Special Database Recovery Detail Instructions

If you have not already done so, please read the Special Database Recovery Overview

If you are going to follow this procedure, the first step is to print this article.

You will want to make notes on it as you proceed.

Rename the database folder:

In the program, open the Configuration Options dialog.

   Under Data Options is Data Path.

   Below “Data path” is a white box containing the data path. 

   Copy that data path to a piece of paper.  You will need it later.

   Divide that path into two parts. 

      Find the last “\” in the path. 

         Call the part to the left the “containing folder”

         Call the part to the right the “database folder.”

            Hopefully the database folder looks something like PR20nnDB

                 where the 20nn is the year.

Bring up Windows Explorer (My Computer).

Navigate to the “containing folder” identified above.  Rename the database folder.

A good choice is to rename PR20nnDB to PR20nnDI so that it can be used for input.

Remember this folder – we will call it the “Recovery input” folder.

Bring up the program.

Expect to see no clients.

Open the Configuration Options.

Check the data path.  Is it the same as what you wrote on the paper earlier?

If it is not the same, then you will have to create a new database folder.

   Use the drive selection and folder selection boxes to navigate to the

   ”containing folder” you identified earlier,  eg Z:\CFSLIB\PR2010

   Then click the create button to create the database folder, like PR2010DB.

      Click OK to close the create operation.

      Click the Save Settings button.  The program will ask about creating a file – do so.

      Click the Close button to exit from Configuration Options.

Now you have a good database with no client information.

Rebuild the database from the saved database:

In the program at the three window screen, click on Utilities and then on Restore Selected Clients.  This brings up the navigation dialog.  Use the drive selector and then the folders box to navigate to the “Recovery input” folder, presumably PR20nnDI.

When you double-click on that folder in the folders box, the path turns blue and the NEXT button becomes un-shaded so it can be used.  Click on the NEXT button.

Now the clients should be listed by name.  Click on only the first client.  With that client highlighted, click on the FINISH button to perform the restore. 

If that restore is successful, then go back to Utilities and Restore Data and again navigate to the “Recovery input” folder.  Click NEXT.  This time we want to restore the rest of the clients.  So click the Select All button, and then unselect the first client by holding down the control key on the keyboard while you click the left mouse button on that client.  Then click FINISH to restore that set of clients.

If that is successful, you are done.

If either the restore single client or the restore of the remaining clients fails, then the Recovery Input folder will have to be modified, and the current database file must be deleted.

Close the payroll program

Start over:

The next operation is to prepare the broken database for data retrieval.

Open the Recovery Input folder.

In Windows Explorer, go to the top line, the tool bar.

   Click on View.  Select Details.

   Click on Tools.

      Under Tools, click the tab for Folder Options - View tab. 

(In Windows 7, Control Panel - Folder Options - View tab.)

      About eight lines down is a line “Hide extentions for known file types”

      Remove the check from that line.

      Click the button “Apply to All Folders”.

   Close the tools menu with the OK button.

In this database folder you will find maybe many folders whose names are just numbers.

But in the bottom of the folder there are some files.

Expect to find

   PR20nnDT.MDB     the current database file

   PR20nnDT.ABK     a backup made du

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