topic Re: Another "Failed to connect to database" in Data Management Questions

Another "Failed to connect to database"

ChrisPratt — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:19:37 GMT

Hello,

I am using 10 (sp1), info license. I was editing some data this morning. After I completed the editing, I compacted the file geodatabase. After compacting, I was no longer able to access the database, receiving a "Failed to connect to database" message. The description tab states "The item's XML contains errors."

This is not an issue of a 9x verses a 10 geodatabase. I created this in 10 and have been successfully storing and accessing data since I created it.

Any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions before I recreate it from scratch

Chris

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LucasMurray — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:31:17 GMT

Chris, did you ever find a solution to this problem? The same thing is happening to me with a file geodatabase I created in 10.

Thanks,

Hello,

I am using 10 (sp1), info license. I was editing some data this morning. After I completed the editing, I compacted the file geodatabase. After compacting, I was no longer able to access the database, receiving a "Failed to connect to database" message. The description tab states "The item's XML contains errors."

This is not an issue of a 9x verses a 10 geodatabase. I created this in 10 and have been successfully storing and accessing data since I created it.

Any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions before I recreate it from scratch

Chris

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

DanielCoker — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:34:56 GMT

Hi - did either of you find a solution to this problem ( i know it was a while ago). I'm experiencing the same thing - and have the potential for loosing a whole lot of hard work. Thanks.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LanceShipman — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:14:56 GMT

Can you provide details of your work flow? Simply editing and compacting a file geodatabase does not do this. We would like to track down the problem and fix it. We would appreciate any details that you can provide. Is the data on a network drive? What version of windows? What type of edits you performed? No detail is too small.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

GregoryStewart — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:26:36 GMT

It just happened to me. New install of ArcGIS 10 Service Pack 2 on clean Windows 7 x64. I created a local file geodatabase with Arc 10. I've been using it successfully for days.

I was working with the data and decided I wanted to change what was stored in the feature datasets. I created a new ArcMap document so I wasn't using any of the files in the geodatabase, and then using the ArcCatalog window within ArcMap, I created two new feature datasets (same projection) and moved two feature classes from one one feature dataset to another. I also deleted a large feature class that wasn't part of a feature dataset. At that point I compacted the geodatabase.

Everything was fine until I compacted it. Now I get "Failed to connect to geodatabase" any time I try to use it.

Update: I just got a new message, it may be unrelated. "Failed to connect to database. The Microsoft Office Access database engine could not find the object 'GDB_Toolboxes'. Make sure the object exists and that you spell its name and path name correctly." I can open all the other geodatabases (file and personal), just not this one (the one I need right now).

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

DavidSmith6 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:29:09 GMT

hi there...did anyone ever figure this out. The same thing happened to me after compacting my gdb.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

KatieHeim — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:05:46 GMT

I have a new Arc 10 file geodatabase called Base.gdb stored on my local hard drive. Today after editing, I am no longer able to access the file gdb in either Catalog or Arc. I created this file gdb in Arc 10 about two months ago and have been working on it ever since. All the work done on the file gdb was in Arc 10.

Today, I added and deleted some records in one feature class - very simple editing in ArcInfo in a brand new mxd. I deleted several polygons, and I created new ones and I believe I split two polygons, one into two polygons and one into three polygons. Of possible interest is that the polygon feature class is linked to an annotation feature class. I had that open at the same time to verify that the changes in the polygon feature class were continuing in the annotation feature class. The editing went fine and I was able to verify that my edits 'took' after saving.

I then compacted the fgdb. After that I was no longer able to connect to the fgdb via Arc.

I am running Arc 10, Service Pack 2, ArcInfo desktop license. The computer is running Windows 7 with 4GB memory, Intel Xeon dual 2GHz processors. No back up programs were running at the time the fgdb became inaccessible.

I had Windows Outlook open and MS Excel open (which I do everyday) when the error occurred. This is the first time I had this problem with a file gdb.

I would appreciate if Esri would check into this problem, as it seems to continue and is not affected by the service pack.

Thanks!
Katie Kelleher

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LanceShipman — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:16:40 GMT

Take a look at http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/27985-A-possible-way-to-repair-some-File-Geodatabases

Let me know if this works for you.

Thank you for the detailed information. I will run through the same steps and see if I can reproduce the problem.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LucasMurray — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:10:19 GMT

Lance,
Thanks for the link. I haven't had a chance to test the solutions out but I'll try that next time I come across this problem, which will probably be sooner rather than later. I saw the article said there was a higher chance of the FGDB corrupting after compacting if both ArcCatalog and ArcMap are running. However, I've had this problem show up pretty regularly even with only ArcCatalog running (I've even gotten into the habit of making sure ArcMap is killed in task manager before compacting an FGDB).

I've already lost one FGDB to this problem. Luckily it was small and easy to recreate. However, I now use the tool sparingly and cautiously. I've gotten in the habit of backing-up my FGDB before compacting it and only compact the database before archiving it.

FYI, I'm running version 10, sp2 on Windows XP sp3.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

ErikMartin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:39:37 GMT

I've had the same problem and the instructions in the link provided by Lance in the above message solved my problem. Thanks,
-Erik

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

ValCannon — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:27:58 GMT

I had this problem as well. The fix worked. Big sigh of relief.
Change of workflow...back up, then compact.

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LucasDanzinger — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:26:58 GMT

I believe the issue of receiving this error after compacting geodatabases was addressed in SP3.

http://resources.arcgis.com/content/patches-and-service-packs?fa=viewPatch&PID=17&MetaID=1807

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

MichellePearson — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:15:08 GMT

This has just happened to my intern without the compacting step. Editing was not turned on. She was printing maps from a series of mxd files that contain the same source data, so it had been accessed multiple times this morning (not touched for 2 or 3 weeks before this). Her screen froze, so she closed the mxd and re-opened it to find red exclamation marks on all layers connected to the file geodatabase.

It's not clear to me whether installing SP3 will allow me to re-establish the connection to the database or prevent future incidents from happening. Is our geodatabase (and 6 months of work) gone?

Re: Another "Failed to connect to database"

LanceShipman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:21:51 GMT

Are you able to connect to the file geodatabase via ArcCatalog? If not, what do you see under the file geodatabase directory?