If damage is detected in your Helix collection, our first piece of advice is: don’t panic! Chances are the damage is minor and rash actions could make it worse, or result in the loss of your up-to-date data. Although it is difficult when faced with a ‘not corrected’ or ‘fatal damage’ dialog, the first order of business is to take a deep breath and allow the panic to subside before moving forward. 90% of the time, you can repair repair the collection yourself by following a few simple steps. Even when that isn’t possible, 99.9% of the time your collection can be repaired with zero to very little loss of data.

The second piece of advice is to use the advanced diagnostic mode available in Helix Utility and Update Collection (click the application names to learn how to access diagnostic mode) to generate a complete diagnostic report for the collection. Email the report(s) to our technical support department and follow up with a phone call or instant message so we can give you an immediate, detailed diagnosis of the problem.

If you are in an emergency situation and you can not reach our technical support department, and the suggestions below do not help you repair the damage yourself, our advice is to go ahead and run the damaged collection until you can contact us. If the collection can be opened, the damage is not so severe that you should fear further damage, but you should make frequent backups to be safe. And contact us as soon as possible! Do not ignore the damage reports!

Like any type of file, Helix collections are susceptible to damage from a wide variety of sources. Hardware failure (permanent or temporal), software bugs (in the OS, Helix, or another running application), and network issues are potential avenues for a file to become damaged.

Many types of damage to a Helix collection file can be repaired automatically by the utility programs (Helix Utility and Update Collection) that ship with Helix, however the utilities can not repair all types of damage. Damage that can not be automatically repaired is flagged by the utilities, depending on what type of damage is detected:

• Update Collection detects damage to the structure of a collection. The dialog in Update Collection reports damage to the structure as “not corrected,” displays a diagnostic code, and the icon is changed into a ‘cracked’ collection, with a large tear from top to bottom. (Note: After the ‘not corrected’ dialog is dismissed, a second dialog appears with suggested courses of action. This second dialog also shows an ‘error code’ which is typically #302. This error code is of no use in determining your best course of action. It is a holdover from the days of Classic Helix and should be ignored.)

• Helix Utility detects damage to the data in a database. The dialog box in Helix Utility reports this as “a fatal error” and the icon is changed into a ‘chipped’ collection, with a small tear taken out of one corner. There is no diagnostic code provided when data damage is detected.

To learn more about the Helix diagnostic utilities, click here.

When a Helix application crashes or is closed abruptly, it is possible for the collection that was running to be in a ‘fragile’ state that one of the utilities would consider damage. After any unusual shut down (or after damage has been reported) your next step should be to reopen the collection with Helix RADE, Engine or Server. As soon as the collection is opened, save and close it again. These applications do routine maintenance when a collection is opened (and closed normally) and often that maintenance will correct the errors the utilities are reporting as damage.

Note: When Update Collection detects damage, it marks the collection in a way that prevents Helix RADE, Engine, or Server from recognizing it as a collection, blocking your ability to reopen it. The solution to this is to check the collection with Helix Utility, which will reverse that effect.

If your database has sustained damage that can not automatically be repaired, there are a number of options. If you maintain backups, one option is to revert to a backup copy that was made before the damage occurred.

There are also a couple of techniques that you can sometimes use to repair a collection yourself. If you have structural damage (reported by Update Collection) you can try to copy and paste the structure into a new collection, or if you believe you know where the damage is (often seen as a system crash when accessing the damaged icon) you can try pasting structure from an older, non-damaged collection onto this structure.

If you are not using the latest version of Helix, you should test the database using the latest utilities, as they are able to effect more types of repairs than earlier versions. You can download the latest utilities from our website and test their effectiveness on a copy of the damaged collection. You may find that you can repair your collection by upgrading and using the latest tools.

If your collection seems to be running fine, but one of the utilities reports damage, do not ignore it! When damage has been detected, even the minor maintenance that is important to keep a collection running smoothly is not done. The result may be crashes, performance issues. In rare cases, further damage or data loss may result. If you are unable to repair a collection with the methods outlines above, contact us as soon as possible for expert diagnosis, and make frequent backups until the collection is repaired. We encourage you to contact us to discuss the options.

