DBase Repair and Recovery: How to Restore Lost DBF Data
Dbase has been hailed as one of the best developments in the realm of development platforms. A large number of applications are designed with Dbase and its various versions, and as such are based on DBF files, the file type designed for use with Dbase and related application development programs such as FoxPro. While it is a great tool that exponentially speeds up the application development process, Dbase is not without its problems. One of the biggest challenges facing any developer using Dbase is unexplained corruption of .DBF files. This often jeopardizes an entire project and countless hours of hard work, especially when there are no archival backups. As such, DBF file repair and recovery is a necessary addition that any developer should add to their repertoire of Dbase-related skills.
How DBF files get damaged:
DBF files are some of the easiest to corrupt for two reasons:
1. Fragile data structure: The data structure of a DBF file is organized in such a way that later moving sectors on the disk or moving the file fragments can cause the data to get corrupted very easily.
2. Interdependent nature of the data: Damage to any part of the DBF file makes the entire file unreadable. This makes it even more risky, as even the slightest damage to the file structure will make the entire data unrecoverable.
In most cases, the damage occurs while the file is being saved. Errors or sudden changes in the settings of the program that saves the file can cause slight corruption of the data that is saved through various mechanisms, such as double writing. This makes the file unreadable to common DBF file readers and opening the file results in “Cannot open file” errors or data is displayed only as gibberish.
How DBF repair programs work (at least the good ones)
A good DBF recovery program has four qualities:
1. Ability to parse the DBF file into small chunks.
2. Intelligence to recognize where various pieces of data fit together and restructure them in a readable way.
3. High compatibility with various platforms, such as multiple versions of Windows.
4. Standard reformatting of the DBF file. This allows various programs and DBF readers to understand the newly restored DBF file and actively use it.
A damaged file usually has very little ‘missing’ data and a large amount of data that is simply unreadable due to a small part missing. Imagine a staircase with several steps, each of which is necessary to reach the top. Losing just one of the many cleats will impede progress to the top and thus render the entire ladder useless. This is the reason why the entire DBF file and all the data in it becomes unusable when even a small part of the data is lost or fragmented into a different section of the data structure. And this is also the reason why many DBF repair software programs fail. Even if the software is capable of recognizing the data and locating all the various fragments of the data, if it cannot place them in the exact position in the structure to which it belongs, it will not be able to repair the DBF file easily.
Precautionary measures:
Once you have recovered your DBF file using a good DBF repair tool, you need to make sure that similar situations do not arise again:
1. Be sure to keep a backup of the file in two places: on your hard drive and one on a removable device, such as a flash drive.
2. Save a copy of the file online; for example, you can email it from one account to another. Be sure to send email from one host to another, such as from a Yahoo account to a Gmail account.
3. Make sure to always save the file correctly. Open the file right after saving to confirm that it was indeed saved successfully. Do not shut down the program in the middle of the saving process (for example, using the Task Manager) and do not restart the computer while the file is still open.