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Using the DataChk Utility

Has this ever happened to you?

When a user cannot log in, this indicates that a system failure occurred the last time the user was logged in. This is a security feature of TMS which prevents the same user from being logged in more than once. To fix this, you need to clear the User Log table, that holds information on current TMS users.

More importantly, when a system failure occurs, other problems that are not so obvious can also be created. We have created a utility program that checks and repairs the most common problem (corrupted table headers) and performs a Relational Integrity test to identify other potential problems. This utility also clears the User Log so that your user can log in again.

The DataChk Utility

The program is called DATACHK.EXE and it is located in the TMS program folder. We suggest creating a shortcut to this file on your TMS System Administrators' desktops so they can run this program whenever a crash occurs while using TMS.

To run DataChk:

Go to a PC that is being used to run TMS.
Open Windows Explorer and browse to the TMS Program folder. (Usually TMS38N\ or TMS38W\)
Locate the application DATACHK.EXE in the folder. Double-click its icon.
Answer "Yes" when asked if you want to continue. DataChk will scan the table headers and correct the most common header corruption issues.
If you receive an error message indicating that errors were found however they were NOT corrected, this indicates that a file handle has not been released and the utility cannot obtain exclusive file access. To fix this:
1. Reboot the workstation PC. This usually clears the problem.
2. Ensure that all other TMS users are out of the program.
3. If any other users had experienced a system failure while running TMS have them reboot their PC's too.
4. If you still cannot complete step 5 after the above steps, reboot the TMS server.
5. If you still have problems, contact Training Innovations.
After the table scan, DataChk will ask if you want to run a Relational Integrity check. Answer "Yes". Click "Yes" again when asked if you want to continue.
Click OK on the "Perform Checks On" window. DataChk will run the Relational Integrity check.
1. You can uncheck the "Gaps in index values" test if you do not want to perform this test. This may be the case where you have deleted records in some tables and receive "gaps in index values" messages in the relational integrity report. Unchecking the Gaps in index values box will skip this test while running the other tests.
2. If any relational integrity error are reported contact Training Innovations for advice.
If there are no relational integrity errors found, DataChk will check the User Log and determine if any user names are left over from a system failure. If they are found you will be asked if you want to clear the user log. Answer "Yes" to this prompt. DataChk will clear the log and users will be able to log in again.