If I recall, Oracle has a tool that can read datafiles and assemble the data is some type of useable format, from a crashed database. We have a 8.1.7.4 database that we may need this type of tool for. Can anyone offer any information on this? And, yes the database was backed up nightly, but the tapes were not rotated and checked. Thanks all. John Fedock K Line America, Inc. john.fedock@xxxxxxxxxxxx