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Hi Jeff- Is there a way to validate that a backup copy is functional? I guess this falls under being "abundantly cautious" but would like to know that the backup copy is functional and will work when it is needed.
Any thoughts?
Hi Tom,
In general, you should get an error if there is any problem creating the backup.
I use MSAccess functionality to run a Compress and Repair operation on the database file after copying it to the specified destination. If that fails for any reason, you will be notified.
With that said, after the 'compress and repair' operation is made on a copy of your database and moved to the destination directory, your main database is replaced with this very same backup file. So, if BD starts and runs again after a Backup, then you are assured that the backup copy is functional.
In addition, (as you can see now, I am abundantly cautious with your backup data), before running the 'compress and repair' operation on your active database to make the backup copy, I make a standalone (untouched) copy of your active database just in case something does go wrong with the backup or compress/repair operation. This file is always called database.mdb_bck_copy, and found in the same directory as your main database (C:\Birder's Diary\data\database.mdb). That file is overwritten each time you start a new backup. So, if anything goes wrong with any step of the backup process, you can always recover from this extra file.
This functionality has covered every crazy error-prone situation I have seen in 28 years on thousands of customer systems for the backup process. It grew out of dealing with every crazy situation encountered over those years.
Long-winded, I know. But I hope this puts your concerns to rest.
Bird on...
I can sleep well tonight!!
All joking aside, thanks for being so thoughtful in how the data is protected. Good to know that in the 28 years, it has never been an issue.
Oh- and to my other post?- I learned about all of this in the old user guide! 🤣
Good to know that in the 28 years, it has never been an issue.
Wait a second. These features came about over the first 10 years or so because of the issues encountered. Better to say no issues in the last 18 years.
Take care.
