Recovering from a corrupt or missing database

If you get a message when starting up that the database cannot be found, or that it's corrupt and cannot be read, or if the Rack is completely blank, the first reaction is to panic.  This kind of error is usually caused by a power outage or computer glitch at just the wrong time, which causes the database to not be saved completely.  But unless you're using a very old version (before 2.0), then you can probably recover easily without losing anything.

There are simply too many possible variations in circumstance to show a simple step-by-step recovery procedure, but the guidelines below should get you through it easily enough.

Opening Campground Master

First you need to get Campground Master open and stable so you can use the Restore function if necessary.

If it says that no database has been defined, do NOT select the option to open the sample database.  Just let it open a blank database.  Then continue to the "No Database Defined" section below to try opening your database.

If it opens with a blank Rack, or if it shows one error message saying something like "database is corrupt" or "invalid database" and clicking OK brings you to a blank Rack or a login window, then continue to the next section.  (If your normal login doesn't work, use "Administrator" and "Password".)

If you get a prompt saying that a recent auto-backup was found and asking if you want to restore from that, answer YES!  You're in luck and may be back up and running.

If it shows a continuous stream of data error message prompts that don't stop after several messages, then close down (Ctrl-Alt-Delete and use End Task to terminate the program) and start over, opening the Demo database instead.  (If you've removed the demo icon from the desktop, go to Start / Programs / Campground Master and open the Sample database.)  Once the demo is open, use the Maintenance / New Database function to clear everything out -- if it asks for a name, try to enter exactly the same database name you used before.  If it says the database already exists, that's OK -- that's the corrupt one anyway so you might as well clear it out.  Once you have a blank database open, skip to the "Do you have a removable backup..." section below.

No Database Defined, or a blank Rack?

If it says that no database has been defined, or if it opens with a blank Rack, then it could simply be that it lost track of which database it was supposed to open.  Use File / Open Previous Database and see is any previous databases are listed, or File / Open, to see if you can find your database file.  The folder "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Campground Master\" is the most likely location for Windows Vista and Windows 7 or later, or "Shared Documents" for Windows XP, or "C:\Program Files\Campground Master" for Windows 95, ME, 98 and 2000.  If all else fails, use the Find Files or Search function in Windows (from the Start button), and look for files named *.prk (include the asterisk and the period).  If it finds one (other than "demo.prk") and it looks like your database (check the modified date -- is it recent?), make a note if its location and then use File / Open again to open it.  Otherwise, continue with the steps below.

Important: Do NOT open a database named "database.prk" that's inside a .zip file (that's a compressed backup, and will show a zippered folder instead of a normal folder icon).  If this is the only database you can locate, then you should use the Restore function covered below.

If you can't find your database or it's still blank, then keep reading...

Do you have a removable backup, e.g. on floppy or CD?

Ideally you're making daily backups to a removable disk (if not, YOU SHOULD), in which case it's a simple matter of using the Maintenance / Restore from backup function to restore the database.  Just follow the prompts, locate the backup file on the removable disk when you get to the Open dialog, and open that file.

Important: After restoring the database backup, if it didn't prompt you to use the same last database file, then be sure to use File / Save As to save it to the correct location on your hard drive, with the correct name.  When you get to the Save As dialog, double-check the "Save In" location -- we recommend that you put it in "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Campground Master\" for Windows Vista and Windows 7 or later.

If you're using a version older than 3.1, you should immediately close Campground Master and re-open it after doing the Save As step.  This will force it to check for changes in the log files that didn't get in the backup, and those can be restored also.  If you're using 3.1 or later, it should prompt you to "Apply changes" after you do the Save As step (click 'Yes' when it does).

Note: In order to recover changes made since the backup, the database must be saved in the same location that was used before, and must use the same filename.  If you don't remember where it was saved and it's not in the path mentioned above, you could check Maintenance / Program Options / Database to see if it shows the auto-open path.

What if you don't have a backup handy?

There's still hope, if you're using a recent version.  The program makes daily auto-backups which should still be there.  These are placed in the same folder as your database (usually in "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Campground Master\" for Windows Vista and Windows 7 or later, or "Shared Documents" for Windows XP, or "C:\Program Files\Campground Master" for Windows 95, ME, 98 and 2000).  So try using the Maintenance / Restore function, and when it gets to the Open dialog then navigate the Look In drop-down list to that location (select the disk under My Computer that shows "(C:)", then double-click the Program Files folder, then double-click the Campground Master folder).

Now you should see a whole bunch of files that start with your database name and then have "_Auto_Backup_" and a date in the name (make sure the Files of Type shows "Compressed backup (*.zip)").  Locate the one with the latest date in the filename, select it and click Open.  If it's still blank, then that means the one you opened was an auto-backup of the blank database you already have open -- so look for the Auto-Backup with next most recent date and try that one.

If you didn't see these auto-backup files in that location, then you may have been saving your database somewhere else.  If you don't remember where it was saved, you could check Maintenance / Program Options / Database and see if it shows the auto-open path.  If all else fails, use the Find Files function in Windows (form the Start button), and look for files named *_Auto_Backup_*  (include the asterisks, those are wild-card characters).

What if it's on a networked computer?

If the problem is on only one computer in a networked setup (even if it's the "master"), then you can also just make a fresh backup from one of the other computers and restore it to the corrupted one.  Be sure to save it using the same database name as the other workstations use, or else it won't be able to connect to the server.

Making sure it continues to open the correct database

Once you have your data is restored and you've verified that it's as good as can be expected, then there may be a couple more steps to make sure it opens this database automatically.  This is especially true for version 3.5 or later, but in any case you should follow this procedure (making sure you're logged in as an administrator):

1. Make sure the database is in the correct location -- use Maintenance / Database Maintenance / Move the database to shared or public documents.  This will move it if necessary.

2. Make sure the name is reasonable -- it's shown in the caption bar, after the word "Database:".  If it just shows "Database:Database", or something like "July 2022", then that's not a reasonable name for your data.  Use File / Rename database to change it.

3. Go to Maintenance / Program Options / Database.  If there's a large button "Change the auto-open database..." underneath the auto-open database file and path, then click that button.  (This will only be there for version 3.5 and later.)

Hopefully the procedures above will get your data restored.  If you have any problems, please contact us.