Data Corruption Question

[T-Square]

I have a client whose file crashes when they input a particular value into one of the fields. I surmise that this is a data corruption issue, since I can load other datasets and input the offending value, and I can input any other value in the problem file without crashing.

The database is a subscription management system, and the table in question tracks specific deliveries. I have a linking field in this table to connect a specific delivery to a payment. This PayID field is a number field which is filled in with a Payment record ID via script. I use 3 special values, -2, -1, and 0 to represent respectively, Payment Unknown, No Charge, and Unpaid deliveries. All is fine until you try to set the field to -1 (Uncharged), at which point Filemaker crashes. This occurs even if I add the value manually in a layout. As I said before, it doesn't happen with the same solution but a different dataset (it's a separation model application, so I can swap in different data quickly).

My questions are:

1) How could entering this particular value (-1) cause FM to crash?

2) How might I efficiently track down the corruption (there are ~130000 records in the table)? I plan to export all the data to tab-delimited text files and re-import to a clone, since an initial attempt at recovering the file resulted in a third of it disappearing instantly (oy!).

3) Is there any possibility that this problem is linked also to the fact that a search for 0 in this field now needs to be wrapped with quotation marks in order to retrieve records?

TIA,

David

[-Queue-]

Are there any Custom Functions or other calculations in the solution which might have an issue with the -1 value, such as causing division by zero or an infinite loop?

[gdurniak]

The fact that you recovered, and lost a lot, is troubling. The recover utility is designed to remove parts it does not like

I have posted tips here:

http://www.nyfmp.org/nyfmp/57

1. try this with an older backup copy. any difference?

2. save your files as "compressed"

3. do you "swap" the data, or the whole data file? the data file may be corrupt

4. if the field is indexed, turn indexing off, then back on (making a clone, and re-importing will also re-index)

5. is is just one record, or any record?

this is a trial & error process

greg

[T-Square]

Sorry for the delay getting back.

Queue-- there aren't any such CF or calculations.

Greg-- Thanks for the reminder about your tips (which I have read before), and I appreciate your suggestions (both here and there). I suspect that my troubles are a combination of issues that I will have to work my way through.

Specifically:

1) The swapped file is an earlier version of their data, so it works with that older backup.

2) Haven't tried yet.

3) I copy the older data file in at the OS level and fire up FM. Hence my subject line.

4) Haven't tried yet.

5) Doesn't matter which record. Moreover, you can add or edit a record, put in a value other than -1 and everything is fine. Change it to -1 and commit the record, and boom!

My current plan will be to export all the data to a tab-delimited file and import that text into a clean clone, but haven't had the time to do this yet. This all is complicated by the fact that the client is remote, the datafile is big, and the database is in constant use.

Cheers,

David