> Does anyone know if there is any way of either
>
> (a) speeding up the very first connection to IB?

Renaming the database to something other than gdb
http://www.fbtalk.net/viewtopic.php?id=204

Disabling hyperthreading.

>
> or
>
> (b) preventing it from timing out?
>
> And config settings or anything like that that we can use?
>
> Our very first connection to the DB keeps on timing out.

Probably a result of the system restore 'feature' above.

> (My own suggestion is that we replace it with FB 1.5 .... :))

That would be a very wise move. Even 1.0 would be preferable. If you
want to know why, read the release notes to see the bugs fixed and the
enhancements.

Adam