Preserve and identify
- Copy the complete application/data directory and preserve originals read-only.
- Collect companion files, backups, installers and configuration.
- Identify database signatures, versions and likely runtime.
- Test supported export or a compatible isolated environment before reverse engineering.
- Reconcile extracted records and business meaning.
What helps
Provide filenames, sizes, screenshots, sample reports, known records, the executable and any working machine image. Corruption can impose partial limits; encryption or access control requires legitimate keys/authority and is not assumed bypassable.
Use format identification, database recovery, proprietary extraction and the database pillar.