Five Months of Data Gone Missing

[jacko]

I just upgraded Mac OS from 10.2.8 to 10.3. Had problems, reverted back to 10.2.8, then finally back to 10.3.

I back up regularly to 2nd drive using Backup and to CD using Disk Copy..

All files are OK but when I open FMP, all records entered after May 2004 are gone! That is a lot of work kaput.

I went to restore from drive using Backup to find that file was the same May date. Assuming the problem was somehow related to the OS upgrade I grabbed the CD which was backed up before the change over and ti my horror, guess what? The same.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Gear: Ibook, G3, FMP 6.0

[gdurniak]

Very often, "missing" data means that FileMaker somehow found, and opened, a duplicate copy of a file, and that the current data was entered there

Search all of your drives for any extra file copies, in other folders (in OS 9, FileMaker even has access to files in the trash. I have seen this happen)

If there WAS a duplicate file, and the backed up file stops at May, you may have already inadvertently deleted the more current file

An OS upgrade, by itself, would not cause missing data

[Lee Smith]

First of all, stop all activity on the this or any other computer that there is a chance the files may be there but deleted. This means any machine that was or could have been involved in your backup procedures, be sure you include any external drives, etc., floppies, CD's. well you get the idea. I have lucked out in the past in retrieving data that was deleted like this, using a Utility such as Norton. All you need is a Utility that can Undelete.

A Utility like this only needs to save your butt once to become your new best friend.

The main thing is, you don't want and data being written or deleted from any of these drives until you have had a chance to look at them with a utility. It may already be too late, but it is worth a shot

Good Luck, and let me know if it helped.

Lee

[LiveOak]

If the file on the CD has records missing, it's clear the problem occurred before the OS upgrade (it really wasn't the likely cause). We have moved many clients using FM server to backing up to a CD every day (that's CD-R, NOT CD-RW!). One thing to really avoid is multiple copies of the same files (with the same names, on the same computer). I would compress your backups using Stuffit so that FM can only find one set of files on both hard drives.

Other than that, there is no magic, unless you can find another copy somewhere on your drives or in your collection of backup CD's.

-bd

[VincentO'B]

I to have come across an instance of files being written to when in the trash this time on Mac 10.2.8 Filemaker 6.

Its something to be aware of

Vin.

[jacko]

"could be that the swapping of versions left user accounts orphaned. see if there are multiple "users" folders on the HDD."

kjoe

I think this is the answer. I guess the file in question was saved to an old user ID unbeknown to me for five months. Installing the new OS and having problems with it, meant I was pushed for space and deleted the older (i thought redundant) user files and the 'orphan' current file with them. It seems that I have backed up before I discovered the problem so looks like all is lost. Not devastating, just a pain. Thanks to all for helpful advice. Watch those orphans.