Thanks, Ann.

Supposed I can give up on the bad pages. How can I make the rest of
the database available?
Isn't gfix supposed to fix the data found on disk?
Is there another tool I can use?

I consider database maintenance a crucial issue, even in cases of
hard shutdown... If I can't rely that most of the data can be
recovered, than may be Firebird isn't right choice?...

Thanks a lot.

--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, "Ann W. Harrison"
<aharrison@i...> wrote:

> salisburyproject wrote:
> >
> >
> > I ran into the following situation:
> >
> > - when connecting to the database, I get this error:
> > - Error while trying to read from file
> > - Reached the end of the file
> > - gfix -v gives the following:
> > - bad checksum
> > - checksum error on database page xxxxx
>
> Sigh, do you have forced writes turned on? The error you're seeing
> often occurs when a database is shutdown hard - something like

pulling

> the plug on the machine - with forced writes turned off on a

windows

> system. Windows does not write pages in cache until the file is

closed,

> by default, so lots of stuff doesn't ever get to disk. Firebird

(and

> InterBase) haven't actually checksummed pages in 10 years or more,

but

> write 12345 in the page header where the checksum used to go. That
> detects only the grossest of errors - like reading a page that was

never

> written.
> >
> > I ran gfix -v -i, but the error still appears. How can I fix the
> > database??
>
> Contact ibsurgeon.com - they may be able to recreate enough of the
> missing pages to make the database readable.
> >
> > Also, I noticed huge files in the Windows TEMP directory, named
> > fb_sort_xxxx. What are these files? When are they removed? Can

they

> > be deleted? This huge waste of disk space (my DB is quiet big -

1.5

> > Gb).
> >
> Those are sort temporary files and they should have been deleted
> automatically.
>
> Regards,
>
>
> Ann