PC DB: How to Tell if an ACCESS File Is Corrupt

 Last reviewed: May 31, 1995
Article ID: Q87465
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, versions 2.1e, 3.0, and 3.2

SYMPTOMS

Some symptoms of corrupted access record entries are as follows:

  1. A user cannot load his or her folders subdirectory.

  2. A user is no longer recognizable as a remote modem mail user.

  3. A user gets the error message "Error in mail header retrieval."

  4. A user sees corrupted character strings in different fields that relate to his or her personally set environment.

WORKAROUND

To check whether an ACCESS file is corrupt, divide the file sizes by the following numbers: 

   ACCESS.GLB  (1172 /  586) = 2
   ACCESS2.GLB ( 138 /  69 ) = 2
   ACCESS3.GLB (1024 /  512) = 2
The file sizes must always divide evenly and the number of records per file must always be the same for the same files. This number will not always accurately represent the number of local users defined at the postoffice because the concept of deleted records is being used. The above calculations show that there are/were two users defined on the local postoffice.

File size alone will not always guarantee that the files are not corrupted. It is still possible for an individual's access record to be corrupted and not reflect this in the file size.

Additional reference words: 2.10e 3.00 3.20
KBCategory: kbenv
KBSubcategory: MailPCDB

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Last reviewed: May 31, 1995
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