Remote Admin applications freeze (sometimes!)

Question

I'd appreciate any help people might be able to offer for this very odd problem I'm having.
Background: I installed Leopard server in my college department yesterday. That went well, and I was able to administer it locally. It served web pages, a wiki; email, webmail all worked well. It's a standard configuration
Then I installed the administration apps on my MacBook Pro so that I could administer remotely. When I launched any of the applications (Server Preferences, Server Admin) they froze -- "application not responding" and I had to force quit the app. Consistently.
So, I packed up and went home for the night. At home, I opened up the MBP and thought I'd give it another try, and lo and behold, NOT A PROBLEM at all! No freezing. I was able to administer the server remotely, add users, etc.
When I got back to the office today, I tried the Server Preferences app, and it froze again! Consistently! Wired or wireless connection on the MBP. Restarted, tried a different (virgin) user account on the MBP. Nothing.
I installed the remote server admin applications on an iMac in the room next to me. No problem at all, it works just fine.
I restarted my MBP, even reinstalled the admin software. Server Preferences consistently hangs.
At the end of the day I once again went home, where I'm posting this, and tried Server Preferences. And... yes, it's working JUST FINE here. I can once again administer the server, add users, not a hint of a freeze. (I guess I should mention that at home I'm on an Airport Base Station connected to a cable modem; at the university I'm either on an Airport BS or the university's ethernet.)
I'm stumped.

Answer 1

Here's a Spinning Beachball faq.
I've found that if Disk Utility can't fix it, you'll need a more robust utility for the repair. I would recommend DiskWarrior. It is the best at directory repairs. It rebuilds then actually replaces your old directory. I feel every Mac owner should have a copy.
Even if it doesn't cure this ailment, you'll likely need it in the future.
Make sure you get the disk so you can boot up on it to run repairs. You can also install it on another drive and run it from there to repair this one. DW works faster that way.
I use DW once a month to try and catch errors in my system from getting too far out of hand. DW has repaired every big and little issue I've had on all three of my Macs.
DALE