PRB: SSARC/SSRESTOR Change 4.0 Database to 4.0a/5.0 Format

SYMPTOMS

Visual SourceSafe version 5.0 includes two new utilities, SSARC.EXE and SSRESTOR.EXE. These utilities allow the Visual SourceSafe Administrator to archive and restore files and projects within Visual SourceSafe databases.

Visual SourceSafe version 4.0 shipped three different builds: 811 (version 4.0), 831 (version 4.0), and 1309 (version 4.0a). You can find out which build you are using by clicking About on the Help menu.

The actual format of the Visual SourceSafe database did not change between builds 811 and 831 (both are version 4.0) or build 1309 (version 4.0a) and Visual SourceSafe version 5.0. However, the format did change between 831 and 1309.

When you use SSARC.EXE and SSRESTOR.EXE on a version 4.0 database (builds 811 or 831), it is 'silently' upgraded to the new 4.0a/5.0 format. When this upgrade occurs, you cannot use the executables from version 4.0 (builds 811 and 831). Under this condition you may get the following error message: