Sidekick Update Issues

[Adam Sternberg]

I've been seeing some issues with Sidekick running a weekly content update.  I've got three databases that get updated, but I've been regularly seeing this problem:

After it occurred last week, I updated the program to the latest available version (v24.0.0.1158) and made sure to rebuild lists (including artists, storylines, etc.), but it appeared again tonight.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mark J. Castaneda]

With the database file noted in the file path in your screenshot, is it backed up to our cloud so we can inspect it? If not, use Sidekick's 'Save to Cloud' option to do that.

Afterwards, please e-mail us at support@comicbase.com once the 'Save to Cloud' option completes and our tech support team will take a closer look at your db file.

[Adam Sternberg]

On 3/13/2024 at 12:11 PM, Mark J. Castaneda said:

Afterwards, please e-mail us at support@comicbase.com once the 'Save to Cloud' option completes and our tech support team will take a closer look at your db file.

I save to cloud every Monday night, so the last backup would have been March 11.  Anything specific i should say or reference in the email?

[Mark J. Castaneda]

In your initial screenshot, which of the 3 database files you use is noted in the full database file path?

[Adam Sternberg]

(Sorry for the delay; I never got a notification of the question)

The database in the screenshot is ComicBase DataBase (ID 0c49f7e9-d113-40f7-8162-b54d5ce112ab)

[Mark J. Castaneda]

-a new CB2024 program installer (v1165) is now available, download/install it here: https://www.comicbase.com/mycb/Registrations.aspx

-restart your computer afterwards, then see if you're able to reproduce that error you're running into.

Let us know how you make out.

 

[Adam Sternberg]

@Mark J. Castaneda,

The update just now finished running in Sidekick, and I was watching it. I have good news, good news, and bad news.  Updates to two of my databases were clean, but the third one still showed the error at the top of Sidekick.  That database ID is 236c2c0a-0dff-44ba-bbd9-362efc0937fe.  I'm pretty sure I'd done so, but I can try a full Rebuild Lists on it one more time; otherwise, I'm thinking there may be some corruption in that database?

[Mark J. Castaneda]

On 3/29/2024 at 6:53 PM, Adam Sternberg said:

@Mark J. Castaneda,

The update just now finished running in Sidekick, and I was watching it. I have good news, good news, and bad news.  Updates to two of my databases were clean, but the third one still showed the error at the top of Sidekick.  That database ID is 236c2c0a-0dff-44ba-bbd9-362efc0937fe.  I'm pretty sure I'd done so, but I can try a full Rebuild Lists on it one more time; otherwise, I'm thinking there may be some corruption in that database?

If the rebuild doesn't help, i would suspect corruption on that database. The file menu has the export and import options; I would suggest exporting out your data fields that are important to you and importing into a fresh database as a final solution.

[Adam Sternberg]

On 4/1/2024 at 12:31 PM, Mark J. Castaneda said:

If the rebuild doesn't help, i would suspect corruption on that database. The file menu has the export and import options; I would suggest exporting out your data fields that are important to you and importing into a fresh database as a final solution.

No bueno.  Not only did the rebuild not help, but exporting into a brand-new database didn't either.  I exported only a few fields (see list below), rebuilt all lists except for pictures, and updated content on the new database alone using Sidekick:

• Title
• Item #
• Condition
• Qty In Stock
• Custom Field 1
• Notes
• Wanted
• Price
• Cost

One thing to note is that I cheated a bit with Sidekick:  I exported from the old database called "Database", created the new database called "New Database", imported into New Database, renamed "New Database" to "Database", and updated content in Database using Sidekick.  I'm not sure whether Sidekick works under the covers using file pointers (that would follow a rename) or it would use the filename.

[Mark J. Castaneda]

I wonder if a bad data point slipped into one of those fields you exported. Are you able to scan the export file for any oddities? A common one i notice, is a user inputted a barcode number into another field.

[Adam Sternberg]

Yes, I can see the exported data (in both a text editor and a spreadsheet), and nothing looked out of the ordinary.  For what it's worth, I did try to limit the export to "personal" data, such as custom field, qty in stock, wanted, grade, etc.

[Mark J. Castaneda]

Email our support team at support@comicbase.com and let them know the about the error you're getting. Make sure you've backed up to cloud the database file that's giving you trouble and mention the database name in your message; they'll likely do a deep dive on the db and see what's going on with it.