Thanks for your suggestions, Cal. I'll get started.
-Fred

"Cal Learner-- MVP" <via_newsgroup[at]please.tnx> wrote in message
newsellq1pse788jabbqjdnh31ruao4qco72o[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

In microsoft.public.money, Fred Todt wrote:

- quote -

salv.exe is in your install folder somewhere. Try to make a repaired
version of your file under another name, and run that file.


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It would not be a bad idea to restore an older backup or so TO A
DIFFERENT FILENAME to see how far back the problem goes. Don't
overwrite your current file in the process.

- quote -

While you are thinking about it, what would happen if your whole
hard drive crashed. Is it time to copy some backup files to CDR
and/or USB flash drive?

I just noticed today that my category database seems to be messed up. I'm
using Money2003 Deluxe. I started to describe this using generic names, but
it was too confusing. So, I'll try it with actual names:

The problem:
I used to have an Expense category called Personal Care with two
subcategories, Fitness and Haircuts. Today, I noticed that these two
categories seem to have disappeared from my Money file. They do not show up
under Personal Care on the "Set up your Categories" screen. Transactions
which formerly had these categories assigned are now mostly showing up under
Retirement_Income:Pensions&Annuities (an INCOME category)! ...at least in
some views... Only one such transaction actually shows up on the screen
where you can enter details about Pensions&Annuities (the screen where you
can see a graph and list of transactions). The hundreds of other
transactions over the past 10 years that should be in Fitness are not on the
Pensions&Annuities screen, even though in the registers they are assigned to
Pensions&Annuities. And, when I look at the Payee screen showing details, a
graph and list of transactions, the transactions show up as being assigned
to Pensions&Annuities. Final bit of wierdness - when I look at the
Retirement_Income category screen which shows details, including all the
subcategories under it, Fitness shows up there as if it were a
sub-sub-category under Pensions&Annuities. Most of the transactions that
should be in the Haircuts subcategory are now assigned to the Personal Care
category with no subcategory.

Solutions?
I tried starting up Money with the "-r" option, but the problem remains.
Is there a more thorough recovery procedure I could try?
I do have daily backups going back a month, and monthly backups going back
for a few years... do I need to go back and systematically restore things
until I find a time before this problem existed? Even if I do that, what
would have caused this problem to happen in the first place? I fear that my
Money data is corrupt beyond repair...

Please help!
Fred