Database Error: 2 or 54 - on files NFL.DAT, NAD.DAT or CSO.DAT

Topic T1008 Applies to All NEO products


Problem

The error you reported occurs when the database (our catalog) gets corrupted. That can happen if your computer gets shut down suddenly before you have a chance to close NEO normally.

Each time you start NEO, it backs up critical files so that you can rebuild your system. You will need these to fix this problem. Three files are backed up with NEO 2.5, two files for NEO Find/NEO Pro 3.0 and three files for NEO Pro 4.0 or higher.


Resolution for NEO Pro and NEO Find

This problem can be fixed by restoring the backed up critical files and then rebuilding the NEO catalog. The catalog contains all the information used to organize your messages (but does not contain the messages themselves). When you rebuild the catalog all your configuration settings (e.g., folder names, preferences) are preserved, and of course your email is not affected. It will take as long as it took to create the catalog in the first place.

To restore the catalog, perform one of the following methods -

Method 1: If you can access the File menu (NEO Pro 5 users: click the Application Button instead of File menu) -
  1. Go to 'File | Catalog | Restore From Backup...' and restore the current catalog by hitting the Restore Now button. You may also choose the 'other catalog' option and pick the appropriate catalog from the list, if the restore does not relate to the current catalog, and then hit the Restore Now button.

  2. The restore will start up and continue for some time, depending on your Outlook message store size.
Method 2: If you cannot access the File Menu because the error is preventing you then -
  1. close all email-aware applications (e.g. NEO, Outlook).

  2. Restart NEO in the no-catalog state. To do this, start the Task Manager (Ctrl-Shft-Del or right click the System Tray date area and select Task Manager from the dialog box), and on the Applications tab highlight the NEO application and press the 'End Process' button. Once NEO is closed, wait 1 minute for the database engine to clear and shut down, then start NEO in a no-catalog state. To do this, start NEO while pressing and holding down the SHIFT key until NEO is up and the hourglass has disappeared. NEO is now in the no-catalog state.

  3. On the NEO Main Menu choose 'File | Catalog | Restore From Backup...'

  4. Restore the current catalog by hitting the Restore Now button. You may also choose the 'other catalog' option and pick the appropriate catalog from the list, if the restore does not relate to the current catalog, and then hit the Restore Now button.

  5. The restore will start up and continue for some time, depending on your Outlook message store size.

Method 3: If the restore fails to work with the two methods above-

As NEO creates catalog back-ups, occasionally the corrupted catalog is backed up and so the most recent backup will result in the same problem.

  1. You can try using older backup files. For NEO Find and NEO Pro these are named:
    • CatalogConfig_2.xml
    • NAD_2.DAT
    • NFL_2.DAT or NFLv5_2.DAT (for NEO Pro v5)
    • NSB_2.DAT (for NEO Pro only)
    These files are found in the '…\backup' folder which is a sub-directory of the catalog folder.
    The default catalog location is: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Caelo\NEO Pro [NEO Find]\
    The default catalog name is 'Main Catalog' and the backup under the folder '...\Main Catalog\backup'.
    If you do not find these files search for catalog file "CatalogConfig.xml" which sits in the catalog directory.

  2. Please copy these files to the Main Catalog folder and rename these to CatalogConfig.xml / NAD.DAT / NFL.DAT (or NFLv5.DAT for NEO Pro v5) / NSB.dat respectively - so remove the '_2' from all filenames.

  3. Once you have copied and renamed these files, proceed with a normal rebuild of the catalog. This is described at length in Knowledge Base article T1007 .
Please contact support@caelo.com if you need further assistance.



Resolution for NEO 2.5 users

This problem can be fixed by restoring the backed up critical files and rebuilding the NEO catalog. The catalog contains all the information used to organize your messages (but does not contain the messages themselves). When you rebuild the catalog all your configuration settings (e.g., folder names, preferences) are preserved, and of course your email is not affected. It will take as long as it took to create the catalog in the first place.

Please follow these steps:
  1. Close all email-aware applications (e.g. NEO, Outlook).

  2. Restore the files that NEO backs up (3 files: NAD.DAT, NFL.DAT, CSO.DAT). They are in a folder called Backup in your NEO catalog. The fastest way to locate your catalog is to do a Windows Find on one of the files. When you locate it, copy the above three files from the Backup folder to the folder the Backup folder is in (its parent). The three files will replace ones already there. Do not copy any other files from Backup (they are previous versions).

  3. Click the RebuildCatalog shortcut in the folder you installed NEO into (probably C:\Program Files\Nelson Organizer).
Please contact support@caelo.com if you need further assistance.





Last updated: 15 Jan 2009