Although the vast majority of collections can be repaired with zero (or minimal) data loss, occasionally a can become severely damaged, to the point that not even the Helix utilities can examine them. If you are in this situation, see Collection Repair for Seriously Damaged Files.

Helix RADE 6.2 (Europa) contains an integrated structure checker that is able to provide much greater detail regarding the damage detected. That, along with the AppleScript capabilities of Europa enable us to provide a more comprehensive suite of repair options.

If you are a member of the Europa Pioneer Plan you can use Helix RADE Europa to identify the damaged structure. This gives you the potential of repairing your collection without our assistance. A simple script that shows how to identify the icon behind the reported error is available on our scripts download page.

The collection repair is billed on an hourly basis, as defined in our User Support Unit (USU) policy. If you do not have USUs on your account, you can purchase USU units in advance (at discount rates) or arrange for ‘pay-as-you-go’ support. Collection repairs will not be completed until payment is confirmed.

Although it is impossible to know exactly how much time a specific repair will take, a typical repair takes 8-10 USUs. (2 to 3 hours) An estimate can be done upon request; the charge is based on the time required, typically 2-3 USUs.
It is our goal to have your repaired collection returned to you within 24 hours. (And we succeed about 95% of the time.)
For mission-critical collections, we can accelerate the repair even more. For ‘I need it now’ service, we charge 2 USUs for each USU actually used.

1. Contact technical support before sending a collection for repair. A technical support case number (TS#) will be assigned and the repair scheduled. Use this TS# in all further correspondence regarding the collection repair. Payment for collection repairs must be made in advance, so please be prepared to make payment arrangements when you contact us.
   Note: if you discover the collection damage during hours when our technical support department is closed, you can go ahead and upload the collection before you receive a TS# — but please label the file clearly so that we can identify it as yours.
2. If possible, send us a copy of the collection that has not been run through either of the Helix utility programs. If the collection has run through Helix Utility (indicated by a chip taken out of the upper left corner) then Helix Utility has attempted automatic repair. We need to see the collection in its pre-repair state, if at all possible. If you did not make a backup before you ran the utilities, then you should be prepared to send us two collections: the current one and the most recent copy that is neither chipped (Helix Utility failure) nor cracked (Update Collection failure).
3. Document for us the name of a contact person, the email addresses, phone number(s) and times they can be reached, and a username/password that allows us access to Design Mode. Failure to include the username/passwords necessary to open the collection in Design Mode can delay the repair and add to the repair cost.
4. Archive the collection. You can reduce the transfer time, often significantly, if you compress (or ‘archive’) the collection before sending it. If you are using OS X 10.4 or later, you can easily create a ‘.zip’ archive by right clicking on the collection file (hold the control key down and click if you do not have a two button mouse) and choose ‘create archive...’ from the contextual menu. A file is created in the same folder, but ending with ‘.zip’ and looking nothing at all like a Helix collection. That is an encoded archive that can be sent faster (and safer) than a regular collection file. Do not attempt to use the built-in archiving capabilities of OS X 10.3 or earlier. It often fails and the archived collection is destroyed. (This step is optional for collections 5MB or smaller.)
   If you do not have OS X 10.4 or later, you can also use Stuffit or any other data compression software to encode the collection for transfer.
   If you are not familiar with these concepts, you can ignore them and transfer your collection in its native format if you use one of the safe methods listed below.
   Note: Never compress a damaged collection with the Helix Utility’s collection compression option. This can make repair much harder and more costly.
5. Send the file to us. We accept collections in many ways — but some of them require pre-arranged agreement — listed below in order of preference…

   1. Preferred: File Exchange, Mac OS X: No pre-arrangement required

      Click here to connect to our server. (If that does not work, switch to the Finder and select Connect to Server from the Go menu. When the connect dialog appears, enter afp://support.qsatoolworks.com in the Address field, and click Connect.)

      In the dialog box that opens, choose Connect as: Guest and click Connect. A window/folder named Helix’s Public Folder should appear on your screen. (If not, select it from the list that appears and click OK.) In that window you will see a folder named Drop Box. Drag the ‘.zip’ file that was created in step 4 into that folder (the Drop Box). A warning appears telling you that you can’t see the results of the operation — Click OK and your file begins copying. You won’t be able to open the folder and see your file once it is in there, but neither will anybody else.

