Loss Of User Names

[russellhltn]

I will train the bishopric in the proper shutdown procedures and post the procedures at the computer.

I used to have a problem with one ward corrupting files. I posted a note that said that you must wait for the computer to power itself off before turning off the power bar. They haven't called me since.

[terrysackett]

Our executive secretary shut down MLS improperly yesterday, and it caused the program to freeze whenever someone tried to log in. The steps listed here did not correct the problem.

My bishop, who is thanfully a network administrator for the local gas company, and I got it to the point where it doesn't freeze and it has all of the user names, but it doesn't recognize any passwords.

We have tried uninstalling, downloaded the newest version of MLS (3.1.2), reinstalling, restarting, copying good mlsData backup files, and anything else we found here or could think of, and we could not open MLS.

Donations could not be processed, and we're stuck. Any suggestions would be welcome.

[russellhltn]

Considering all you've done, I'd suggest a compete uninstall, re-install, and use the last good MLS-created backup file. You will loose whatever changes were made since that backup, but it will work. (If it doesn't, then you have some corruption of the computer itself. You may want to run Chkdsk first.)

It's possible that you may need to call CHQ to have your security reset if the send/receive errors out. But you'll have made progress if you can get to the point of doing a S/R.

[jdlessley]

Our executive secretary shut down MLS improperly yesterday, and it caused the program to freeze whenever someone tried to log in. The steps listed here did not correct the problem.

My bishop, who is thanfully a network administrator for the local gas company, and I got it to the point where it doesn't freeze and it has all of the user names, but it doesn't recognize any passwords.

We have tried uninstalling, downloaded the newest version of MLS (3.1.2), reinstalling, restarting, copying good mlsData backup files, and anything else we found here or could think of, and we could not open MLS.

Donations could not be processed, and we're stuck. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Instead of copying good MLS data backup files the backup files need to be restored through the MLS program interface. A new install will require you to set up a unit and at least one administrator. All the unit information does not have to be populated for this set up. You only need the administrator username and password to perform a "Restore from a File" or backup. The backup files need to be from the last known good backup of MLS.

Let us know if after you follow the steps above you cannot logon to MLS because there may be some Java issues on your computer.

[lajackson]

Our executive secretary shut down MLS improperly yesterday, . . .

My bishop . . and I got it to the point where it doesn't freeze and it has all of the user names, but it doesn't recognize any passwords.

We have tried uninstalling, downloaded the newest version of MLS (3.1.2), reinstalling, restarting, copying good mlsData backup files, and anything else we found here or could think of, and we could not open MLS.

Go back one more backup from the one you used and you will pick up both the user names and the passwords.

This works best if you use the backups that MLS makes itself each time someone logs off.

[terrysackett]

Go back one more backup from the one you used and you will pick up both the user names and the passwords.

This works best if you use the backups that MLS makes itself each time someone logs off.

We did that. No dice. And by the time we were done for the day, all of the MLS-generated backups were bad because we tried to log on so many times.

Thank you everyone. I will try again with these suggestions.

[lajackson]

We did that. No dice. And by the time we were done for the day, all of the MLS-generated backups were bad because we tried to log on so many times.

Sorry that didn't work. Next, I would try the last known good back up on a flash drive or on the hard drive if you do them there (they should be in the c:\mlsData-backup folder if you did them on the hard drive).

If that doesn't work, I think your last hope is the monthly backup that CHQ takes. The help desk at Local Unit Support can tell you the date of that backup, which will give you an idea of how many deposits you will have to reenter. If you are fortunate, it will have been in the last week or so. If not, it could have been up to a month ago.

Following that, a membership refresh will bring the records back up to date so you can see if anything was missed there.

Is the STS working with you on this?

[russellhltn]

And by the time we were done for the day, all of the MLS-generated backups were bad because we tried to log on so many times.

When I referred to the MLS generated backups, I meant the .bak file usually found in the mlsData-backup directory or external media. The one that MLS forces you to make.

Not the "hidden" directory copies that it makes internally.

[terrysackett]

Replying to Russell and lajackson in the last two posts:

We do have a backup from Dec. 2 on a flash drive that I tried to use yesterday to populate the "new" install of 3.1.2. I say "new" because I renamed the mlsData directory so that the program wouldn't use it and I could restore from a backup. It took me back to the original problem where the program freezes when I click "Log in" after entering the user name and password. If I can get that backup to work, we will only have one Sunday of donations (Dec. 9) missing. The bishop's first counselor and my finance assistant deposited all of the donations on Sunday, and they are coming to the office tonight to hopefully enter the data.

The MLS-generated backups in the unit directory quickly became useless because a new one was generated containing corrupt data each time we tried to log in while working on the problem originally. It only backs up the previous six to eight log in attempts, so the flask backup became the only solution for us.

I am not currently working with the STS because the person serving in that position has recently changed and none of us could remember who it is now. I will call my stake clerk this evening to find out, but last time we had an improper shutdown issue and lost the user names, our STS at that time had no idea how to deal with it because he doesn't use this site. I was able to use the procedure that I learned here to be able to correct it easily, but since our STS is new, he probably won't know how to help, either. However, I will get him involved if I can't make it happen in the next two hours. I am going to the office now to work on it, and I will sign on to here while I am doing that.

[terrysackett]

I'm now logged on from the ward computer. I had not seen the post by jdlessley until just now.

Let us know if after you follow the steps above you cannot logon to MLS because there may be some Java issues on your computer.

When my bishop was working on this with me on Sunday, he opened Task Manager a few times and saw something that made him think there was a Java problem also. I didn't know why he thought that, and I didn't want to quiz him too much at that point, so I didn't think of it again until reading the aforementioned post.

I know that he downloaded the most recent version of Java in the process of all of this, but that obviously didn't correct the issue. I tried the steps that jdlessley suggested, but to no avail. Is there something I need to try to do with Java?