Error : “Unable to perform table restructure operation for table c:barscanwcompanytablename.dbf due to the following condition: unable to use table.” when doing a Table Integrity.

A related message is “Unable to use table due to the following condition 41-Memo file c:barscanwcompanytablename.fpt is missing or invalid.”

The message will provide the specific table set that needs to be corrected.  Let’s assume that the message refers to the BSRPT file.  If your company does not allow us to connect to you via a remote session, then email us the following three files:

1. BSRPT.DBF
2. BSRPT.CDX
3. BSRPT.FPT

If you are an experienced IT professional, and would like to try the repair yourself, read on.  Do not hesitate to ask us for assistance.

The process for fixing this problem consists of checking three things, each progressively more complex, then restoring from a backup if they do not work.

1. Make sure that the index is OK.  This is easy to fix.  Delete the bad index file (bsrpt.cdx) then perform a Table Integrity in Bar|Scan. Select teh Advanced Panel.  Then check the ‘Reindex’ check box with the ‘Build New, Change or Missing Index tags only’ option.  Try to access the report again.  If there is no error then you are done.  If the error still occurs then proceed to the next step.
2. Make sure that the user has sufficient Windows privileges.  This will normally be handled by the network or system administrator. Make sure that all Bar|Scan users have FULL privileges within the Bar|Scan folder and all subfolders, as well as any folder in which Bar|Scan data resides.  This includes the ability to create, add, delete, and rename both files and folders.  If adjusting the privileges has no effect, then proceed to the next step.
3. Make sure that the database container is valid.  This requires that the user exit Bar|Scan entirely and use the command line program bsi.exe. This program is very powerful and if not used properly can damage or destroy data such that it can not be retrieved except from a backup. Please use care.  Start the bsi.exe program.  You will get a command line prompt.  Type the following commands.  When done typing each command, press the [Enter] key.
   • set exclusive on
   • set default to ? (You will see a dialog. Locate the folder containing your company).
   • open database ? (You will see a dialog. Locate the database and open it.)
   • validate database

   You should get one of two types of responses. If all is OK it will look similar to the following:

   Validate Database: DEMOCO
   Rebuilding structural index… Index rebuilt.
   Database container is valid.

   If there is an error, you will get one or more ‘object’ lines similar to the following:

   Object #69 (Table ‘bsrpt’): Table is not in a database.

   Trying to decipher what these errors are and what tables they apply to can be very complex at times.  The best way to recover from these type of errors is to ‘remove’ the offending table from the database container and then put it back as follows: (type these commands)

   REMOVE TABLE BSRPT
   (You will get a dialog to continue. Click on Yes)
   ADD TABLE BSRPT

   Once this has been done, repeat the ‘validate database’ and the removal/addition of tables until there are no errors during the ‘validate database’.

   Once there are no errors during the ‘validate database’ command, exit the BSI program by typing ‘EXIT’ followed by pressing the ‘enter’ key.

   Start Bar|Scan and perform a Table Integrity of the company. Due to the nature of the remove/add operation, the restructure operation will literally list every field of the table that was removed/added, so do not be alarmed.

   If validating the database container has no effect, then proceed to the next step.

4. Replace the bad table and its memo and index file from backup.  First, check the companybackup folder.  BarScan does backup some files to the folder.  If you cannot find the file, you will need to restore the specific table from the last available offline backup.  You will lose any changes made since then, but this is a sure way to restore without having to worry about any surprises.  If this is done, make sure that all 3 component files for each table are restored together.  Each component has the same name but a different file extension.  The file extensions are DBF, FPT and CDX.  For example, the report file is BSRPT.  The data component is BSRPT.DBF, the index component is BSRPT.CDX, and the memo/list component is BSRPT.FPT.  The most common problem with this approach is that you have to keep restoring the table files until a version is restored that does not have the damage.The alternative is to use the backup files that Bar|Scan creates near the beginning of each month. These files start with the letters ‘bx’. For example, the backup files for bsrpt would start with ‘bxrpt’.Restoration of these files is also somewhat complex, so be careful.
   1. Exit Bar|Scan.
   2. Locate the backup files for the problem table. For this example we will use the bsrpt table, with the backup files called bxrpt_01.
   3. Delete the table component files. (e.g., bsrpt.dbf, bsrpt.cdx, and bsrpt.fpt) In reality, you should copy these to a save location in case you need some time later.
   4. Copy the backup component files to be called their equivalent data files, i.e.,
      

      bxrpt.dbf –> bsrpt.dbf
      bxrpt.fpt –> bsrpt.fpt

      if this were a DOS box, the commands would be

      copy bxrpt.dbf bsrpt.dbf
      copy bxrpt.fpt bsrpt.fpt

   5. Open the company in Bar|Scan.
   6. Rename the company (any name) then rename it back again to its original name. Use menu item ‘File/Company/Rename…’.

Attempt to use the table again.  If you are still having problems please contact Bar|Scan technical support in accord with the terms of your maintenance agreement.

What if I am doing a manual cleanup of Bar|Scan using VALIDATE DATABASE.  I see that a table in a temporary folder is referenced. What should I do with this?

Since you are doing a manual cleanup it is likely that some problem has occurred.  BarScan uses temp files all of the time.  Depending upon when the problem occurred there may be one or more such files temporarily considered a part of the database container.  However, when cleaning up the database container file, such as with a ‘VALIDATE DATABASE’ command, all such files and references to them should be removed from the database container (.dbc).

However, even more widely true is that all files and tables referenced by the database container outside the current folder should also be removed. This includes references to any files or tables in one of the TEMP folders, any of the sub folders such as BACKUP, IMAGES or READER or any other folder.