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Q140593: PRB: Error "File Names.dat may be corrupt" Appears

Article: Q140593
Product(s): Microsoft SourceSafe
Version(s): WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kb3rdparty kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500 kbSSafe600 _IK
Last Modified: 01-MAY-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows, versions 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

The error "File Names.dat maybe corrupt" occurs when starting Visual SourceSafe,
when trying to gain access to a file or project, or when running ANALYZE on the
Database.

CAUSE
=====

The Names.dat file in the database contains information on the 8.3 names that
correspond to files that have long file names in Visual SourceSafe. When this
error occurs, Visual SourceSafe cannot find the correct information in the
Names.dat file for the file or project that it is trying to retrieve information
on.

RESOLUTION
==========

If you know the name of the file or project where the error occurs, rename the
file to an 8.3 name, and then name it back from the Visual SourceSafe Explorer
or Command Line.

If the Visual SourceSafe database is on a Novell server, do both of the
following:

1. Make the names.dat sharable (use Novell's FLAG command, which is similar to
  DOS's ATTRIB command).

2. Change the Client on the Win95 computers to use the NetWare Client 32 client
  rather than the Microsoft Client for NetWare. The NetWare Client 32 client is
  a free download from Novell. Please see their site at
  http://support.novell.com for more information on that client.

The new Analyze.exe rebuilds the Names.dat file. Run Analyze with the -F switch
to make changes to the database. Make sure no one attempts to gain access to
SourceSafe's database while ANALYZE -F is running.

NOTE: When you are modifying the SourceSafe database, it is always a good idea to
back up the Data directory and all subdirectories first should you need to
recover.

Additionally, if the Visual SourceSafe database is on a Novell server, the error
message will be returned if the Names.dat is not marked as sharable.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem with the products listed at the
beginning of this article

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information on Analyze, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q190881 SAMPLE: Analyze6.exe Utility for Visual SourceSafe

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kb3rdparty kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500 kbSSafe600 _IK 
Technology        : kbSSafeSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSSafe600 kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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