Problem


An attempt to delete a case failed using one of the Forensic Tools interfaces. The case no longer shows in the case list, but you still see it in the database, or are getting repeating failed login errors for a specific case that failed to delete properly.  

 

Resolution


You can attempt to delete the case again using DBControl. If this fails as well, you will need to contact support@exterro.com for assistance in manually deleting the remnants directly within the database.


  1. Navigate to C:\Program Files\AccessData\Forensic Tools\<version>
  2. Hold the SHIFT key and right click on the 'bin' folder
  3. Select "Open Command Window Here"


  4. Type the following command and press Enter: dbcontrol.exe host=localhost dbtype=mssql -deletecase 4  
    1. Replace localhost with the name of your database instance. (If you do not know what to put here, open the DBConfig application found in the same bin folder. It will list the name of your instance)
    2. dbtype will be MSSQL or postgres depending on your install
    3. Replace 4 with the CaseID you want to delete. (Contact support if you are unsure what the CaseID is for the case you want to delete.)

        

Cause


There are various reasons why a case may fail to delete. Typically it is due to a lock in SQL or a file in use by windows within the case folder, but there could be other causes.