i had 107183 records in a table, now it reads zero but the data is still there

[sunkissedeyes]

i believe when the server was shutdown [by pressing+holding the the front button on the macintosh server] the database became corrupt. i'm hoping i'm wrong.

the records still appear, and can be edited, although filemaker claims there are none in the table in the "define database" menu item.

one user is having issues where an extra blank record is created in addition to the ones that are supposed to be created via the script. no others are having those issues.

when i investigate a copy of the database the automatically (by script) created records in that table appear but disappear and show an empty portal area 'placeholder' (if that makes sense). these empty placeholders can't be deleted. and appear to be related to the parent but can not be deleted, even when viewing the data in that table directly (i.e. not through a portal). but no users are experiencing this.

any thoughts?

i figure i have to work off a backup and recreate (or import) the data that was created since then. but maybe someone has some insight.

thank you.

[Ender]

i believe when the server was shutdown [by pressing+holding the the front button on the macintosh server] the database became corrupt.

Yeah, that'll happen. That's why it's important to close the databases and shut down the services properly before shutting down the computer. Also why it's important to have regular backups.

The symptoms do indeed sound like corruption. You should proceed with data recovery and return to a previous backup. Check Answer#s 1580 and 5317 in FileMaker's knowledge base for details.

[sunkissedeyes]

yeah i knew the shutdown was a bad idea but the tech people insisted.

the display was unresponsive and it fixed that!

i'll check out those knowledgebase articles.

thanks.

[T-Square]

Wherever it is you can see the records, export them as soon as possible from the file to another format (like csv or tab-delimited).

I had something like this happen, only I couldn't see the data at all, except when I opened a particular report. I found that I could export the data I could see out of the file and proceed with data recovery. BTW, I later found records with null values in required fields...

Any time you have an application close irregularly (whether it is FM or some other application), it is critical to determine whether your data has been corrupted *before* allowing anyone to use the data again.

HTH,

David

[Fei]

I thought the server engine come with a consistency check ? As long as it display normal the database health I presume should be ok ? Correct me if I am wrong.

[sunkissedeyes]

it may have a consistency check, but in my case we had corrupted records...blank but impossible to delete...and appearing on reports and in related records (somehow linked to an existing parent record).

it seems a File -> "Recover..." may do the trick.

i had tried that last week but likely was not patient enough.

it seemed to hang on my corrupt table...but today it made it through!

[sunkissedeyes]

however, it seems recover made 378 extra fields in the troubled table...and bizarre behavior still exits but is sporadic.

i think i'll need to export and reimport as per the technotes.

[BobWeaver]

In future, if the server computer appears to lock up, close all Filemaker clients, and wait as long as possible. This allows the server time to write its cache to disk. Also, if you have any way of remotely shutting down FM server (Remote Admin, VNC etc.), attempt to do that. Only force quit or power down after you have exhausted all other methods.