DT Pro crashes/corrupt database?

DEVONthink Tips
1

OK, I’m back with the same problem Maria and I discussed a few days ago. One of my databases causes DTPro to crash when I try to open it. I thought I had it fixed, but it is happening again.

Last time I solved the problem by opening the package and copying ONLY the DEVONthink-1 through 10.databases into a new folder with a .dtBase extension. I did NOT copy the Settings.plist or the Backup folder, nor the file with the word LOCK in it (which is?).

Everything was OK for a few days, then it went bad again and I had to repeat it. When I got access to the files again, I exported all of them to the Finder. I made a new database, with a new name, and set the Preferences to “Copy files to database folder”. I imported one folder at a time. After each import, I ran Verify & Repair. No problem. Then I ran Backup & Optimize. No problem.

Then (because I had been reading Bill DeVille), I ran Rebuild Database, but the application crashed before completion, and I could not open the database. When I looked in the package, there was a file named “Rebuild” and it had all the files in it. I used restore Backup, picked the most recent one, and it reopened.

All my other databases are OK.

Any ideas about what is going wrong here? I notice none of my other db packages have a file with the word Lock in them – what is that and why did it appear when the db went bad?

And, as long as I am asking: I notice that with the Preference set for “Copy files to database folder”, this applies to .jpg, .pdf, and Quicktime, but not to .rtf/rtfd or .doc files. This means I cannot just copy the database to an external drive to backup everything – in order to include the text files, I also have to backup everything in the Finder. Now, I know redundant backups are a Very Good Thing, but this does seem a bit odd. Is there an explanation, and will this be fixed in the next version?

2

DCBerk:

[1] About the database that frequently crashes: Please locate the DT Pro crash log, select the text of the last one or two crash logs (individual logs are separated by “********”), then copy that text to the clipboard and paste it into a new TextEdit file. Save the TextEdit file. Then send an email describing your problem to DT Support – just select Help > Support to create the email in your default email application, and append the TextEdit document containing the crash log material to the email.

Note: To find the crash log, in the Finder select Go > Utilities. Launch the Console application. Click on Logs. Then click on the triangle to display the contents of ~Library/Logs. Under that heading, click on the triangle for CrashReporter to see its contents, and then click on DEVONthink Pro.crash.log.

We really can’t diagnose your problem without that information.

[2] When you import text files (plain text, RTF, RTFD and other text formats) and HTML files, they are stored in the main body of the database rather than in the database Files folder. If you are keeping the database in good shape and making both internal and external backups, there’s no need to continue keeping them in the Finder. However, in keeping with my “belt and suspenders” approach, I usually don’t delete the files in the Finder, but archive them to a CD or external drive, “just in case”.

Note that DT Pro imports .doc (Word) files by indexing them. They remain externally linked and so should not be deleted in the Finder.

Hope this helps.

3

Bill
Thanks for the suggestion and sorry I didn’t respond sooner – really tied up. I did check in the Console and found Nothing. Very odd, but could it be that no report is written if the file never opens?

In the meantime, I ran Disc Warrior, Repaired Permissions, etc., and then because I was alerted to it in another app, checked all my fonts and found two bad ones. Dumped them immediately! Not sure if that could be the problem, but know they can be nasty little buggers. In any case, things are OK for the moment and if anything happens again, I’ll check the Console immediately.

Thanks