      This is a safe method: native collections can be transferred with this method.

   2. Timbuktu: No pre-arrangement required

      Use Timbuktu's send option, and send the file to matt.qsatoolworks.com. No username or password is necessary. (Note: do not use the ‘exchange’ or ‘control’ option in Timbuktu — permission will not be granted.)

      This is a safe method: native collections can be transferred with this method.

   3. Instant Message: Pre-arrangement required

      During our regular business hours you can also send your collection to us via an instant message if you are on the AOL/.mac IM network. Contact mstrange (at mac.com) and if we are available we’ll accept the file.

      This is a safe method: native collections can be transferred with this method.

   4. File Download: Pre-arrangement required

      If you have a file server (FTP, iDisk, etc.) and prefer that we pick up and deliver the file to it, provide us with the URL, username, password, & directory needed to retrieve the file. (Because of the time involved in this for us, there is a one USU charged for this option.)

      This is an unsafe method: you must archive your collection (see step 4 above) before it can be transferred with this method.

   5. Email: Pre-arrangement required

      Collections that are 10 MB or smaller (after compression/encoding) can be sent via email. Attach the archive file to an email send to the address given to you when you received your TS case number.

      This is an unsafe method: you must archive your collection (see step 4 above) before it can be transferred with this method.

   6. FTP Upload: Pre-arrangement required

      FTP transfers are currently not supported. If you must use FTP, contact us so we can set up a special link for you. (Because of the time involved, there is a one USU charge for this service.)

      This is an unsafe method: you must archive your collection (see step 4 above) before it can be transferred with this method.

   7. Physical Shipment: Pre-arrangement required

      Sending the file via one of the other methods is significantly faster, as shipping times add significant delays to the repair process. (Even the slowest internet connect can transfer most collections faster than the two days it takes to ship a disk back and forth.)

      Note: there is a $60 processing fee for handling physical shipments. We recommend Federal Express for the best service on all shipments.

      We can not read every disk format ever created. We currently can support these formats: CD, DVD (but not DVD-RAM), Jaz 1GB & 2GB, Zip 100MB (but not 250MB or 750MB), and SyQuest 44, 88, 200MB cartridges.

      You can also send collections on external Firewire or USB drives (including flash drives) or even internal SATA, ATA (IDE) or SCSI hard disk mechanisms.

      The shipping address is: QSA ToolWorks: TS#___, 72 Sherwood Street, Mansfield, PA 16933-1125. (The “TS#___” in the address should be replaced by the technical support case number assigned in step 1 above.)

      Note: when copying a collection from one location to another, the format of the volumes involved matters. Volumes formatted as FAT16 or FAT32 are unsafe and a collection copied to one of those will be destroyed. In OS X, you can select the volume icon and choose Get Info to see the format of the volume.

6. If you transfer the file via the internet, contact us and let us know when it has been completely transferred to our server. If you ship the collection contact us and provide us with the tracking number.

Every effort is made to get the collection back to you as soon as possible. Once we receive the file, an initial assessment is done to determine the complexity of the repair: if it appears that the repair will take more than 24 hours, we will contact you to inform you of the situation. When the collection is done we will call or email you with the results.

After the repair we hold as copy of the repaired collection on site for two weeks in case any issues arise. If we have not heard from you within two weeks, we assume that the collection has been put back into use with no further problems, and destroy all copies in our possession. Upon your request we will destroy all held copies before two weeks has passed, but we can not hold them longer.

We understand and respect the privacy of your data. We don’t usually even need to go into Design Mode and look at the data, but occasionally we must. To be honest, we’re focused on the repair, and the data is rarely even noticed. However, if the data is of a sensitive nature, please be sure to mention this to us beforehand. If necessary, we are happy to sign a non-disclosure, guaranteeing the confidentiality of your data.

In some situations (e.g: a password reset request), we may require you to sign our Repair Services Agreement before we can do the repair.

View the Repair Services Agreement. (pdf)