HOW TO RECOVER DAMAGED OR MISSING FILES

Transcription

1 INTRODUCTION 524 W. Bonita Avenue Claremont, California (909) HOW TO RECOVER DAMAGED OR MISSING FILES While trying to start the P.I. Powertool (PIP) program, you may experience an error messages which states that files are either (a) damaged, or (b) missing. These two error messages are different, but depending upon the version of the PIP that you have, the missing file error may indicates that a file is damaged. Therefore, a short explanation is in order. An abnormal system termination (ie., computer crash ) can cause damage to any programs and/or data that reside on your computer. Fortunately, damage that occurs to Personal Injury Powertool database files can usually be Recovered. Damaged files are repaired using the Recover function in FileMaker Pro 5. As explained in Section 1 of the Installation Guide (available from our website at ), the PIP database files are stored on one computer and they shared by other computers on your network. The computer which stores the files is called the Host. PIP database files can be hosted by a computer which is running either FileMaker Pro 5 or FileMaker Server 5. NOTE: If your PIP is hosted using FileMaker Server 5, then you must shut down the FileMaker Server Service on your Host computer and copy the PIP database files to the C:\HiPerSoft folder on a computer which has FileMaker Pro 5 installed so that you can perform the steps below to resolve the damaged or missing file problem. The Client computer is the computer which is sharing the PIP files from the Host computer over your network. The Client computer does not have a copy of the PIP database files, but connects to the PIP database files on the Host through a TCP/IP or IPX/SPX network protocol. Once the PIP files are opened on the Host computer, the Multi-User Mode must be set to ON in order for the Client computers to share the PIP files. (See Section 1.b and Section 14.a.i. in the Installation Guide) If the Multi-User Mode has not been set to ON, then the Client computer will not be able to see the files through your network and will generate an error indicating that the files are missing.

2 Therefore, there are only 2 steps required to resolve the problem of damaged or missing files: The first is to recover any damaged files, and the second is to make sure that the Multi-User mode is set to ON so that the PIP can be shared by Client computers over your network. Recover Damaged Files Start the PIP files using FileMaker Pro 5. What we are looking for here is a damaged file error so that we can repair the file using the Recover function in FileMaker Pro 5. If you get the damaged file error, start by performing steps A through S below. If you do not encounter the damaged file error when starting the PIP on the Host computer, then skip to the section below entitled Set Multi-User to ON. (A) (B) (C) (D) Write down the name of the file (ex., CLT.FP5") when the error message presents itself (See Figure 1 at the end of this document for an example of a damaged file error message for the LIns.fp5" file) Click on the OK button You will then be presented with the Open File dialog box. click on the Cancel button. (See Figure 2 at the end of this document which shows the Open File dialog box) Repeat steps A through C above until the PIP opens to the Main Menu. Please follow the instructions below which will help you identify the damaged files, repair them, and reinstall the files. If it is determined below that you are unable to recover the damages files on your system, you will be directed to send the files to HiPerSoft by . (E) (F) Shut down the PIP on all computers. The Host computer is the computer from which all other computers share the database files. Only one computer in your office can be the Host. The Host can be identified by looking in the \HiPerSoft folder, in which you will find a group of files which have the *.PIP or *.FP5 file extensions (depending upon your version). You may not see the file extension if you have turned off your file extensions. To turn the file extensions back on, do the following: - Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E ) - From the View Menu, select Folder Options - Click on the View Tab at the top - In the Advanced Settings area, you must uncheck the box next to Hide file extensions for known file types (G) On the Host computer, locate the damaged files which need to be recovered. The

