Palm desktop 4.2 calendar items gone.

Question

Hi.  I'm really hoping someone can help me.  I have the Palm Destop 4.2 software and Windows XP Home on my machine.  I haven't synched in literally years - I don't use the device any more, but I still use the software for my calendaring and datebook.  All my non-recurring appointments on the calendar have vanished.  This has happened 2-3 times before, but the most recent is this morning.  I did a backup of my HDD last night, but it seems that the calendar had already gone crazy before then, as the date/time stamp on the backed up file is the same as the one on the file that has lost everything.  The address book is just fine.
Is it possible that I've hidden the non-recurring appointments somehow?  It does show categories: all  The file size for the datebook is pretty big - 3963K, and there are only 3-4 recurring appointments a week, so it seems to me that the stuff should be in there, but I can't find it.  I have gone to Toos-Options-Tools and tried reapiring corrupted database, but it came back saying there was no corruption.
I appreciate any help you can give me. 
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Answer 1

Did you look at the files in the username folder and are those the files you are talking about? There should be a .dat file in the datebook folder in the username folder. Look at the properties of the file and check the date on that file.
If you don't sync the handheld, then you run the risk of losing data unless you export the data from Palm desktop. We have seen that if you leave Palm desktop open and the PC does a Windows update it can cause data loss. I would suggest expoeting the data and saving on a flash drive, external hard drive or CD-RW. Since you don't sync you only have 1 data file and if that file gets corrupted, then you are out of luck in recovering the data. This may be your situation at this point.
Here is an explanation of the sync process and the file rotation when you sync.
You can recover the data from your user folder provided you have only sync'ed once with the PC when you discovered the data missing. When you sync to the PC there are files created for each PIM category in your user folder. For Example; datebook.dat or datebook (Depending on the version of Palm Desktop) and datebook.bak. Using 6.2 the file names are .mdb and mdb.bak. For 6.2, the files are located in the username folder in PalmOSdesktop in my documents.
The files are named .dat and .bak. When you sync, the current data is stored in .dat. The next time you sync the data in the .dat file is copied to the .bak file. You can rename the .dat to .old. then rename the .bak to .dat. If the data in the .bak file is intact, it will now be in palm desktop when you reopen Palm desktop. I have included a link to show you how to find the userfolder on the PC.
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=26674
Here is another link regarding data loss;
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=39503
The best way to backup your data is to use the export feature in Palm Desktop. Make a new folder on the PC desktop named Palm Desktop Backup data. Next, select the category you want to export. You will get a window that asks where you want to save the file, save in the folder created on the desktop. There is a button that allows you to select currently selected record or all, select all. If you don't select all, then only the record highlighted is exported. You will then need to name the file for export, I suggest the name of the category, eg: datebook (With current date). Do this for all critical data in each category. With the data exported to the folder on the PC desktop, you can save this data to a flash drive, external hard drive or a CD-RW. With this method you will have your data in a seperate place than Palm desktop and the device. If you "Lose" data again, you can import the data back into palm desktop.
Make sure that when you make changes in palm desktop or the device to export the data to the folder created for the backup.
Here is a link for other options for backing up your data;
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=28751
The best way to preserve your data is to export the data in each category in Palm Desktop to a seperate folder on your PC.
Create a new folder on your PC somewhere that is convenient. Name it something like Palm Desktop Data. Click on the link below and follow the instructions on that page for the export procedure.
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=28734
Make sure you select all for the range in the export window.
With the data saved in the folder you created, make a copy of that folder and save to a flash drive, cd-rw or external hard drive.
Anytime you make a change in Palm Desktop, export the data that was changed to that folder and save again to the external media.
With this process you can always import the data back into Palm Desktop anytime you have a problem with the data in Palm Desktop or if your computer/hard drive/device crashes.
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