Is it possible to recover corrupted Works database files?

beardiedog

Help. Several of my wdb files have been corrupted, unfortunately one is very large and the backup has also been affected.

I wondered if there is recovery software available, preferably free, to help retrieve the files. I've Googled it but I can't seem to find anything suitable.

I'm using Works 8.5 on Vista - I suspect Vista may be the culprit here as I've heard similar stories about the OS.

I do have an older backup but it'll save me several hours work if I can get them back again.

Thanks.

dispossessed

Have a look at this list of free file recovery software and see if there is something suitable for your needs.

I use Restoration but have never tried using it on wdb files before. It may well work for them though.

Hope this helps,

Trevor

beardiedog

Thanks Trevor, I'll have a look and let you know how I get on.

Steve

beardiedog

I tried Recova but it can't find any deleted wdb files even though one of them has completely disappeared which I assumed was accidentally deleted. Where it's gone to is a complete mystery.

I've managed to recreate the files from old backups and I'll just have to add the later info again but at least not all is lost.

Thanks again.

Steve

dispossessed

I know that MS Word automatically creates back-ups every so often (presumably in case of sudden power failure) This feature has been criticised for the security risk(s) as it is possible to reconstruct the document from it even after deletion (and overwriting the deleted file).

My wife writes as a hobby and on several occasions I have managed to retrieve lost / deleted / corrupt files by using this feature. I access it via the 'Tools' menu.

My point is - I wonder if a similar feature is included within MS Access ? I am unable to find out as I do not have MS Office installed but thought I would mention it in the hope it may be of some help.

Trevor

beardiedog

Yes, I tried using Access but I couldn't get it to open the damaged files, but maybe it's more of a complicated procedure than simply opening them. There is a compact and restore option in the Tools menu but it didn't seem to work.

The reason I use Works over Access is because it's so much simpler to use for simple databases. Previous attempts at importing them into Access didn't go too well so I resoved to leave it until I could spend some time to get my head around it.

Steve