Bad File Length

Problem

Bad File length error message-- usually when opening a record, but it may happen other times.

Diagnosis

This MAY indicate a serious file problem. However it may also happen if the Goldenseal construction accounting software has run completely out of memory, and can't load an object from disk.

NOTE-- For version 2.4 and earlier, see the writeup about Contract Prefs, which may cause this.

Solution

1. Quit/Exit, and immediately make a backup copy.
2. Reopen the company file, and choose View--Security--Verify File.
3. Click here if the file verification reports damage to the file.

If no damage is reported, it must have been a temporary error of some kind. We would still like to hear details-- what was the user doing before it happens? Does it repeat? It could be a memory "leak", or perhaps some other subtle bug that we can track down.

NOTE-- In Goldenseal accounting software version 2.6 we added some extra info to the end of each object record, so it is easier to diagnose problems with bad data in the company file. Problems that give this error are extremely rare (only 1 was reported in all of 2004), but we now have better tools to diagnose and fix damaged files if they ever do happen.

Comments

Entered 9/22/04 by Dennis. Updated 10/24/2010.