Guidence Needed for Corruption Of Database

[Aamer]

Need Some Guidence

We in pakistan are facing some serious power failures sometimes even the UPS
are also not properly charged therefore the computer shuts down right after
the power failure.

The database gets corrupted due to this issue when someone is working and
the power goes out. What I need to know is if I split the database on the
same computer i.e on the workstation on which it is installed, will it help
that the tables which are in another partition of the drive are saved and
dont get corrupted. Or will it not only corrupt the forms but also the tables.

Please advise

 

[Tom van Stiphout]

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:38:01 -0800, Aamer

You should split the database regardless: it is an important best
practice for many reasons.
But no, it will not prevent corruption. Access (and any other file
system database) is very sensitive to power failure and momentary
hickups in network continuity. You would be much better off using a
server database, such as the free Microsoft SQL Server Express.

-Tom.
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Daniel Pineault]

To my knowledge, and someone might correct me (it will be interesting to see
what other developer say on this matter), but whether or not your db is split
or not will not reduce your chances of corruption if the your computer shuts
downs. Splitting a db is to enable multi-user access and will not reduce
data corruption in such a scenario.

I think your only solution is to perform very frequent backups. Perhaps
setup your db to backup everytime you open it, so that in the worst case
scenario, you only loose one session worth of work.

The other point would be to ensure your UPS are functional. If you have
one, there is no reason for it not to be charged.
--
Hope this helps,

Daniel Pineault
http://www.cardaconsultants.com/
For Access Tips and Examples: http://www.devhut.net
Please rate this post using the vote buttons if it was helpful.

 

[Aamer]

Thank you for your reply.
I will split the database and see if it solves the problem.
Well the UPS are fully functional ..... lol.... but the electricity is not...
only 2-3 hours electricity in 24 hours.... in such case no matter which ups
i may use it cannot be charged properly.

anyways thanks for the input.

 

[Tom van Stiphout]

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:42:01 -0800, Aamer

Strange. Two people tell you splitting the database will not help, so
you decide to split it and see if it solves the problem.
Best of luck to you. You're going to need it.

-Tom.
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[John Spencer]

Splitting has the potential to help the corruption problem if you then
concentrate on the file server and make SURE it has a good UPS that is fully
functional and file backups are run at least nightly.

But as noted a better solution would be to use some version of a database
server (one of the MS SQL packages or some other database server).

John Spencer
Access MVP 2002-2005, 2007-2010
The Hilltop Institute
University of Maryland Baltimore County

 

[Steve]

Splitting has the potential to help the corruption problem if you then
concentrate on the file server and make SURE it has a good UPS that is fully
functional and file backups are run at least nightly.

But as noted a better solution would be to use some version of a database
server (one of the MS SQL packages or some other database server).

John Spencer
Access MVP 2002-2005, 2007-2010
The Hilltop Institute
University of Maryland Baltimore County






- Show quoted text -

I am in Africa with similar power problems but am a little confused by
the answer. I understand why splitting the database (while
appropriate) is not a solution as the computer with the back end can
still be affected by power interruptions. Given this, why is a move
to SQL a better answer - what am I missing or is there an assumption
that the database server would have more reliable power
Steve

 

[John Spencer]

SQL server is more robust in handling the data and less subject to corruption
due to failure of the "input" computer. If the entire record does not get
"posted" to the SQL server, then no record is created/modified/deleted.

John Spencer
Access MVP 2002-2005, 2007-2010
The Hilltop Institute
University of Maryland Baltimore County