More damaged files

[rex]

There are three related files, 1 and 2 are related to 3 and are opened when 3 is opened. As the files were loading, the UPS was disconnected. When re-started, 1 and 2 loaded from 3,s opening script, but 3 won't load. Recovery shows 3 was recovered OK and the file size indicates it is complete, but I can't get into it. The backup was also lost because it was overwritten when they exited FM and re-started. That was when I was called in! The external backup is now the active file, but there is still one day's data I would like to get out of the 3 file.Any suggestions? This is V5.5 as host networked to V5.

Files 1 and 2 work Ok as independant files and don't seem to be affected.

Just to get in and have a look would be all that is needed. Any help will be appreciated. This is a library file, 1 is fiction DB, 2 is non-fiction, and 3 is members with a loan record using 1 and 2 as relations.It is 3 that is kaput.

Rex.

[Wim Decorte]

Try to recover on different machines and maybe on a Mac too, but it's no guaruantee.

Some suggestions to avoid this in the future:

- configure the UPS software to close the FMS files immediately, schedule a shutdown after a couple of minutes

- configure the FMS backup so that it archives the files (zips the files after a backup in a date/time stamped ZIP). This is very easy to do with WinZip or WinRAR (in a batch file) and it gives you an unlimited set of backups instead of the default behaviour where the last backup gets overwritten with the new one.

[rex]

Thanks for the thoughts. I think I am going to install a USB flash drive and put a 'save a copy' script on a button that can be used instead of writing to CD as a daily backup. This can then be a manual backup that can be done at any time while the FM program is running, and after a large input of data. It can be done once a day, or once a hour, depending on the use, and will overwrite, but only on user demand.

Rex