Filemaker constantly "damaging" files/crashing

[kiwiora]

Is anyone else having performance problems with FM 10+ and Windows 7?

I am constantly getting a "file damaged" from filemaker on databases. It's on a couple of databases I work on - some from previous versions, others brand new. Some complex, some not. I get it atleast once a day so have to be sure to close the file often as it doesn't necessarily automatically save my layout changes if I go into browse mode.

The most recent one this morning is a very basic <10 field database I use to import data from an external source and sort. This morning after I had finished sending the resulting report in pdf, it tells me it's damaged. Upon opening the file, every record has a ? in the fields.

I upgraded to 11 yesterday in the hope that perhaps it was more stable in Win7, but no luck : Don't tell me I'm going to have to permanently develop in XP Virtual : ) I am running Filemaker as administrator and with compatibility turned on.

I can't see anything for this most recent "damage" in the event viewer, but one from yesterday is:

- System

- Provider

[ Name] Application Hang

- EventID 1002

[ Qualifiers] 0

Level 2

Task 101

Keywords 0x80000000000000

- TimeCreated

[ SystemTime] 2010-03-10T01:43:14.000000000Z

EventRecordID 1252

Channel Application

Computer HPWKSJAN.qld.gadens.local

Security

- EventData

FileMaker Pro Advanced.exe

10.0.3.303

101c

01cabfec515b4056

45

C:Program FilesFileMakerFileMaker Pro 10 AdvancedFileMaker Pro Advanced.exe

54006F00700020006C006500760065006C002000770069006E0064006F0077002000690073002000690064006C00650000000000

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Binary data:

In Words

0000: 006F0054 00200070 0065006C 00650076

0008: 0020006C 00690077 0064006E 0077006F

0010: 00690020 00200073 00640069 0065006C

0018: 00000000

In Bytes

0000: 54 00 6F 00 70 00 20 00 T.o.p. .

0008: 6C 00 65 00 76 00 65 00 l.e.v.e.

0010: 6C 00 20 00 77 00 69 00 l. .w.i.

0018: 6E 00 64 00 6F 00 77 00 n.d.o.w.

0020: 20 00 69 00 73 00 20 00 .i.s. .

0028: 69 00 64 00 6C 00 65 00 i.d.l.e.

0030: 00 00 00 00 ....

Am awaiting a callback from FMAus (have priority technical support contract) but just wondering in the meantime if anyone else has had this issue.

TIA

ETA GAHHHHH it just happened again on a completely different database. Lost all changes to the layout (even though it had been in browse mode for a while). This time me just clicking on a script damaged it. *must remember to keep closing to save my changes* Recover doesn't find anything wrong with the file.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Guest
gahhhh

[Vaughan]

I'm assuming that the files are on the local hard disk and not hosted with FM Server.

Check that the files are *not* being scanned for viruses or being read by backup or file indexing software while they are open in FMP.

This should not be happening, and it is not normal.

[Colin Keefe]

Ditto. Also, what does your available disk space on C: look like?

Since it’s randomly happening to different files including fresh ones, I’d want to check to see if there’s enough room for FMS to write cache files.

EDIT: my comment actually assumes FMS.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Guest

[ckaness]

I don't have an answer, but I have a similar problem. A database I worked on on 4/7/2010 has become damaged, I don't know how. IT installed a backup db from 3/26/2010. It was also damaged in the same way. How can a database that was working perfectly on 4/7 be corrupt on 3/26?

[Søren Dyhr]

I had once some memory installed, which in my case only occurred when a fair amount of memory was required. It had an infective and damaging impact on filemaker file integrity.

I would get my hardware tested in that case. A tool like this comes to mind:

http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm

--sd

[bruceR]

Please describe details of your setup, including particularly where these files are located. Also describe whether you have system level file sharing turned on and what your energy saver setting are. The files must only be on a local drive; or on FileMaker Server.

[Vaughan]

Does the server have a UPS with line regulation? If not, get one. Bad power can cause problems.

A friend of mine tells a story of routers that regularly kept dropping their configs. They were in regional NSW (ie, middle of nowhere) and fixing them was expensive. Hardware swap-outs were done to no effect.

The only pattern was that the problems occurred those nights the cleaner was in. Turns out they had an electric kettle to make themselves a cup of tea, and plugged it into the same circuit as the router.

[Søren Dyhr]

I came to think of what scenario is the most likely to corrupt a solution, concurrent OS filesharing with the fmnet protokol comes to mind immediately as Bruce actually say in his post as well.

--sd

[Rich S]

I have the same problem here: Win 7 and FMP 11 (Advanced) the last time the file crashed (third time) it was so corrupted that it was unrecoverable; a $45 call to FM Tech Support ended with "It's not FileMaker." Thanks, guys.

I can't begin to tell you how many hours I've spent rebuilding the solution from scratch. (Since I have no idea how far back the potential of corruption exists in the file best practice is to rebuild it from scratch.)

