Open GDB File failed This release of the GeoDatabase is either invalid or out of date

Question

Hi there,

i´m trying to open gdb File from our customer with the new 1.1 api but right now i recieve the following exception "This release of the GeoDatabase is either invalid or out of date.". In my case i only want to read the information, so maybe the api is a little bit to powerful. I know the API only works for Arcview 10 or higher and at the customers sites is a Version 9 installed. Any recommendations to read the information?

cheers
Joerg

VinceAngelo · Answer

This forum is for the File Geodatabase API.  ArcObjects at 10.0 and 10.1 (and of course 9.3.x)
 should be able to read 9.3 FDGB data.  If ArcGIS can't read your data, then this doesn't reflect
 on the FGDB API, since ArcObjects uses a different library (FileGDBAPI is a port of a *part* 
of the ArcObjects library).  It's unlikely  the FileGDB API will be able to read a 10.x dataset 
that ArcGIS 10.0 cannot.

If you can't read a file geodatabase with a release of ArcGIS that should be able to read it, 
then there's a good chance the data files have been corrupted.  Unfortunately, your only 
option is to contact Tech Support for help in data recovery.  They will need a complete copy 
(Zip or 7Zip) of the file geodatabase folder.

Good luck.

- V

KathleenSearfoss · Answer

The API can't read the old 9.x format (very different -- impossible to model with the 10.0-based API).
The only way to convert a 9.x FileGDB is to use ArcGIS 10 to upgrade the original to 10.0 (or copy it
into a new 10.0 FGDB).

- V

How, do tell, are we to open in ArcGIS 10 to upgrade to format when, as he said - he cannot open the GDB.  I am having the same problem with GDBs that were created in 10 - now it is giving me the same message, and I am stuck with no way to retrieve the data!

VinceAngelo · Answer

The API can't read the old 9.x format (very different -- impossible to model with the 10.0-based API).
The only way to convert a 9.x FileGDB is to use ArcGIS 10 to upgrade the original to 10.0 (or copy it
into a new 10.0 FGDB).
 
- V