Libre Office Database crash - need to restore the files

sveta_why · January 24, 2023, 10:04pm

Hello,
I am on MacOS ventura 13.1
LibreOffice 7.2.7.2

My database crushed and the .odb file has 0 bytes. When I try to open it, I get an error «the driver class ‘’ could not be loaded». Java is installed and activated.
I tried to open the database as a .zip file, but could not do so, it was not readable.
I tried recreating a LibreOffice user, but the new one failed to open the database too.

I have some .tmp files from yesterday, but I do not understand how to open them.
Here is one of the .tmp files that I renamed as .odb, but it “could not be repaired and therefore cannot be opened”.
lu969184r3trh.odb (428.9 KB)

Please, help me to recover the database!

Hrbrgr · January 25, 2023, 5:29am

Do you have a backup?

Preventing data disaster

sveta_why · January 25, 2023, 6:42am

I make backups manually from time to time, but not systematically I have last week’s version of the base, but I would really prefer not to lose the work of the last two days, if it is possible.
There were no automatic backups, an the Library/Application Support/LibreOffice/4/user/backup folder is empty

RobertG · January 25, 2023, 7:30am

The added file isn’t a database file. When trying to open the file I get some readable content in a simple text editor.

I have created an automatical backup for every database file here. It will save the database file every time I open it by LibreOffice. See Base Guide: Chapter 9 Macros

Villeroy · January 25, 2023, 9:49am

lu969184r3trh.odb looks like be the data file of a HSQLDB.

RobertG · January 25, 2023, 10:10am

So it might be possible to get the data with an older database file, if script hasn’t been changed (no new or changed tables).

sokol92 · January 25, 2023, 10:15am

Other temporary files lu*.* can be useful too.

sveta_why · January 25, 2023, 10:16am

@RobertG Would you be so kind as to instruct me? There are no new tables, the only change I made was changing the property of one of the fields (making it an AutoValue)

To @sokol92 : I have 5 of them, I changed their format to .odb and only managed to open one of them. It seems to be created yesterday, but it holds last week’s version of the base.

RobertG · January 25, 2023, 10:27am

Do this only with a copy of your last working backup of the *.odb-file:
Rename your uploaded file to “data”.
Open the *.odb-file with a zip-program.
Delete “data” in /database in the *.odb-file.
Insert the new created “data” (from your uploaded file) in /database in the *.odb-file.

If you now start LibreOffice and could open the file have a look at the tables pane. If all tables are there and all data are there there might be a (last) problem inserting new data. Tables with an autovalue-field will need to get the information for the next autovalue:

ALTER TABLE "table" ALTER COLUMN "ID" RESTART WITH 20

If “ID” is the column for the autovalue in table “table” the value 20 will be the next chosen value of the database. Have a look at the table and set this to maximum of “ID” + 1.