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How do I read a corrupted Access file?

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How do I read a corrupted Access file?

Postby MediumRare on Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:58 pm

Due to hardware problems, I'm fighting with some corrupted files :evil: (I've pretty well given up trying to read from the damaged hard drive).

One of these is an Access database which Access(XP) cannot open. The suggested fix is to create a new DB and import the tables and queries. However, this only results in the same error message when trying to import these structures.

I had a look at the file with a hex editor, and most of the information seems to be present. It's a bit hard to tell, because only strings (ASCII or UTF8/Unicode) stand out and information items such as date/time or running numbers aren't apparent.

Does anyone know about a recovery tool that can extract tables and queries from a damaged MDB file? I'm not worried about forms, reports or other stuff, just the data tables. Failing that, a description of the file format would allow me to try and "repair" it or build a Perl script to read this information selectively.

Thanks

G
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Postby UALOneKPlus on Sat Feb 21, 2004 10:50 pm

There are a few services and tools for doing this:

http://www.accessfix.com/


is one example.

I frequently back up my Access files to CD-R's just in case this happens.
"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it."
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Postby MediumRare on Sun Feb 22, 2004 3:44 am

UALOneKPlus wrote:There are a few services and tools for doing this:

http://www.accessfix.com/


is one example.

Thanks. I'll download the demo and see what it has to offer.
UALOneKPlus wrote:I frequently back up my Access files to CD-R's just in case this happens.

You're right of course :oops: and I'll do so in the future.

G
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Postby MediumRare on Mon Feb 23, 2004 6:41 pm

The demo of accessfix was worth downloading as reassurance that the data is still accessible, but I'm not going to pay 300 Euros for the full program.

I did what I should have done in the first place- use Google. In addition to AccessFix, I found a tip that allowed me to recover most of the tables (all the important ones :D ). Essentially it involves using Excel/MS-Query to access the DB, importing the tables one by one into a worksheet and then importing the data from Excel into a new Access-DB. This apparently avoids enough of the consistency tests to let you read the tables!

This is worth remembering!

G
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