dBase is a world-wide used DBMS (Database Management System) for microcomputers, Apple, UNIX, IBM PC, and more. The application is primarily used to create a number of applications, such as, middleware applications, web applications hosted on Windows server, and Windows client applications. dBase includes an IDE (Integrated Development Environment), a preprocessor, a linker that creates .exe's for dBase application, a runtime engine, a virtual machine interpreter, and a time compiler.

The file format created by using dBase application is .dbf. The same file format has also been adopted by numerous other applications. The file format consists of a header section (.ndx file) that explains the exact structure of the data saved in the file. As with other file formats, a .dbf file is equally prone to corruption or damage due to various logical reasons.

Few most common corruption scenarios of .dbf file are discussed below:

• DBF File header damage
• MS Visual FoxPro or dBase malfunction
• Operating system malfunction
• File system corruption
• Virus attack
• Human errors

Corruption in .dbf file primarily results in inaccessibility of its saved data. In such cases, it is always advised to restore the file from a valid backup. But there are thousands of case studies proving that the users tend to forget to create an adequate backup. In such scenarios, the results of DBF file damage might prove fatal.

To surmount such scenarios, the user needs to search for an effective DBF repair application. Such third-party tools are easily available on the Internet. However, to select the best repair application, the user needs to first install the demo version of the software and analyze that the software is displaying desired results.

Stellar Phoenix DBF Recovery is an outstanding DBF repair application that repairs dbf files after all corruption scenarios. Compatible with MS Visual FoxPro 6.0, MS Visual FoxPro 7.0, MS Visual FoxPro 8.0, MS Visual FoxPro 9.0, dBase III, dBase IV, and dBase V, the DBF repair tool recovers almost all DBF file objects like, table name, indexes, primary keys, column name, and column data type.