Help

Maintaining and recovering FileMaker Pro databases
F
ILEMAKER PRO HELP 1201
Preventing database damage
File corruption is not inevitable, but it's a good idea to take measures to prevent damage and to
ensure that databases are properly backed up.
• Routine backups are strongly recommended with any database.
• Back up heavily used databases frequently enough so that you will not lose more than one
day of work.
• Use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
• Check the condition of the hard disk with a drive utility program.
• Be sure software that optimizes, compresses, or partitions the hard disk is current.
• Be sure driver software is compatible with the operating system version.
• Use virus detection software. However, do not run virus protection software on open or
hosted databases. First, close the databases, and then run the virus protection software.
Damaged files
A frequent cause of file damage is a FileMaker Pro file being closed improperly. Another cause of
file damage is media failure (for example, bad sectors on a hard disk), where parts of a file cannot
be read by the operating system.
FileMaker Pro provides two mechanisms for handling databases that might be damaged:
consistency checks and file recovery. Consistency checks occur automatically, if needed, when the
file is opened. You can also choose to verify the consistency of a file that you suspect is damaged
(for more information, see
Checking file consistency). You can also have FileMaker Pro attempt to
recover a damaged file (for more information, see Recovering files).
Improperly closed files
A file is not closed properly when:
• external power is interrupted, shutting down the computer abruptly
• FileMaker Pro runs into a problem and presents a dialog box that requires the user to quit
the application (for example, disk-read error or file-damaged error)
• another application (or the system software) crashes, causing FileMaker Pro to crash
• FileMaker Pro freezes, forcing a manual reboot of the computer
• a manual reboot is made for some other reason
Note In each of these cases, it is possible that the active file and all unlocked local files that are
open at the same time may have been damaged. Damage to a file may occur in both active and
inactive tables. Files opened across the network from a remote computer are unlikely to be
damaged because the remote FileMaker
Pro application is still open.
Troubleshooting damaged files
If you think a file is damaged because records are missing or data is not what you expect, first see
Adding and viewing data troubleshooting and Finding records troubleshooting. If the suggestions do
not solve the problem, make a backup copy of the file, and then recover the file.
If you cannot open a file or if you receive an error message indicating that the file is damaged, see
Recovering files.