SuperMemo reports my collection is locked

Question

From: John Carver
Sent: Mar 26 2007 22:59
Subject: Supermemo says my files are locked. What should I do?

I was backing up my french vocabulary file to my flash memory stick (using File - Copy Collection), and supermemo decided that the saved file was the active file, ie. the file that was currently opened. Using File - Open I navigated back to my hard disk, but when I tried to open the file it said that there were files missing. I assumed that something had been corrupted, but I thought that this would not matter, as I had just performed a backup.

I then went back to drive d: (the flash memory stick) to the file I had just saved, which supermemo thought was currently open, and I tried to restore it to my hard disk. I did File - Copy Collection, and navigated back to the location on drive c:, and copied it. I decided to give it a new name, to be safe, so I called it "french vocab restd 2" (I already have a "french vocab restd" resulting from a similar problem). It then told me again that there were files missing. Anyway, I then tried File - Open, and navigated back to the location on my hard disk, and tried to open the file I had just restored. It refused to open it, saying "Collection Locked". It also says this about the original file as well.

What does "Collection Locked" mean?

How can I recover my collection?

I have supermemo 2000. If I buy supermemo 2006, will it be more reliable? Will I be able to use my existing collection of french grammar and vocabulary?

Answer

Upgrading SuperMemo will not improve your situation. You need to learn how to copy collections and make sure you use reliable storage media. some hints: http://www.supermemo.com/help/faq/files.htm#13457-9051 see also: Where is my collection?