polytrope cm assistant/support: recovering damaged files

When to use FileMaker's "Recover" command

Sometimes a FileMaker Pro file can get damaged so badly that FileMaker cannot open it in the normal way. When this happens, FileMaker will advise you that the file is damaged and will recommend that you use the "Recover" command to extract the data from the file. You should not use the Recover command unless FileMaker advises you to do so. Do not recover files as a matter of routine maintenance.

Using the Recover command

If FileMaker tells you that a file is damaged and needs to be recovered, do the following. In these instructions we use "Myfile.fp5" as our example file name. Be sure to substitute the actual name of the damaged file you are dealing with!

1. Close all of CM Assistant's files and quit FileMaker Pro.

You may have to force FileMaker to quit, and if that is the case, it may be necessary or advisable for you to restart your computer before proceeding. NOTE: As you are closing CM Assistant, you may get alerts from FileMaker telling you that it can't find the damaged file and telling you to please locate it. Ignore these requests! Cancel out of all these dialogs.

2. If CM Assistant is shared on a network, make sure nobody else is using CM Assistant. If CM Assistant is being shared using FileMaker Pro Server, use the FileMaker Pro Server admin database to take the CM Assistant files offline.

3. Open FileMaker Pro on a machine that will give you direct access to the damaged file.

If the CM Assistant files are normally stored on a special server, you may need to copy the damaged file to another computer in order to run the recovery procedure.

4. When FileMaker is open, pull down in the File menu to "Recover." Using the open-file dialog that appears, find the damaged file. Our example damaged file is named Myfile.fp5.

 
FileMaker will now perform the recovery. This may take a minute, a few minutes, or quite a while, depending on the size of the file and the speed of the computer. During the process you will see progress dialogs on screen telling you how the procedure is going. It is a good idea not to try to use your computer during this time. When FileMaker is finished, it will create a new file inside the CM Assistant folder named "Myfile Recovered.fp5." Now it's your turn again.
 

5. Quit FileMaker Pro.

6. Open the CM Assistant folder and locate the old (damaged) file. Change its name from "Myfile.fp5" to "Myfile Damaged.fp5" or something similarly useful.

7. Change the name of the newer file from "Myfile Recovered.fp5" to "Myfile.fp5".

IMPORTANT: The goal here is to replace the old file with the new one and give the new file EXACTLY the same name as the old one. This is the name that CM Assistant expects the file to have. It is absolutely imperative that the new file end up with precisely the right name: no additional spaces, etc. Failure to rename the recovered file properly could cause your copy of CM Assistant to become unusable.

Once you've renamed the files, you should be able to put CM Assistant back online and open it normally.

Recovered does not equal "fixed": the next step

Our clients have put recovered files immediately back into use and have not reported serious problems. However, FileMaker, Inc.'s official position is that the recovery procedure is designed simply to get the file back into good enough condition so that you can open the file and extract your data from it. At that point, you should move the data in the file into a fresh copy of the recovered file.

CM Assistant v3 users will receive their files in two forms: the ready-to-use files containing data, and a set of clones. The clones should be put aside in a safe place for use in file maintenance. The clones contain update scripts that allow you to move data from an old file into the new file.

Final thoughts

FileMaker, like all database programs, performs certain routine housekeeping tasks when it closes files. If your computer crashes or loses power while you are using CM Assistant, FileMaker can't perform these tasks. Most of the time, the damage done to the file is minimal. The next time you open the file, you may see a dialog that says, "This file was not closed properly. FileMaker Pro is checking block consistency..." and that's the end of it. It is or should be very uncommon for a file to be so badly damaged that it requires the Recovery command. At Polytrope, we have not had to use the Recover command ourselves at all in the last year or more on a single file, and we handle a lot of files.

There are a couple of things you can do to reduce the risk of serious damage to your files. Keep your hard disks in good shape, using standard hard disk maintenance and repair utilities. Use virus-protection software to keep your hard disk free of destructive viruses. If power outages are a problem, get an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for your computer. Perhaps most effective of all, if you are sharing CM Assistant with other users and if it's within your budget to do so, run CM Assistant under FileMaker Pro Server on a dedicated machine. This way, even if your computer crashes very hard, the risk of serious damage to the FileMaker files (housed on the server) is very small.

However, you need to be aware that there is no way to reduce the risk of serious file damage to zero. Even worse, a file can on very rare occasions be damaged so badly that it is beyond the reach of the powerful FileMaker Recover procedure. In other words, you have lost your data. It is imperative that you make regular dated backups of your files to removable media such as tape or CD. At a minimum, backup your files every single week.

Copyright © 2002, Polytrope Solutions, Houston, Texas. All rights reserved.
last modified: 9-Mar-04