I have the current version of Excel through Office 365. I just have a question about how the Solver works. 

 Usually when I run the solver several times in a row I get the exact same result.
 

 However there have been a few times where the result is different. Sometimes significantly different.
 

 Is the Solver buggy? Should I always run it a few times to make sure I can trust the results? Is there a random element to how it Solves? Any help understanding how the Solver works would be helpful.
 

 If I'm doing something wrong, I can't figure out what it is.
 

 Thanks!
 

I'm still using Excel 2003!  I am not familiar with the newer Solver but I would guess that the default parameters that decide when the solution has converged "close enough" to an answer may need to be adjusted. 


> On Mar 10, 2014, at 12:58 PM, <mike@...> wrote:
> 
> I have the current version of Excel through Office 365. I just have a question about how the Solver works.
> 
> 
> Usually when I run the solver several times in a row I get the exact same result.
> 
> However there have been a few times where the result is different. Sometimes significantly different.
> 
> Is the Solver buggy? Should I always run it a few times to make sure I can trust the results? Is there a random element to how it Solves? Any help understanding how the Solver works would be helpful.
> 
> If I'm doing something wrong, I can't figure out what it is.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
>