Lost back up

[LL]

I have a database that was designed by another person that is set to back up
to the floppy drive where part of the programming is saved. My problem is
that the disks are missing. Is there anyone that might have any ideas of what
can be done with this? We really like the database design but know the
information that we are adding is not saving because it needs to do a daily
back up to function properly

 

[Jerry Whittle]

This sounds like a very strange design. As it's looking for a floppy drive,
I'm going to assume that this is an older version of Access.

Open up the database and press the F11 key. This should bring up the
database window. Go to the Macros. If there is one called Autoexec open it in
design view and see what it says and write it down here. Also if there are
other macros, see if any of them may be doing the saving to the floppy. DO
NOT double-click or run the macros.

Next go to the Modules in the database window. See what any of the modules
say and copy and paste here if they talk about the floppy drive.

Next go to the form that first opens when the database is opened. Go to its
design view, Properties, and the Events tab. See if there are any modules or
macros called in an event. Tell us what they say.

 

[NetworkTrade]

and in addition to JW's advice; my guess is that this old autobackup does
not work with incrementally new records but instead simply writes over all
the table data....but that is just a guess...

but this means that even if you have lost the floppys - you haven't lost any
data or any continuity in your data....your original version contains all the
data and you just need to let it write to a new floppy.....

 

[MikeB]

I have a database that was designed by another person that is set to back up
to the floppy drive where part of the programming is saved. My problem is
that the disks are missing. Is there anyone that might have any ideas of what
can be done with this? We really like the database design but know the
information that we are adding is not saving because it needs to do a daily
back up to function properly

First things first. While all the advice given here is of course very
good, you should make a manual backup of your database. The database
can be either in one (or two if you have a front-end and a back-
end) .mdb files. Locate these and copy them to removable media or to
any other form of backup.

 

[LL]

Thanks for the info. The database is in older form of Access. The idea did
not work. I just put in a new floppy and I get a little message box asking
for the database Backup disc with the write protection off to perform daily
maintenance. Unfortunately, it does not let me use the F11 Key. I will try to
open in a newer Access to see if the keys will work. I do know the last time
I tried, it wouldn't do anything because it was asking to do the daily back
up.

 

[Jerry Whittle]

If the F11 key doesn't work, it's possible that someone has disabled a lot of
the database's features. Do you have to sign in with a password or
user/password combination?

What happens when you start the database while holding down the Shift key?
Does the F11 key then bring up the database window?

 

[LL]

The F-keys are still not functioning.

How would I find out if there is a front-end and back-end. I am not the
original user of the program -- they are no longer with the company. I know
the basics of how to use what was designed but other than that I am a little
foggy but generally can catch on pretty quick.

I have copied the file onto a flash drive and tried to open on a machine
that is not on the system but it asks me the same thing to do process the
back up first. It does not give me the option to change the drive to save to.

 

[Jerry Whittle]

If there was a backend database, it would very likely be the same file name
as that the original except for a BE added. For example NetworkTrade.mdb and
NetworkTrade_BE.mdb.

If you want, zip up the database file that you have on your flash drive and
email it to whittlej at hotmail.com . I could take a look at it.

Otherwise I think that you may need to hire a local Access expert to figure
out what is going on. It could be that the person who developed it has locked
up the database pretty good and you won't be able to make any changes
especially if it's an MDE file instead of an MDB.

 

[LL]

Sorry for not getting back to you quicker. Let me try something and then I
will go from there. Thanks for all the ideas.