3 names of the damaged files appear in the error messages you receive when starting the PIP on either the Host or Client computers which indicate that the files are either damaged or cannot be found. (H) If your database files end with the Runtime file extension (*.PIP), then you will need to attach those files to an addressed to (Proceed to Step I to continue). If your database files end with the FileMaker Pro 5 file extension (*.FP5), then you can repair the files yourself using the Recover command in FileMaker Pro 5 (Proceed to Step L to continue) (I) (A) (B) Upon receipt of the files by HiPerSoft, our Technical Support Staff will recover the files and return them to you by . When you receive the files by , you must shut down the PIP on all computers, including the Host computer. Copy the files from the back into the \HiPerSoft folder on the Host computer, overwriting the original files that are still in the \HiPerSoft folder. NOTE: If the PIP is not shut down prior to copying the files into the \HiPerSoft folder on the Host computer, an error will be generated by the operating system informing you that the file is in use and cannot be overwritten. (Proceed to Step T below) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G) (H) On the Host computer, open FileMaker Pro 5 by locating its Shortcut icon in the Programs menu. (ie., Start Programs FileMaker Pro 5 FileMaker). From the File Menu at the top left of the screen, select Recover. (NOTE: If you are presented with the Open File dialog box when FileMaker Pro 5 starts up, then click on Cancel so that you can access the File menu). You are now presented with the Open Damaged File dialog box. Navigate to the folder in which the PIP database files are located (usually C:\HiPerSoft ), select the name of the damaged file so that it appears in the File Name field, and click the Open button. You are now presented with the Name Recovered File dialog box. By default, the file will be renamed to [original damaged file name + recovered +.FP5]. You should NOT change this name. Simply click on the Save button to continue. Once the Recover function has completed repairing the damaged file, you will be presented with a FileMaker dialog box which provides information regarding the recovery process. Click the OK button. Repeat Steps M through P for each damaged file.

4 (I) (J) Open the Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E ) and navigate to the folder on the Host computer where the PIP database files are located. You will notice that the original damaged files are still present, but there will also be recovered files named as described in Step O above. At t his point, we need to delete the original damaged files, and rename the recovered files to be the same as the original damaged files. For example, if the CLT.FP5" file was damaged, the recovered file would be named CLT Recovered.FP5". You would delete the CLT.FP5" file, and then Rename the CLT Recovered.FP5" file to CLT.FP5". The renaming of the file is accomplished by Right Clicking your mouse while it is pointed on the CLT Recovered.FP5" file, selecting Rename from the popup menu, and then removing the word Recovered and the space before it. If you forget to remove this space character, the file will not be recognized, and the PIP will not run. Set Multi-User to ON The PIP files on the Host computer must be shared in order for the Client computers to access the files over the network. To share the PIP files, we must set the Multi-User Mode to ON. This is accomplished by performing the following steps: The PIP must be running on the Host computer before any other Client computer can gain access over your network. Therefore, you must first start the PIP on the Host computer, which can be accomplished as follows: (K) Double-click on the SET.FP5" file in the C:\HiPerSoft folder on your harddrive. OR If you have a desktop icon that is a shortcut to the SET.FP5" file, Double-click on that icon. (L) (M) (N) Click Enter on the Splash Screen (which has the graphic of the PIP CD-ROM Saw Blade) Click on Client Database From the Scripts menu at the top of your screen, Select Set MultiUser Status ON NOTE: You should see a squiggly line and hear some activity from your harddrive, after which, the squiggly line disappears. On the Client computer, start the PIP using either the method described in O through P or the method described in Q through :

5 (O) Click on the P.I. Powertool Computer Access License file on your desktop. NOTE: This file can be downloaded from the HiPerSoft website ( in the Downloads section under Technical Support. (P) Click Enter on the Splash Screen (which has the graphic of the PIP CD-ROM Saw Blade) This is the second method of accessing the PIP on a Client computer, which uses the FileMaker Pro 5 Hosts connection. (Q) On the Client computer, click on the Windows Start menu, select Programs FileMaker Pro 5 FileMaker Pro (R) (S) (T) From the Open New or Existing File dialog box, click the Hosts button In the Hosts dialog box, you will see the name of the Host computer, and then immediately below it, the file Set.fp5" which should be highlighted. Click on Open or Press the Enter button on your keyboard. Click Enter on the Splash Screen (which has the graphic of the PIP CD-ROM Saw Blade) SUMMARY Computer crashes are inevitable. Files that are open and being used are very susceptible to damage. Fortunately, FileMaker Pro 5 has the built in Recover command to fix damaged files. However, the best insurance against damaged files is a good backup. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for regular backups. HiPerSoft recommends using FileMaker Server, a special version of FileMaker Pro, to Host your PIP database files. FileMaker Server has a built in backup utility that will make backups according to a schedule that you define. And best of all, the backups will be made while the PIP database files are open and being used by your staff. There is no need to shut down the PIP database files and interrupt the productivity of your staff in order to make backups! It is a good business decision. For more information, please contact HiPerSoft and a representative will be happy to explain the benefits of using FileMaker Server. See the following page for Figures 1 and 2 which are referenced above in the text of this document.

6 FIGURES