Records Invisible

[mikemccloskey]

Help! I have been using my database for years, now all of a sudden, when I create a new record, all is well till I hit enter, then I can no longer edit the fields, nor can I find the record I just created. When I do a find, it tells me no records match the request. All my other records are fine. The database is 24 mb and almost 23,400 records. Hmmm, have I hit a limit? What is happening?

Thanks

[DykstrL]

It sounds like file corruption. Is the file shared? Is it hosted on a FM server? Have you ever had to run "Recover" on the file? Is it on a network drive? We need more information to make a more definitive diagnosis.

The version you are using (FP5 extension) has a limit of 2GB, so you are no where near it's limit.

[mikemccloskey]

Yes, it is a shared file (multi user). It has been hosted on an FM Server but that doesn't seem to matter. I have run Recover but to no avail. I have been able to clone (no records) the file then import the records which I know are good but there are about 12 records that won't "repair". It now works fine in the new cloned file, but my recent records are still trash.

It is on a network drive, but that doesn't seem to matter. I have moved the file to my local drive but no luck.

thanks

[DykstrL]

It is not good practice to use a file that has been 'recovered'. The Recover command is only supposed to be used to recover the data. You should always have a good clone copy of your files for just such an event. Then, if you have a crash or end up with a corrupt file, you can perform a recover and import the recovered records into the clone file.

If you don't have a known good, clean file to create a clone from, then you should create a new one from scratch, including any and all layout elements. If you don't, and continue to use the 'recovered' file, it may work OK for a while, but eventually, the corruption is going to come back and haunt you again.

If the Recover command won't repair those 12 records, then they are more than likely corrupt beyond repair.

You could try exporting all of the records in your file to a TAB or CSV (any kind of text) file - that might strip the corruption out of those records, but there will probably be some elements of those records that are missing or garbled.

Hope this helps...

[mikemccloskey]

Thanks for the tip. I have been recovering and using files for years. I will adopt your idea for the future. I tried exporting to a TAB file but it still did not work. I decided to recreate those records. Thanks for all the help.

[Lee Smith]

Hi Mike,

The Corrupted File Topic has been discussed many times here at the Forums. A search for [color:"blue"]corruption should provide you with several nights of reading. Take a look at this recent Article posted in the [color:"blue"]Solutions & Suggestions >> Articles - Tips, Tricks & Techniques, just click on this link to go:

http://www.fmforums.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=112280

HTH

Lee