Preserve the complete table family
- Copy DBF plus DBT/FPT memo, MDX/CDX/NDX indexes and application metadata.
- Record timestamps, original application and code-page environment.
- Work on copies; some tools rewrite headers or indexes when opening.
- Identify version from header/field descriptors rather than extension alone.
Healthy versus damaged
| Healthy but unreadable text | Code page/encoding mismatch, not record corruption. |
|---|---|
| Records present, memo missing | Companion memo file absent or block pointers damaged. |
| Wrong ordering/search | Index missing/stale while base records may be intact. |
| Header count/length inconsistent | Truncation, interrupted write or incorrect variant interpretation. |
| Deleted marker set | Record is logically deleted; recovery depends on whether bytes remain. |
Validate schema and meaning
Reconstruct field types/widths, dates, decimals and memo references, then compare known values, counts and totals. Application code may define lookup meanings and relationships absent from the DBF.
Use database recovery services for damaged estates, format identification when the variant is uncertain and file-format analysis for custom containers. See the database pillar.
Provide the whole directory, producing application, known values, prior repair attempts and desired output.