Help with corrupted files

[NashDance]

Hi,

I receive this error message "PHONEBK was not created by FileMaker or is severely damaged and cannot be opened." We can no longer open or access any information from the Phone Book section on our database. I cannot recover the file using the "recover command.

Please help!

Edited June 11, 2009 by Guest
The Topic: <a href="http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/209526">Help with corrupted files</a> was moved from <a href="http://fmforums.com/forum/showforum.php?fid/42">FileMaker.fp5</a> to <a href="http://fmforums.com/forum/showforum.php?fid/227">D

[bcooney]

Revert to the last backup (sorry, it needs to be said).

Otherwise, the recovery tools have been said to be improved in FM10. Perhaps you can download the FM10 demo and try opening with that. You'll go thru a conversion process, but perhaps you can get your data.

(I know that FMA10 has dev tools for recover, but I don't think that FMI offers a demo of FMA10).

[NashDance]

Hi!

Thanks so much for your reply. I guess that's the part I left out -- it seems when FileMaker has been closed for the day, it's only been x'd out at the corner, not closed using EXIT. Therefore we have no backups BIG Bummer. I found some older FM files on the computer, but they're at least 2 years old. I'm not sure if I can substitute the PHONEBK file from one of those, and it'll be missing 2 years worth of info, but I may have to try it as a last resort.

I will try downloading FM10 -- The FM tech support people weren't very helpful but DID offer a trial download of FM10.

[bcooney]

I don't understand why you don't have backups. It's a multi-file FM6 solution, and so since files are still open they are skipped? You are running this off a FM Server?

Anyway, try opening the damaged PHONEBK in FM10, just to get its data. Then export the data out as tab files and import them back into a clone of the old PHONEBK you found. Remember to set the serial number ID to the highest value +1.

If the PHONEBK you found has the same structure as the damaged, you should be good to go. Just copy it into the solution folder. (Save copies of everything).

[NashDance]

Hm, I'm pretty new to all of this, so I'm not sure what alot of that means!

When I opened FileMaker a few files needed to be recovered, and they are fine now. Phonebk, however, wouldn't open, so I hit cancel, that was it -- it just won't open when I click now.

As for it being on a server, we do have it set up for a network of 2 computers, but we rarely use the second computer. Is that what you mean?

If we had backup copies, where would they end up being saved? I'm just not seeing anything, and I know we didn't manually back up.

I'm gonna try the FM10 thing, I'll let you know what happens!

Thanks SO much!

[bcooney]

"As for it being on a server, we do have it set up for a network of 2 computers, but we rarely use the second computer. Is that what you mean? "

--Um, no. A dedicated workstation running FM server. What you are doing is called peer-to-peer.

"If we had backup copies, where would they end up being saved? I'm just not seeing anything, and I know we didn't manually back up."

--Sounds like there aren't any backups. If you use peer-to-peer, then the least you should do is both quit FM at end of day and copy the files onto a memory stick. Perhaps at noon, also.