PCLaw Won't Open: What to Check, in Order

When PCLaw will not open, the cause is one of three things: the workstation, the server, or the data. The fix is very different for each, and some things that help with the first can do real harm to the third. Work through these checks in order.

Step 1: Is it one computer or all of them?

Try to open PCLaw on a second computer.

• Only one computer is affected: the problem is almost certainly on that workstation. Go to step 2.
• Nobody can get in: the problem is on the server or in the data. Go to step 3.

Also write down the exact wording of any message. It usually says which of the three you are dealing with.

Step 2: One workstation cannot open PCLaw

Check these in turn:

• Restart the computer. A PCLaw process left running in the background will block a new one.
• Can it reach the server? Open the shared PCLaw folder or mapped drive in File Explorer. If the drive letter is missing or shows a red cross, the problem is the network connection, not PCLaw.
• Did Windows or the antivirus update overnight? Security software sometimes quarantines a PCLaw program file. Check its quarantine list.
• Does it work for another user on the same computer? If so, the problem is in that user's Windows profile or permissions.
• Is the workstation on the same PCLaw version as the server? After an upgrade, a workstation that was missed will refuse to connect.

Reinstalling the PCLaw workstation software is safe at this stage, because it does not touch the data on the server.

Step 3: Nobody can open PCLaw

Start with the server itself.

• Is the server on and reachable? Can staff open other shared folders on it?
• Was it restarted recently? Updates often restart a server overnight, and a service that should start automatically sometimes does not.
• Is the disk full? A full drive stops any database. Check free space on the drive that holds the PCLaw data.

Then, depending on your edition:

PCLaw on c-tree (the edition most small firms run)

• Confirm the shared data folder is still shared and that staff have permission to it.
• Check whether backup or sync software is holding the data files open. Cloud sync tools such as OneDrive or Dropbox should never be pointed at the PCLaw data folder.
• Check that the antivirus on the server is not scanning or locking the data files.

PCLaw Enterprise on SQL Server

• Open the Services list on the server and check that the SQL Server service is running. If it is stopped, start it and try again.
• If the service will not start, or it starts but PCLaw still cannot connect, look at the database state in SQL Server Management Studio. A database marked Suspect or Recovery Pending means SQL Server found damage or cannot read a file. Stop here and go to step 5.
• Check that the drive holding the transaction log is not full.

Step 4: PCLaw opens, but the books will not

If PCLaw itself starts and then fails when opening your set of books, or opens and crashes on a particular screen, the program is fine and the data is not. The usual causes are:

• A crash or power loss while someone was posting
• An upgrade that stopped partway through
• A failing disk
• Ransomware. Look in the data folder: files with unfamiliar extensions or a ransom note mean you should read our ransomware recovery guide immediately.

Step 5: If it looks like the data, stop

This is where well-meant fixes cause permanent loss. Do not:

• Restore a backup over the current data. You would lose everything entered since that backup, and destroy the files a specialist needs for a recovery.
• Reinstall or upgrade PCLaw on the server. It will not repair data, and an upgrade run against damaged data can make it unreadable.
• Run repair tools repeatedly, or detach and delete SQL Server log files.
• Let staff keep trying to log in. Every attempt writes to the files.

Instead:

1. Ask everyone to stay out of PCLaw.
2. Copy the entire data folder, or the SQL database files, to a separate drive, exactly as they are.
3. Find your most recent backup and note its date. Do not restore it yet.
4. Write down the error messages and what happened just before the problem began.

Getting back to work

A database that will not open is the most common recovery we handle, and in most cases the firm is working again with nothing lost. Our PCLaw data recovery service is available 24 hours a day, works only on a copy of your data, and costs nothing if nothing can be recovered.

If steps 1 to 3 pointed to a workstation or network problem and you would like it fixed properly, that is covered by our PCLaw support. Either way, contact us and a specialist will respond within 15 minutes.