I have 6 GB of RAM, it's a 64-bit machine, and it has all the latest-and-greatest updates. The only consistent "trigger" I noticed was that all the crashes happened while I was in Layout mode and occurred just as I clicked the slider to scroll down the screen.

[Vaughan]

I'm not developing in FMP 11 yet: still using FMP 10, exactly for this reason.

it's a 64-bit machine, and it has all the latest-and-greatest updates

That's part of the problem right there: don't update anything until it's been proven stable.

I rely on early adopters (like you) to do that for me. :)

[LisaLisaBoBisa]

I am also using FMP 11 advanced on Windows 7 (32 bit, mind you). My file has crashed unexpectedly in layout mode twice now. Both times the files were critically damaged and unable to be restored. So frustrating. My database is rather small, and so far the only suggestions I am getting are that I should have backed up more, exported to excel, made clones, saved condensed copies, etc. I guess I was too busy REBUILDING MY ENTIRE DATABASE TWICE since the backups I did make were corrupted. I sure hope they figure this out. Because I cannot keep doing this over and over again.

(END OF RANT) :

[Lee Smith]

Hi Lisa, and Welcome to the Forum.

We need a little more information from you.

First of all, I'm not a Windows person, so if there is a problem directly related to Win 7 and 32 bit, etc., I'm not aware of it, but other would be and will probably chime in.

About the files;

Are these new files, or ones you have migrated from a prior version(s)?

if migrated, from what version (i.e. 3, 4, 5, etc.)

Often, files will be closed by outside forces such as power surge or outage.

Has this happened with the new (or old files) ever?

How are the file being accessed, single user, peer to peer, server (which version), web, other.

If so, has service ever been unexpectedly interrupted?

If they are being served,

Are you working on them while they are being served?

Do you have other activity, files or servers on this machine?

Other things that you should review.

What's on your layout. From your description, I got the impression that you have graphics on it. Sometimes Graphics can get corrupted and cause this problem.

What Fonts are on the layout?

Hope this gets you going in the right direction,

Lee

[gdurniak]

Stay calm. Most file problems are not corruption.

Keep in mind that Using FMP 11 and Windows 7 is "state of the art", so you may have hit on a genuine "bug"

if you can *make* it crash, you are on your way to a solution

there is a related Tech Talk Post here:

http://techtalk.filemaker.com/?14@@.59c10691#1

"11.0v2 updaters now available for FileMaker Pro". It refers to Windows 7 crashing

greg

[LisaLisaBoBisa]

Lee,

Thank you for your post. Here are some answers.

1. These are brand new files, made in FMP 11.

2. We have not had a power outage or surge.

3. The files are being accessed by a single user (me).

4. The only other programs on this machine are Microsoft Office, PTouch Editor (barcode system), MozyHome backup software (which is not EVER ran while FMP is running) and Firefox.

5. I do have graphics on the Form View. This is how our end user will be viewing the information. I was made aware of a "grouping" bug and have ungrouped all of the items in the layout. I've also included a screenshot of our layout.

Basically, I just want to know where to go from here. Is anything I have usable? What can I do to prevent this from occuring again?

After the first crash, I started COMPLETELY over. I didn't use a scrap of what we had originally. The second time, the crash occurred in an almost identical manner: while importing a small image in layout mode, the program began to "think" and then closed itself. Upon reopening the program, it stated the file was closed improperly. The program scanned the file, and said it was critically damaged.

What are your (and the rest of the forum's) thoughts?

Thank you for your help and participation!

Lisa

[LisaLisaBoBisa]

Greg,

Thank you too, for your post.

As terrible as this sounds, I would LOVE for it to be a bug and not operator error. Its just that I've gone OVER and OVER what I could possibly be doing that would make the program spontaneously freeze on certain days when it works perfectly in the same fashion for weeks beforehand. I'm super stumped.

I was unable to read the Tech Talk post. I will attempt again later.

Thank you again.

Lisa

[gdurniak]

When FileMaker 4 first came out, it used to freeze and crash during development as well

since it appears you have wasted enough time, I would suggest you get off Windows 7. Try Windows XP, or a Mac, if you can

otherwise, try hosting your file on one machine, and developing as a client guest on another. Then, when the client crashes, there is a better chance the hosted file will be ok.

greg

[brian rich]

This may not be relevant, but I had problems with random crashes when the file was hosted on another machine by a Filemaker client. The file was also available on a shared volume.

By some mischance, I had managed to set up a connection to the hosted file and also to the shared file concurrently. This isn't a good idea.

Brian

[Lee Smith]

I'm not a windows person, so sometimes I miss the window related problems.

Lisa stated that this is a single user environment, and IMO as long as her machine meets or exceeds the standards for windows 7, I don't understand why she would need to go backwards in operating system. Is that even possible?

FileMaker's recommended window 7 setup;

CPU: 1 GHz or faster

RAM: 2 GB

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver, DVD drive

Lee

[Lee Smith]

Hi Lisa,

Your Graphic is really nice looking.

How big is this file? i.e. what is the resolution of it?

Did you place this directly on the layout, or are you using a container field for display?

As I mentioned in my earlier post, corruption can be caused by the graphic itself.

Assuming that your machine meets the recommended specifications that I posted in my Reply to Greg, then I suspect it's graphic related. Either the layout object came with problems or it has something to with displaying it.

Why not attach a copy of your file to a Reply so we can test it in different environments to see if we figure this out.

Lee

[LisaLisaBoBisa]

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your feedback and thoughts. Let me see if I can answer your questions.

1. Greg- All of our computers are running Windows 7. We don't have access to another OS. Also, I'm trying to eliminate the crashing, not make it a few steps easier to recover through random, periodic crashes.

2. Lee- Thank you. The file is 499 MB, the layout view image size says it's 600x800 px, but it appears much larger than that. The design is simply on the layout view page, with container fields only for the individual photos/barcode. When you say the layout object might have problems, do you mean the template, the graphics, or the images I inputted?

I have included a link to download the copy of our file. It was far too large to attach. Let me know what you think.

We are looking to get some answers about our options moving forward and how we can prevent this from happening again this week.

I would appreciate any help or advice you may have.

Lisa

https://www.yousendit.com/download/WTNJek9qb0JsUi92Wmc9PQ

[Lee Smith]

Hi Lisa,

2. Lee- Thank you. The file is 499 MB, the layout view image size says it's 600x800 px, but it appears much larger than that. The design is simply on the layout view page, with container fields only for the individual photos/barcode. When you say the layout object might have problems, do you mean the template, the graphics, or the images I inputted?

My first reaction is that is your cover graphic is behind this.

If I'm understanding you correctly, the only constant in this is your cover graphic/picture?

1. 500 mbs isn't all that large, but it is a little big to be sending back and forth on the internet.

Is that Zipped, or unzipped?

2. a 600 x 800 picture isn't very large either, something like 1.5 mgs or so.

Did you create it, or download it from site? Do you have access to PhotoShop? Is so, have you tried to cleaned it up?

If you don't have PhotoShop, Let me know and you attach it to a reply, zipped of course.

BTW, how many layouts, fields, and Tables are involved in this solution?

Is there any others layouts have this graphic, or similar graphics, on them?

HTH

Lee

Edited September 27, 2010 by Guest

[Vaughan]

Lee, my thoughts too: the image is causing the problem.

[Ted S]

A few versions back I was able to create brand new FM file with absolutely nothing in it, make a single 1px x 1px line using the native FM line tool, and whenever I moused over the tiny line, FM would crash.

I could do this on a couple different XP computers but not all. I suspect it was graphics card related but never was able to confirm that notion.

The bottom line is that I have seen FM act strangely in the past with graphics even created with its own tools so that large image may indeed be the problem.

[gdurniak]

Lisa,

please let us know if this is ever resolved. It would pay to call FileMaker directly

a long time problem with FileMaker is that images on layouts are not verified, to insure they are properly formed

greg

>The second time, the crash occurred while importing a small image in layout mode, the program began to "think" and then closed itself. Upon reopening the program, it stated the file was closed improperly. The program scanned the file, and said it was critically damaged.

Lisa

[maverik_uk]

I have been developing FileMaker since v2.0 and (touch wood) and with sensible development controls, found FileMaker to be a very stable development environment.

However I have experienced problems like I've never known with FMP11 / different machines. Brand new files with barely any code/layouts/fields/rships in them are crashing and becoming corrupt.

I am currently in direct contact with FileMaker who are not being the most responsive - we will only learn there is a problem when they have an update. Sorry FileMaker but I am reverting to FMP10 and will not be upgrading any of my customers (about 400 users) until testing of the next update resolves what seems to be a serious problem.

[fm_toxy]

The file is 499 MB, the layout view image size says it's 600x800 px, but it appears much larger than that. The design is simply on the layout view page, with container fields only for the individual photos/barcode. When you say the layout object might have problems, do you mean the template, the graphics, or the images I inputted?

I have included a link to download the copy of our file. It was far too large to attach. Let me know what you think.

We are looking to get some answers about our options moving forward and how we can prevent this from happening again this week.

I would appreciate any help or advice you may have.

Lisa

https://www.yousendit.com/download/WTNJek9qb0JsUi92Wmc9PQ

Where did you get a background image that big? Was it scanned in? Big Images in FM only work well if they have been reduced to screen resolution.

My database in part creates a Phone Extension Index of our for each of our offices, on top of a big desktop screen image [1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, 800 x 600].

But the images were reduced to a screen resolution of 72dpi before using in FM, so the database remains under 15Mb.

[for the record: 800 staff records, 14 offices, 1300 asset records, 500 ftp records reside in this database presently]

Chris