are you running? Do you have the previous build on your machine and if so, what is it? Send me a copy of one of your DG workspaces. How much data on your DG charts? What is your hardware configuration? What processor speed, and hoe much memory?
As you see, there are a number of variables...

[Trader Question]

TS8.2 version 3891 most recent release. I have 3863 version still on my computer as I was told by TradeStation to upgrade with the time change.
Dual Intel Xeon processors. 2GB ram. I believe that this is the hardware config you're interested in?
www.digitaltigers.com Stratosphere Elite SQ8. This place in Atlanta built it specifically for trading.

A sample workspace is attached ... I think.

M.S.

[pldot]

I imported your workspace and can open it and switch from one workspace to another with no problem, and no delay. Your indicators and workspace configuration is fine. There are no apparent difficulties with the set-up hat I can see.

With two gig RAM you should not be having memory problems but the symptoms you describe are indicative of a lack of computer resources. Open your task manager and see if the processors are maxing out when you use this workspace. Try rebooting and running TS alone with this workspace and one other and see if the resource usage drops. You should also screen for viruses and spyware. Try reverting to the previous build of TS and see if the symptom disappears. If so, you may wish to wait for build 3894 or request that TS give you access to that, as it is the newest build and appears to be stable.

I can send you a fresh copy of your indicators and you can re-install them if you like, in the event that something got clobbered at some point, but there is nothing yet that says this would be the case.

[Trader Question]

Thanks Ted. I have called my computer tech to have a look too. What is puzzling me is that with the P&L indicators, my "Drummond" workspaces have always been slow relatively speaking compared to another desktop that I have open that also uses indicators, but not Drummond indicators.

Perhaps a reinstall is a good idea as it certainly would do no harm.

I run what has been touted as a good antivirus and spyware software and perform complete scans automatically and manually everyday. I realize that no software is perfect for preventing these types of problems, but my antivirus and spyware software has served me well thus far. This thought crossed my mind and that was another reason why I called my computer tech guy.

Let me know how, what's involved with a reinstall and it's probably worth a shot. I've got everything backed up on a secondary hard drive too.

M.S.

[pldot]

The Drummond Indicators can be resource intensive, since thre are a lot of them, and if memory resources turn out to be the problem, then there are some things that can help. Turn off the "update every tick" selection on the format/indicators/general tab for most of the indicators will conserve a lot of resources...