Spreadsheet corruption

[MasterRacker]

We have an interesting case of a spreadsheet that is reporting corruption and data loss. We've restored from 3 different backups going back a little further each time. The copy backed up on 5/1 opens without error.

The interesting part is that each copy of the file shows a last modified date of 4/13. This would imply that the file somehow changed and became corrupted without the last modified date changing.

Has anyone ever seen something like this before?

Jeff
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[cmeagan656]

I've seen it before, although not with an MS Office file. I've seen files corrupted after being touched by backup software and by anti-virus software. Neither one will change the last modified date but can corrupt the file. It doesn't happen often, but I have seen it happen maybe 5 times in the last 10 years.

Hope this helps.

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[xlhelp]

Any chance of finding out what error you get?

Thanks

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[MasterRacker]

cmeagan,
How did you determine it was backup or antivirus?

The corrupt file is gone. If I get time I may try to get a copy from tape again to dig deeper.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
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[MasterRacker]

If I attempt to open the corrupt file I get

Excel found unreadable content in 'messedupmess.xls'. Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes.

If I go ahead and open

Excel recovered your formulas and cell values, but some data may have been lost.

Excel found errors that may cause some recovered data to be put in the wrong cells. Please check your recovered data carefully.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
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[cmeagan656]

Jeff,

I determined that it was either our ntbackup or antivirus solution causing the corruption by about a month of troubleshooting and frustration, process of elimination, and trial and error.

It seemed to be caused if ntbackup was backing up a file at the exact time that or antivirus (eTrust InoculateIT) was updating. I had/have InoculateIT set to check for updates hourly but it's idea of hourly is anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour plus so I couldn't work around the issue. As I said, it has only happened about 5 times in the last 10 years and never with an Office file.

Have you tried a Help ->Detect and Repair... of Excel?

Hope this helps.

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[Zeppo123]

I take it you're referring to the spreadsheet file itself—not, say, to the use of spreadsheets by corrupt accountants. There wouldn't be much we could do about that. :?)

 

[TonyJollans]

Two things seem to me to be getting worse these days: AV software and corruption. Personally I find AV software to be a much bigger problem than the one it claims to solve and do not run it on any of my computers. File corruption seems to be getting more common and I think part of the problem, at least, is the growing use of removable media, and directory structures not being properly or fully written out. Put AV software and backups to external media together and, hey presto, a problem waiting to happen.

Enjoy,
Tony

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[xlhelp]

It's becoming increasingly important to mention which version you are using.

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[cmeagan656]

It's becoming increasingly important to mention which version you are using.

I'll second that.

Hope this helps.

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[MasterRacker]

True. It's a 2003 file, created and worked on in 2003. Opening in 2003 or 2007 produces the same error.

I haven't suspected Excel itself though, since the error appears to have occurred after the last save and the primary user lives in Excel so you would think he'd be seeing a lot more of these errors. This is the only instance I know of.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]