Nightmare :-( (Let this be a lesson to you!)

[Robbo1974]

My database file has become corrupted and my backup (made with MS Backup) will not restore for some reason.
I just get a message saying that 'the destination file does not suppport all of the features of this file so some features may not work' or something along those lines. I then try to run the restored file and get the same message as when I try to open the original - 'unrecognised database format' even though the file was created before I had any problems. There are no problems opening any other files.

I have my main db file on our network server so I toddled off to our network administrator (a man 'affectionately' known as 'chocolate teapot' in the office) to ask him to restore the file from the server backups - no more problem eh? Well guess again - he last backed up the server.....wait for it......two weeks ago!

I am right in thinking that the server should be backed up every day aren't I? Or is this my fault for not making more backups (my Net admins response, which admittedly does seem reasonable)? I am aware that I should have checked that the server was backed up daily but I just took it as read that it was (at *every* company I've ever worked at it has been) and that I would always have this last line of defence against problems like the one above.

Luckily I have planned fairly well and still have notes and printouts of all of my objects and code produced in the last two weeks (mostly reports anyway which are a doddle), butI am still going to have to delay rolling out what was an almost complete project and need to justify why to my employers. I need the opinion of people who know what they're talking about. I have pretty much accepted that it's gone but of course if anyone has any suggestions for restoring the original file then they would be most welcome. I've already tried all of the database utilities, recreating my workgroup file and also importing the objects into a new database to no avail.

Thanks for your input.

Robbo ;-)

 

[Databaseguy]

Any Admin worth thier paycheck not only backs up nightly, but rotates the tapes off site and/or owns a fireproof safe. Also, MS Backup, and the intrinsic NT backup functions are Junk. Use HP, Seagate(or whoever they are now) etc....

Unrecognized DB format usually means you're trying to open a newer version of Access. I.E., trying to open a 2000 DB with 97. This can also happen with an ODBC direct DB. Tyrone Lumley
augerinn@gte.net

http://server105.hypermart.net/databaseguy

 

[Paladyr]

I agree, every company I have worked for has done what the database guy talked about, even shipping it offsite for storage. A backup of anything important from 2 weeks ago is not much help anyway.

 

[JaneInMA]

I feel for you. We had a similar lesson about a year ago. We knew that the network was backed up once weekly and had set up a script on a NT machine to do a rolling back up three times daily. However my supervisor had changed the NT password and not updated the script. Therefore our backups were not working. So we asked the network guys for a backup. They took a week to get it to us!
Major lesson when it comes to backup no paranoia is enough and do not trust anyone to do your backups for you.
I now take a look at my backup files at least once a week and make a hard backup once weekly.
Good luck with restoring the db.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Yes, obviously servers should be backed up daily. But I also keep a copy of databases I have installed in one of my directories so that at the very least I can export my code, copy the whole db, etc....It's a lot better than starting from scratch, and at least you're dealing with code that works.....

 

[UncleJack]

Try creating a new database and attempting import from the corrupted database. I agree the unrecognized format error usually results from trying to open A2K files with A97. Check this first.

If my network administrator backed up every two weeks he would be looking for a new job as a used car salesman.

Uncle Jack

 

[Robbo1974]

Thanks for your support guys, still ultimately my fault though. I am working with Access 2000 so there shouldn't be any version conflicts. Uncle Jack, I've already tried that and it threw up the same error unfortunately. I guess that I have learned a lesson (never trust a guy whose desk looks like a land fill site to do his job properly *or* to do your job for you) that I will not forget in a hurry.

Time to get back to re-doing all those lovely reports!

A very p***ed off yet philosophical... Robbo ;-)

 

[MichaelRed]

Many/most Win based backups will not 'backup' an open file. If you have a user who is logged on the app/db ... when the backup system attempts to do the copy, the back-up will fail (for that file). db apps have a tendancy to be in that situation. The ONLY way I know to overcome ths is to do the "Boot Users" routine, open the db for EXCLUSIVE use, copy the db objects to a seperate db ... Log out of the db. Some Net Admins are amenable to running a "Boot Users" routine on your behalf - but this is (AFAIK) only done at the start of the back up process, not when your files/apps/dbs are being selected as the object to copy.
MichaelRed
m.red@att.net

There is never time to do it right but there is always time to do it over

 

[ErikZ]

I've yet to work in a data center where we didn't back up nightly, rotate the tapes for each day, and then move the tapes off-site. I think you should bring this issue up.

 

[Robbo1974]

MichaelRed, the system isn't even on-line yet, it is supposed to be going for a live trial from next Weds. (Great time for this to happen eh?) The problem is that MS backup will simply not restore the file. Robbo ;-)

 

[Robbo1974]

Eric, you'd better believe that I'm bringing this up. Words do not exist to describe how stupid this is. Robbo ;-)

 

[EPT]

I have never tried it but there is a decompile function that few know about. If you would like the code which I saved from a previous posting let me know.
EdTesiny@oasas.state.ny.us

 

[MontyBurns]

just a suggestion - is it worth contacting a specialist data-recovery company?

I found them hard to find on the net when a hard-disk failed about a year ago (in the UK anyway), but I know they're out there. I imagine they should be able to retreive quite a bit of the file.

Burns

 

[Bastien]

Backups are often messy and restoring even more problematical, even with high end Dbs, but for my access stuff i tend to back it up just by zipping a copy up and keeping on my local machine.

ain't life grand Bastien

There are many ways to skin this cat,
but it still tastes like chicken

 

[austin2k]

Try a company pwcrack.com. They specialize in passwords etc. but those guys are good and if there is a way to get your dbase open so you can fix it they can do it. They charged me $250 to open a database that wouldn't open no matter what I tried which included creating a new mdw. file and the like.

Steve M.

 

[Robbo1974]

Monty, It's not really worth it for the cost. I havn't gone live yet so there's been no real data loss - just a lot of reports and queries that I've been doing over the last two weeks and a couple of bugfixes.

The db is there to track sales orders, payments and also marketing contact across a number of delivery streams. There are a huge amount of reports involved but thankfully it's just a case of rebuilding, using my notes and printouts as a template so it's not the end of the world. Just a pain in the a**e!

A valuable lesson there though - keep your notes, you never know when they'll come in useful!

Bastien, you'd better believe I'll be doing that from now. Once bitten twice shy eh? I might have to change my handle to Paranoia Kid I've also taken Cosmo's suggestion on board and will be backing up to my PC at home as both a rescue option and also as a record of everything that I've done.

Thanks to everyone for their help. Robbo ;-)

 

[lameid]

I'm still back using Access 97 but there is the JETCOMP.exe which can allegedly repair some databases that access itself can't. For 97 it is in the file jet35sp3.exe which is the Jet 3.5 SP3 update. It drops Jetcomp.exe in the
%windows%\system32 directory. It's worth looking into anyway...

I do full backups daily. For some sites this is not practical, so they do a full backup weekly and archive changes daily (that way you only have to restore 7 times to get something back to yesterday in the worst case).