Fred,

f> I am certain that no one issued a gfix -shutdown commmand. Perhaps
f> a gbak restore leaves the restored database in this state so that
f> the person doing the restore has a chance to do some single-user
f> type stuff before the database is brought on-line.

not normally. Perhaps it does so in cases I don't know about (see also
the suggestion from Thomas von Stetten).

f> I do plan to do a series of test backup/restores on a much smaller
f> database in order to better understand what to expect.

This is a wise move anyway.

f> I like Firebird very much and hope that we
f> can re-direct some of our $$$ going to IBM-Informix to the FB
f> Foundation.

We all always hope so. :-)
And, you're not alone: usually everyone who uses Firebird does like Firebird very
much.

Ciao
--
Nando mailto:nandod@...