Corrupted data file

[Tommy Trussell]

On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 10:06 AM, Johan Pretorius <pretoriusjf at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> More information:
>
> > Just to check that the correct files are being tried, what is the name
> > of the original file and one of the backup files?
>
>
>    - Carla personal.gnucash
>    - Carla personal.gnucash.20151031145316.gnucash
>
> *Operating system*: Windows 7 Professional
> *Gnucash version*: 2.6.5 (built from git rev 23d0f79+ on 2014-12-19)
> *Data folder*: C:\Users\Decisive Consulting\Documents\CARLA\MMA's
> Household
> *Did they try saving to database*? I just confirmed - no, they never
> fiddled with anything like that
>
> Based on the thread you linked to, Tommy - I also looked at folder and
> file permissions, they seem fine in that the logged-in user as full control
> set up.
>
> One strange thing that is probably an artifact of the recovery process, is
> that the security settings for the folder and the file also list an
> "Account Unknown (S-1-5-21-...)" that has got full control. I don't expect
> that makes any difference though.
>
> Regards,
> Johan
>
>
Since you're running an older version of GnuCash, should I presume the
entire system (applications, OS, AND data) were recovered?

Others may disagree, but in general, I presume that when a hard drive
crashes it most likely leaves files in an indeterminate state -- one or
more mangled blocks, for instance. Often that MIGHT only affect cache
files, but in the process of failing, the drive could have corrupted all
sorts of things.

SO the next things I would do are:

1) Make sure you (still) have a good backup of the data as it exists now
and/or as it existed before the drive crashed. This is essential, because
you may have to wipe the drive later.

2) Reinstall GnuCash from a freshly-downloaded installer, and test.

and if you see ANY other instability in the system (affecting other apps or
basic OS features that are flaky)

3) Reinstall the operating system.

I don't use Windows but I saw someone allude to EOL (end of life) support
for Windows 7 is imminent. As in, just a few days. (Note that I think you
have to pay for "extended support.")

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

It may turn out the best option (whether or not the system is unstable) is
to upgrade the system to Windows 8 or 10. HOWEVER be sure seek someone
else's detailed advice as I haven't regularly used Windows in many years.



>
>
> On 06:10, Sat 09 Jan 2016 Tommy Trussell <tommy.trussell at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Jan 8, 2016 at 3:26 AM, Johan Pretorius <pretoriusjf at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi there,
>>>
>>> A friend's harddrive crashed. Most files could be recovered by a data
>>> recovery service, including the files in their GnuCash data folder.
>>>
>>> Gnucash fails to open the recovered file (and all its backups) saying
>>> that
>>> there is no suitable backend for the file.
>>>
>>> What I read after doing some Google searches makes me think that the
>>> files
>>> are likely to be corrupted.
>>>
>>> Is there any way to recover any of the data, or perhaps even just do an
>>> integrity check on the data file?
>>>
>>>
>> I thought the "no suitable backend" message appears when attempting to
>> open a GnuCash database file (non-XML file) when the database libdbd-mysql
>> or libdbd-sqlite3 or libdbd-pgsql libraries are missing. (This applies to
>> linux systems, and the exact package names vary on different linux distros.)
>>
>> HOWEVER, a web search turned up a thread from 2014 where a Windows user
>> saw the "no suitable backend" message, and it turned out he was trying to
>> open a data file copied into his Windows Application directory, so the
>> message indicated a permissions problem.
>>
>> http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-user/2014-April/054141.html
>>
>> o What operating system is your friend running?
>>
>> o What versions of GnuCash were running on the old system (if known) and
>> on the restored system?
>>
>> o How is the datafile named (does it have a .gnucash extension, for
>> instance)?
>>
>> o What directory is the restored datafile saved in?
>>
>> o Is it possible your friend intentionally saved his GnuCash file to a
>> database server (on the same system or elsewhere)?
>>
>>
>>> -----
>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>>>
>>
>>