Proctor and Peake, Inc. - General Database tip 2

What causes database corruption?

Power outage or brownout.

Recommendation:
Buy and install a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for the server and ALL workstations that run the database. It's the best investment you can make in the health of your computer and database.

Shutting off or rebooting the client computer or server without closing the database. This can be a result of your database program freezing, or another program freezing the computer when your database is open in another window, forcing you to reboot the computer. Or it can be caused by a user who doesn't understand the importance of Start, Shut Down and simply turns the power off.

Recommendation:
Talk with each user and ask them whether they have been experiencing problems with their computer that force them to reboot. You need to solve the root problem, which may or may not be your database program.

Bad network connection. This could be a hardware or software problem that disconnects the user from the server while the database is open. The symptoms would be "Error opening file", "Cannot find file on drive F", "Error reading drive F:" etc. One user's bad connection can corrupt the database for everyone.

Recommendation:
Again, you must solve the root problem. Try to narrow down the time and circumstance when the network error occurs.

Hard disk problem. Hard drives are much more reliable these days, but occasionally there is a bad spot on the hard drive.

Recommendation:
Run a hard disk diagnostic program to find and correct errors. Try "moving" your data by copying the data folder to a new folder and using that new folder instead. Don't delete the original folder, just rename it.

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Proctor & Peake, Inc.
9620 NE 2nd Avenue, Suite 209
Miami Shores, FL 33138
305-751-1181 / 1-800-943-6031
www.proctorandpeake.com

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	Power outage or brownout. Recommendation: Buy and install a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for the server and ALL workstations that run the database. It's the best investment you can make in the health of your computer and database.
	Shutting off or rebooting the client computer or server without closing the database. This can be a result of your database program freezing, or another program freezing the computer when your database is open in another window, forcing you to reboot the computer. Or it can be caused by a user who doesn't understand the importance of Start, Shut Down and simply turns the power off. Recommendation: Talk with each user and ask them whether they have been experiencing problems with their computer that force them to reboot. You need to solve the root problem, which may or may not be your database program.
	Bad network connection. This could be a hardware or software problem that disconnects the user from the server while the database is open. The symptoms would be "Error opening file", "Cannot find file on drive F", "Error reading drive F:" etc. One user's bad connection can corrupt the database for everyone. Recommendation: Again, you must solve the root problem. Try to narrow down the time and circumstance when the network error occurs.
	Hard disk problem. Hard drives are much more reliable these days, but occasionally there is a bad spot on the hard drive. Recommendation: Run a hard disk diagnostic program to find and correct errors. Try "moving" your data by copying the data folder to a new folder and using that new folder instead. Don't delete the original folder, just rename it.