topic Re: File Geodatabase Recovery in Data Management Questions

File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Tue, 20 May 2014 15:55:59 GMT

I recently copied and pasted a file geodatabase using windows explorer from one location to another location. After doing so I deleted the original file. When I try to open or access the geodatabase in the new location it shows just a folder in ArcCatalog or ArcMap. Using windows explorers I can see that the files that make up the geodatabase are there, it just seems based upon my previous readings of other forums that maybe not all the files got pasted and were possibly in use even though I wasn't running sessions of ArcMap or ArcCatalog. I would really like to get this data back, I tried adding the gdb file that was missing but I get the error failed to connect to geodatabase or that its the wrong version even though both geodatabases were creating in ArcGIS 10. Any suggestions....?

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

Robert_LeClair — Tue, 20 May 2014 16:01:59 GMT

Spencer - try the Recover File Geodatabase Geoprocessing tool. What is the result?

Regards,

Robert LeClair
Esri-Denver

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Tue, 20 May 2014 21:05:09 GMT

Rob- I tried the Recover File Geodatabase tool but I get the error message. Failed to connect to database. This release of the GeoDatabase is either invalid or out of date. [Invailid Geodatabase release]. When looking in windows explorer I noticed the gdb file was missing so I created a new geodatabase (same version) as the one which isn't working but I got that message as well. By adding the GDB file with the other files that make up the geodatabse the geodatabase cynlinder icon shows but its not collapsable and I get the aforementioned error message.

Is there any way to take the existing files and obtain the missing files if any? Any other suggestions?

-Spencer

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

LanceShipman — Tue, 20 May 2014 22:12:49 GMT

Is this a pre-10.0 file geodatabase? The recovery tool only works on 10.x file geodatabases. Normally for ArcGIS to open the file geodatabase the directory must include the .gdb extension and the signature file (gdb) must exist. If these files exist the file geodatabase may still not open if the enough files are missing. The recovery tool creates a new file geodatabase and reads the headers of the files in the damaged directory. The headers include information on the contents of the file including the fields and geometry. The table can be recovered even if the system catalog and the GDB_Items table are missing but the feature class/table names will be assigned new values.

The error you are reporting implies that you have a pre-10.0 file geodatabase.

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Tue, 20 May 2014 23:02:13 GMT

Lance/Ron- The FGDB was a 10.0 version thats why that error about it being invalid or out of date is perplexing. I created a new file geodatabse in Arc 10 and then pasted the (gdb) signature file as it was missing this file, but this didn't work either. I have been trying to figure out what files are missing but when I try to google file geodatabase file components, I don't get anything that tells me the file components. Am I completly out of luck or is there still a chance the file is recoverable?

-Spencer

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

LanceShipman — Wed, 21 May 2014 13:13:51 GMT

When you say copying in the signature file didn't work, what do you mean? Did ArcGIS see it as a file geodatabase? Did you try the Recovery tool on it?

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Wed, 21 May 2014 13:51:09 GMT

When I refered to the signature file I am referring to the (gdb) that every file geodatabase needs for the ArcGIS to read the file as a geodatabase. When I copied and pasted another (gdb) from a another existing geodatabase. ArcCatalog shows the geodatabase symbol, (gray cylinder) but when trying to open it further I get the message "This release of the GeoDatabase is either invalid or out of date. [Invailid Geodatabase release]." I got the same message running the recovery tool, even though as I mentioned the geodatabase was a either a geodatabase created in 10.0 or it was upgraded from a 9.3 release to 10.0 suing the database properties before this happened.

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

LanceShipman — Wed, 21 May 2014 14:38:36 GMT

The Recover tool will even work on File Geodatabases missing the gdb file. Outside of pre-10.x file geodatabases I've never seen the error you are reporting.

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Wed, 21 May 2014 15:45:14 GMT

Lance- So I guess I am out of luck. Any other solutions other then using the last backed up copy I have available? If I contact ESRI technical support will they possibly be able to do anything additional that you haven't already suggested.

-Spencer

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

LanceShipman — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:06:20 GMT

It's unlikely that Technical Support will be able to find a solution that recovers your data. They could put in a bug that may result in an improved recovery tool. I'd have to look at your data to know it we can do anything for the future.

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

SpencerLarson — Wed, 21 May 2014 16:38:58 GMT

Lance- If you provide a FTP site where I can post the files or I can send you a link to a location where you can download to take a better look with what I am dealing with on my end. Additionally do you think running a data recovery software would be of any use to track down geodatabase, if the last known occurence there was a potential for some of the files to be locked while I did that copy and paste which caused my current issue to occur (unusable geodatabase files)?

Spencer

Re: File Geodatabase Recovery

LanceShipman — Wed, 21 May 2014 19:49:04 GMT

Your best bet is to contact Technical Support and they will get the data to me as part of the incident. If you can use data recovery software to recover the files just before the copy, you may be good. If there is no system lock (windows locks the files if they are open by another process). The file geodatabase lock files are simply empty tables and if they are not active will be overwritten. My e-mail address is lshipman@esri.com.

A note on locking is that the locks are by process, not user. So if you have several desktop sessions open, accessing the same data, there can be lock conflicts. We suggest that ArcGIS be used for copying file geodatabases because we handle the locking (both our locking and window locking) cleanly.