PRB: Error: "The Fields in Table <tablename> Did Not Match..."

RESOLUTION

Begin by using the VALIDATE DATABASE command to check the integrity of the current database. Open the database exclusively, and issue the VALIDATE DATABASE command from the Command window, for example:

   OPEN DATABASE mydata EXCLUSIVE
   VALIDATE DATABASE
				

If the database itself cannot be opened, the database is probably corrupt and must be recreated, recovered using a program previously created using GENDBC.PRG, or recovered by using a third-party database recovery tool.

For more information about recovering a corrupt database, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If a table is corrupt or invalid, the VALIDATE DATABASE command gives the name of the offending table and its diagnosis. For example, "The fields in table '<name>' did not match the entries in the database."

If the wrong version of the table (.DBF) accidentally replaced a previous version, the previous version must be recovered (see the "Steps to Reproduce Behavior" section in this article). Otherwise, the table must be deleted or removed from the database container file and, if desired, added back to the database.

To remove the table, issue the VALIDATE DATABASE RECOVER command or the REMOVE TABLE command and specify the table name.

The VALIDATE DATABASE RECOVER and REMOVE TABLE commands have the same affect on the offending table, the table is removed from the database but remains on the disk. Any field properties and long field names defined in the table are lost when the table is removed.