I/O Error When Posting to Sage 50

Description of Error:

The following error appears when attempting to post sales invoices from ESC to Sage 50 or Peachtree:

An I/O Error has occurred in the data file. Import canceled.

Cause of the Error:

A review of I/O errors from the Sage Peachtree Accounting Community as well as other web site resources clearly indicates that the I/O errors reflect Sage 50\Peachtree’s inability to read or write data to its database tables. It is important to understand that when posting from ESC, if any I/O errors are received, they are coming strictly from some problem within the Sage 50\Peachtree database.

This issue occurs frequently with Sage 50 and Peachtree databases, even if you are not integrated with other programs such as Electronic Service Control. Unfortunately, we have found Sage Support to be a bunch of meanies who won't help you fix it. So we have developed a system to help you identify and fix these errors.

Test the Database:

Most of the time we have seen the I/O error it is a result of a corrupted Inventory table in Sage 50. Here is a simple way to test that imports to that table work properly.

1. Create a new non-inventory part in Sage 50 by going to Maintain → Inventory Items... Create a part similar to this:
   
2. Go to File → Select Import/Export...
3. Select Inventory → Inventory Item List then click Export.
   
4. On the Filters tab, enter the part number you created in the From and To fields of the Item ID.
   
5. Click OK (this will select everything and export it to the default location).
6. Now click Import and select OK. This will import everything we just exported.

If the file imported with no problem, then the cause of the I/O error may be a bad sector on the hard drive on which your database is stored.  This may have caused you to notice the I/O error in other programs besides Sage 50 and Peachtree. If this is the case, please contact your IT person as soon as possible to address this issue as it may lead to data loss.

Resolution:

If the file failed to import, then your Peachtree/Sage 50 database is experiencing corruption; but don't panic.  In just a few easy steps, we'll have you back up and running with a new, functioning database and you won't lose any data!

1. Have all users log out of Peachtree/Sage 50.
2. Log into Peachtree/Sage 50 on the computer that houses the database.
3. Make a backup of the Peachtree/Sage 50 database.
4. Now navigate to the Maintain menu and select Company Information. Make a note of the directory in which your database is being stored.
5. Close Peachtree/Sage 50 and then navigate to the directory in which your database is being housed. If your directory read "C:\Sage\Peachtree\Company\foldername", then navigate to the C: drive, then the Sage folder, then the Peachtree folder and finally open the Company folder.
6. In the Company directory, you should see the folder name that contains your database, but do not open that folder. Instead, right-click on that folder and select Rename. Add "OLD" to the end of the folder name and hit Enter.
7. You will now re-open Peachtree/Sage 50. If the 'Open Existing Company' screen appears, click Close.
8. Go to the File menu and select Restore.
9. Browse to and select the backup of your Sage database made in Step 3. Click Next.
10. Select the "Create a new company user the restored data" option. The Company Name and Location fields should be filled in automatically. If they are not, enter a Company Name for this database and then Browse to the directory in which you want your database to be stored. Click Next.
11. You may now select what options from the backup are to be restored to this new database. When you're finished, click Next.
12. The Confirmation screen will now be displayed and ask you to verify that the information is correct. To finalize the restore process, click the Finish button and your database will be restored.
13. Once the restore is finished, you will be prompted to log into the database. Use the administrative name and password from your original database - afterall, this is an identical copy.
14. Now open the ESC Accounting Server and click Connect. It should recognize this new database and connect automatically. Note: Should a message appear asking if you want to "allow Coastal Computer Corporation to run with your Sage 50 Software", select the "Remember this setting" box and then click Yes.
15. Be sure to check the Sage 50 connection on all workstations to make sure they are pointing to the new database.

Additional Information:

Many of our customers that attempt to contact Sage Support are met with difficulties in receiving proper support for their software because any and all issues are blamed on third-party integrations (even though these same issues also occur in Peachtree/Sage 50 databases that are not integrated with any other software). Should you require assistance from Sage, please reference the Import test that this article had you preform. That test does not use, rely on or is affected by any integrations and therefore will let them know that there is a problem with the database itself.