A type of error like this is very difficult to find since it can be due to many factors. e.g. network failure, network cache failure, disk occupied failures etc. But to minimise this type of error the principle of saving files was changed with version 2.1 to eliminate that error.

And from v2.1b that type of error has only until now been reported from two instances in Kenya and China from situations where the computer lost power while entering data. The cause of the error was in both cases that the operating system (not epidata) were handling open files at power breakdown in a way where end of file markers were faulty.

Even if the error still occurs only in rare cases we will consider a tool to "repair corrupt files" as part of the tool. The idea being to 1. read the file structure. 2. read the records from the start of the file and write them to a new file. 3. If a record was not of correct length, then tell the user how many records were retrieved.

regards Jens Lauritsen

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epidata-list@lists.umanitoba.ca 24-11-03 16:08 >>>

Hi - Periodically (perhaps every few months) I am not able to open a .rec file, and get the message that "one or more files are corrupted". Our IT person will find that the end of the file marker has to be reset, and once that is done, we're able to use the file again. We're now using EpiData2.1b, although this has been happening for probably about a year, with previous versions. I'm wondering if there is anything we can do to prevent this "file corruption" from happening. I'm wondering if this problem could be related to my editing records in EpiInfo that have been originally entered in EpiData.

thanks, Elise

Elise Lennon, RN, MPH Research Analyst Massachusetts Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Project Massachusetts Department of Public Health Western Regional Office 23 Service Center Northampton, MA 01060

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