Backup, Backup, Backup

We cannot stress the importance enough of taking regular backups. The more you use Author-it, the more important it is to backup your data. How regularly? Consider the information you would lose if your database becomes damaged or corrupted. A regular backup avoids the time and expense of having to recreate the work you have done.

Occasionally databases can become corrupt. There are three main reasons for this:

Faulty Networking Hardware: Including network interface cards, network cabling, routers, and hubs. This type of corruption usually means that the database cannot be restored. It is also likely to keep occurring until the faulty hardware is repaired or replaced.

Interrupted Write Operation: When a database is open and writing data when it is shut down. For example, a power failure or turning the machine off without shutting down Windows first.

Opening and Saving the Database in Another Program: There is no way to recover the database in this instance. This has been known to happen when a virus has infected a machine and has scrambled the data inside the database rendering it unreadable.

You can read more about this in the following MSDN article: How to Troubleshoot/Repair a Damaged Jet 4.0 Database

While there are a number of utilities available on the Internet, and even companies that specialize in repairing corrupt databases, it is far more cost effective to restore from a regular backup.