Typical Causes of EILA.mdb File Corruption

There are four main causes of corruption in EILA.mdb (Access/Jet) files.

Database Is Suspect/Corrupted Because of Interrupted Write Operation

Correct shut down that is completed by clicking Exit or Close on the File menu, is highly recommended. However, if a database is open and is writing data when EILA is incorrectly shut down, the EILA Database Engine may mark the file as suspect/corrupted. This can occur if the computer is manually turned off without first shutting down Windows or if power is lost. Other situations may not shut down EILA but may still interfere with the writing of data to the disk by EILA while the database is open. This can occur, for example, when networks experience data collisions or when disk drives malfunction. If any of these interruptions occur, then EILA may mark the database as potentially corrupted.

Faulty Networking Hardware

In this case, the file corruption does not involve the EILA Database Engine. Rather, the file is literally corrupted by some outside cause. The cause can be one or more links in the hardware chain between the computer that the database resides on and the computer that has the database open. This list includes, but is not limited to, network interface cards, network cabling, routers, and hubs.

Hardware-based corruption is typically indicated by EILA.mdb files that cannot be restored through the use of compacting, or of repairing. Hardware corruption typically occurs until the responsible hardware is repaired or is replaced.

Opening and Saving the EILA.mdb File in Another Program

There is no way to recover an EILA.mdb file that is opened and then is saved in a different program. For example, Microsoft Word permits you to open an EILA database, and then to save it. (No purpose is served if you open an EILA.mdb file in another application because all you see are extended characters.) Saving the file this way causes the EILA.mdb file to prompt you for a database password when you try to open the file in EILA. In this case, the database is unrecoverable because the binary structure is scrambled and therefore unreadable to EILA. You must recover a backup copy of the file as the only solution in this case.

Mismatched Versions of the Jet Database Engine

EILA uses Microsoft Jet Engine 4.x.  If you run different versions of the Jet Database Engine in your environment, you can also cause corruption of an EILA database. Different versions of Jet write to the database differently, and therefore can be the cause of corruption in a database.

How to Fix a Corrupt EILA Database

Click here to download EILA's database repair program.  This program will try to repair and compact your EILA database.  Note that it is still possible that your EILA database cannot be repaired.

Methods That Can Be Used to Prevent Corruption

•	Avoid the loss of power during database writes. If power is lost during a database write, this can cause the database to be left in a suspect state.
•	Avoid dropping network connections.
•	Avoid incorrect termination of EILA database connections such as power loss, manual shutdown, or allowing Task Manager to shut down the application.
•	Fatal system errors almost always cause incorrect termination. If your database is prone to fatal errors, you must resolve the errors before the database becomes too damaged to open or to recover.
•	Compact the database frequently.  From EILA menu bar select "Setup" and then select "Compact Database".