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1992-09-14
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PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 1/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
This Technical Information sheet is divided into three sections.
The first section discusses possible causes of table damage. The
second section provides instructions on how to repair Paradox 4.0
tables. The third section provides instructions on how to repair
tables from version Paradox 3.5 or earlier.
1. Possible Causes of Table Damage
There are several things that can cause table damage.
These are not due to any problems with Paradox, but are an
unfortunate part of operating in the DOS environment. The
best one can do is to be aware of the causes and do one's
best to avoid them. Below is a list of possible ways that
a table may become damaged. These are arranged roughly by
how frequently the type of error occurs.
a. Operator Error - Turning off or rebooting the
computer while Paradox is on the screen. Just
because there are no images on the screen does not
mean it is OK to shut the system down, as parts of
the table may remain only in RAM. ALWAYS exit
Paradox and return to DOS before rebooting or
powering down. This also means that it is not OK
to shut down the machine while shelled out to DOS
from Paradox using the Tools | More | ToDos,
<Alt-O>, or <Ctrl-O> commands. Possible indicators
that this has occurred:
o Stray PDOXUSRS.LCK files (PARADOX.LCK files
for versions earlier than 4.0) in a
networked environment can indicate someone
exiting Paradox improperly. Make certain no
one is logged in to Paradox and delete any
*.LCK files. Rebuild any tables being used
when the computer was shut down.
o Stray PARADOX.RUN files indicate that
someone has rebooted the machine after
shelling out to Paradox using the ToDos or
<Ctrl-O> or <Alt-O> commands. Be certain no
one is in Paradox OR shelled out from
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 2/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
Paradox and delete any remaining PARADOX.RUN
files.
b. TSR Programs - Programs that run in the
"background" are sometimes "ill-mannered" about the
way they return control to the main program. If
the program does not restore the bus and RAM back
to the original state, this can cause damage. Even
popping up a TSR, using its hotkey, at a bad time
(in the middle of a sort for instance) can cause
problems. Possible indicator:
o Paradox will often freeze, or reports memory
conflicts.
c. Hard or Floppy Disk Errors - The presence of
corrupted tables can indicate that your hard disk
is not operating up to specifications.
Any failure of the media to read or write to the
media properly can damage a table. A bad
controller card can also cause problems. You
should frequently test your disk for errors using
some utility software such as PC-Tools or Norton
Utilities or any similar products. Possible
indicator:
o Run CHKDSK /F to check for bad sectors or
cross-linked files which were written to the
disk incorrectly. This will move the lost
sectors to *.CHK files. Check your DOS
manual for further details.
d. A.C. Voltage Variations - Black outs, brown outs,
line "spikes", line "dips". Example: Your printer
places power dips on line and can damage Paradox
tables. A computer with a power supply that is too
weak for all the boards or devices connected to it
can generate a voltage that is too low. The best
way to avoid these problems is a quality surge
protector or even a UPS (Uninterrupted Power
Supply) which can give you time to shut down
Paradox. Possible indicator:
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 3/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
o In a networked environment, PDOXUSRS.LCK
files (PARADOX.LCK for versions earlier than
4.0) can show up from this situation also.
Check for any *.LCK files. This might
indicate that one or more workstations went
down due to a power surge (or user error).
e. RAM Problems - Parity errors in memory chips, CPU
speed set higher than the memory can refresh
(appears to be a problem in some high speed
clones), an extended memory board in the machine
that has NOT been INITIALIZED (via the software
provided by the board manufacturer). These are all
hardware problems which can cause table damage.
Possible indicators:
o Parity interrupt errors, tables constantly
going bad without fitting any other
symptoms, etc.
f. Unexpected Condition Errors - Any situation in
which Paradox exits unexpectedly can cause table
damage. A typical error message begins with
Unexpected Condition. If this happens, you should
first reboot then rebuild the table. A damaged
table or family member (forms, reports, etc.) can
also cause these Unexpected Conditions, so be aware
of other sources for the original damage as well.
g. Network Problems - A malfunctioning server, with
any of the above problems, bad cable connector, bad
I/O RAM, bad packet transmission (interference),
malfunctioning network board, or even a net line
that is too long or just getting old can all be
responsible for damaging tables.
2. Repairing a Damaged Paradox 4.0 Table
The three possible types of table damage are: damaged
data, a damaged table structure, and a damaged family.
This section discusses a method for recovering damaged
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 4/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
data. If you do not have damaged data and you suspect
your table is damaged, contact Paradox Technical Support.
If your Paradox 4.0 table unexpectedly contains lower
ASCII characters within the data (i.e. smiley faces,
hearts, etc.), then your data may be damaged; for this
symptom, the ASCII Export/Import Method is appropriate.
This method, which is described in detail on the following
pages, involves exporting the damaged file to an ASCII
Delimited file, creating a new table with the identical
structure as the damaged table, then performing an
AppendDelimited ASCII Import of the ASCII Delimited file
to the new table.
NOTE: Before attempting to repair your damaged table, it
is recommended that you first make a backup copy of your
table.
When exporting a damaged table, it is possible that the
export may continue running and create temporary export
files until you run out of disk space. This will not
damage any already existing files on your hard disk, but
it will not give you a proper export file. In the event
that this occurs, contact Paradox Technical Support.
The ASCII Export/Import Method
To repair a damaged Paradox 4.0 table by using the ASCII
Export/Import Method, you need to perform the steps
summarized below. These steps are described in detail on
the following pages. If at any point you are unable to
proceed, contact Paradox Technical Support.
a. Make a backup copy of the damaged table.
b. Export the damaged table to an ASCII Delimited
file.
c. Perform a Tools | Info | Structure on the damaged
table and print out the STRUCT table.
d. Create a new table with the identical structure as
the damaged table.
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 5/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
e. Import the ASCII file and append it to the new
table.
f. Test the new table.
The instructions below tell you step by step how to repair
a damaged Paradox 4.0 table.
a. Make a backup copy of a table:
i. From the Paradox Menu, select Tools | Copy |
Table.
ii. Type the table name, then press <ENTER>.
iii. Type the new table name, then press <ENTER>.
b. Export the damaged table to an ASCII Delimited File
i. From the Paradox Menu, select Tools |
ExportImport | Export | ASCII | Delimited.
ii. Type in the name of the table that you want
to export, then press <ENTER>.
iii. Type in the name of the ASCII file that you
want to create, then press <ENTER>. For
example, if the table name is CUSTOMER, you
may want to type CUSTOMER. If you do not
include a DOS extension for the file,
Paradox will create the extension TXT.
NOTE: Memo fields and BLOb fields are not
exported during an ASCII delimited export.
c. Print the structure of the damaged table.
i. From the Paradox Menu, select Tools | Info |
Structure.
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 6/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
ii. Type in the table name that you suspect is
damaged, then press <ENTER>. Paradox will
create a STRUCT table.
iii. Press <Alt-F7> to create an Instant report
of the STRUCT table and send it to the
printer.
d. Create a new table with the identical structure as
the damaged table
i. From the Paradox Menu, select Create, then
type a new table name (this should be a
different name from the damaged table), then
press <ENTER>.
ii. Type in the Field Names and Field Types in
the identical order as specified in your
printout from the STRUCT table. Do not
include any memo and BLOb fields in the
table structure. When you are finished,
press <F2>.
e. Import the ASCII file and append it to the new
table
i. From the Paradox Menu, select Tools |
ExportImport | Import | ASCII |
AppendDelimited.
ii. Type in the name of the ASCII delimited
file, then press <ENTER>.
iii. Type in the name of the table that you
created in step d, then press <ENTER>.
Paradox will append the records in the ASCII
Delimited file to the table.
NOTE: If you get a PROBLEMS table, double
check the structure of your new table and
make sure that it exactly matches the
structure of your original table excluding
the memo and BLOb fields.
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 7/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
f. Test the new table.
Test the new table. When you are confident that there is
no table damage in the new table, you can rename the new
table to the same name as the damaged table. If you want
to rename your table, make sure that you use Tools |
Rename | Table instead of using the DOS Ren command.
NOTE: The steps outlined above produce a table with no
connection to the previous table.
3. Repairing Damaged Tables From Paradox Version 3.5 or
Earlier
If you are using Paradox version 3.5 or earlier and your
data is damaged, you can repair your damaged table by
using the method outlined above for repairing a Paradox
4.0 table. Obviously, Memo and BLOb fields are not an
issue for Paradox versions earlier than 4.0. Another
method of repairing a damaged table is to use the TUTILITY
program. Below are some instructions on how to use
TUTILITY to rebuild a table from Paradox version 3.5 or
earlier.
TUTILITY is a DOS executable program that checks a Paradox
table for damage and then rebuilds it if necessary. If
you are using Paradox 3.5, TUTILITY.EXE and TUTILITY.DOC
are automatically installed in your Paradox directory. If
you are using Paradox version 3.0 or earlier, you will
need to install TUTILITY yourself. For instructions on
how install TUTILITY, please refer to the section labeled
"Installing TUTILITY Onto Your computer" that appears at
the end of this Technical Information sheet.
a. How to Use TUTILITY to Rebuild a Damaged Table
From your DOS command line, change directories to
your Paradox directory using the following command:
i.e. if you are using Paradox 3.5, type cd \PDOX35.
If you named your directory something other than
PRODUCT : Paradox NUMBER : 597
VERSION : All
OS : DOS
DATE : September 14, 1992 PAGE : 8/8
TITLE : Causes and Methods of Repairing Damaged Tables
PDOX35, you will need to enter the appropriate
directory name.
Type tutility to enter the TUTILITY program. You
will see a menu at the top of the screen. Select
the Directory option to change directories to where
your data is kept. Then select the Rebuild option
and enter your table name to rebuild that table.
You can also select to the Verify option to test
the table for damage, but some types of damage
elude the verify command, so if there is any doubt,
select Rebuild. After rebuilding all your tables,
you can then exit TUTILITY and re-enter Paradox.
For additional information on how to use TUTILITY,
refer to the file TUTILITY.DOC in your Paradox
directory.
b. Installing TUTILITY On Your Computer
If you have version 3.0 of Paradox, you will need
to install TUTILITY yourself. This program
consists of two files, TUTILITY.EXE and
TUTILITY.DOC. You can find these files on your
Installation/Sample Tables Diskette (the one with
your Serial Number on it), or failing that, examine
your Personal Programmer Disk #6 in the UTIL
subdirectory. To install TUTILITY from diskette,
use the DOS copy command to copy TUTILITY.* to your
computer.
DISCLAIMER: You have the right to use this technical information
subject to the terms of the No-Nonsense License Statement that
you received with the Borland product to which this information
pertains.