Recovering Damaged FileMaker Pro Databases - File Maker

Sometimes, crucial databases in your database system will crash. Hopefully yours won’t, but if they do, FileMaker Pro comes with a built in recover function that usually fixes damaged databases. Simply navigate to File > Recover, locate the damaged database, name the recovered database, and click Save. FileMaker will run through a series of checks and repairs and give you a summary dialog when finished.

Conventional wisdom tells us that you should not return recovered databases to your production environment, but rather use them to extract vital data and restore the data into the last safely saved copy of the database system. Take this advice with a grain of salt, however, because when you recover databases and reserve them, they should work flawlessly.

Still, you should give any recovered database a thorough once over to make sure everything is ship-shape before returning it to active duty (especially if any errors turn up in the Recovery Summary dialog).

FileMaker, Inc. Can Recover Damaged Databases and Lost Passwords!
As a last resort, you may send a damaged database (or one that has a password that you’ve forgotten or that left your company inside the head of a retired, disgruntled, or injured developer) to FileMaker, Inc. itself. See this Web site to find out what you need to do and how much it costs: