Sorry, I didn't want to overwhelm people with information that might not be relevant.

The moving the database trick craps out when trying to register the database. It seems that the path of the old database is inbedded in the file and it cannot be rewritten without stuffing up the checksum.

As for the .bak file, it is not recognised by firebird as being a legit backup. I think that the current backup restore process is not using gbak and is the reason why this method does not work.

Thanks for all of your responses, I think that a backup under redhat using gbak with a restore to windows might be the go.

For the moment, I will be happy with getting the DB recognised by firebird 2.1.2.