Novell Server 3.12 dropping connections

[dragonjo8]

I've done a search but can't seem to find a topic that matches what I am experiencing.

My employers use an ancient POS (Point Of Sale) system that relies on Novell Server 3.12. The person that created the system modified the login for the client DOS machines (cash registers) such that a DOS (ASCII) animation (it actually looks like an fish in water) with a USER ID and PASSWORD section appears when a user logs out of the POS system. When users log off (go to the "fish" screen is what we call it) at the end of the day (6PM) they simply turn off their monitors. When they they start up the next day (8AM) they turn on their monitors and log in. Recently, however, there is a message on the screen indicating there is a network error... abort, retry, or fail. Either option yields no results. The only way to log in is to reboot.

The system has worked fine for years. I've done a vrepair, however, there are no errors. I've checked all the connections and all appear fine. The server itself runs just as fast as it always has (i.e. there doesn't appear to be any file corruption). Does anyone have any idea why the connections are being dropped? Is there some kind of idle connection timeout? If so, why is it kicking in now? Please advise.

Oh...one more thing. I don't believe the PURGE command has ever been run, however, I've been told the system will purge files as needed. The system is not running out of HD space.