Configuration
=============
I have an application using Firebird 1.5 database on Windows XP.
Firebird is installed with default options.
Application is a Delphi program.
Program has 10 connections to the database and is the only program
using the database.
The computer is an IBM desktop computer with a 2.8 GHz P4 processor.

Problem
=======
The application has been running for 9 months and the database is
870mb. The user has complained that the PC is very slow to startup and
the way to improve this is by running a defrag. The defrag is done on
a monthly basis at the moment. The customer has determine that it is
the gdb file that is causing the defragmentation.

Questions
=========
Are there any parameters that I can or should change on the Firebird
database to improve performance under these conditions?

If so what program do I need to use to modify the parameters?

Should I tell the customer to defrag every day or week?

Should I change the datbase file extension from .gdb to .fdb?


Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Paul Hectors