Ben, Please try reconstruction with the option mentioned in the release notes of the recently-posted b3, although from the tone of the error message I would surmise that you are indeed facing irreversible trouble. Perhaps at least the new version will give you an error code that we can work from ?
Also, try this: when PowerMail compacts a database, it leaves a copy of the former files in the PowerMail files folder with the suffix .old. After having made a backup of your entire data folder, try deleting the files which result from the compact operation (the ones which do not have .old at the end) then rename the .old files by deleting the suffix, and relaunch. From there, do a reconstruction with the option and command keys ON FIRST LAUNCH with all the options turned on. Let us know how you fare, thanks ! On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 17:17:39 -0400, Ben Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Greetings all, > >Well, I have experienced what appears to be my first catastrophic DB >failure in my several years of using PowerMail. > >At first, I noticed that PM was raising "database errors" when attempting >to view some older messages. Thinking nothing of this, I decided to do a >low-level rebuild, which has been successful for me in the past. First, >I decided to empty my trash and compact the database for good measure. > >That was probably a mistake, because after doing so, PM balked with a >dialog: "A database error occurred: DB file is corrupted." It would not >load up as usual; it gives the same error message when attempting to do a >low-level rebuild. I have tried all manner of combination of the first- >aid checkboxes, and continue to receive same. > >At this point, in order to compose this message, I've created a new user >environment to start from scratch, at least in the interim. (In order to >do this, I was forced to DELETE all of my previous PowerMail environment, >since PM kept choking with the DB error and never giving me a chance to >select or create a different user environment. I thought we used to be >able to hold down Command when launching, in order to get such a choice? > It does not appear to work anymore. Before deleting my old environment, >I stuffed into a .sit archive, and copied to another machine for good >measure.) > >This is a SEVERE bummer for me, if I am unable to recover. Fortunately >my last backup is only about a week and a half old, but at the pace of >business, that's still way too long. (I now realise I ought to back up >more frequently than that) > >So... what's the deal here? How can I recover from this; does anyone >have any ideas? Even if I am able to extract messages from the database >in raw format, that is better than nothing. I am slightly agape at the >total inutility of the low-level rebuild to do ANYTHING with my database. > What do the "class/what/when/err" values in the error dialog mean; are >they helpful at all to CTM? > >-ben > >-- >Ben Kennedy, chief magician >zygoat creative technical services >613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628 >http://www.zygoat.ca
