* Trailer record?

[lollybird]

Hi there,
I've just logged into my FH files for the first time in a few weeks, only to be greeted with the message 'File not terminated correctly (no trailer record found)'. My 3000+ individuals have been reduced to 300, and the programme seems to have removed all family links. I've looked all over help, but can't find any clues. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Kirsty

ID:1455

[Jane]

It sounds as if the file has been corrupted in some way, possibly a disk error?, I would restore your last backup file to a new name using the restore option in FH.

[lollybird]

Thanks, Jane. That's what I will have to do - but this is the second time I have had such a problem (last year I posted here when all my references disappeared, but again there didn't seem to be any explanation for it). I think this is the end of the road for me with FH ...

Kirsty

[Jane]

It's very strange that it's not generated any errors during recording. I have never lost any data when using FH, even when flicking between Gedcom Census and FH.

[ganstey]

Hi Kirsty,

I would strongly recommend that you run a check on your disk. Assuming you are running Windows2000 or Windows XP, do the following:

* Open 'My Computer' and right-click on the C drive, and select 'Properties'

* Select the 'Tools' tab.

* Select the 'Check Now' button. On the dialog that follows tick both boxes, and hit Start.

This should tell you whether there are any problems with your disk. If it reports any errors, then do this regularly. If you still get errors reported, then its time to replace the hard disk.

If you're running Win98, then its a similar procedure, but its easier to find the utility ('cept I can't remember where it lives at the moment!)

Hope this helps
Graham

[nsw]

I think this is the end of the road for me with FH ...

Kirsty

I think that would be a shame as it seems very unlikely to be a fault with Family Historian as it just isn't something that anyone else has reported. The lack of trailer record suggests that only part of the file was saved. If FH was  responsible for this I'm sure it would have shown an error message or at least crashed. I guess one way this could have happened would be if FH was part way through saving (perhaps an auto-save) and your computer was turned off suddenly, e.g. by a powercut. Is this possible?

If not, do you ever load your file into any other applications that might have caused this?