William,

Let's take this a step at a time and see if we can isolate the problem.

1) Don't assume that anything you see is connected to each other until proven.

2) What is in VP.BAT? Not just the line that runs Fox, but before and after -- any commands that delete temp files, etc?

3) Does Novell show you the exact TIME that you deleted the SYSDATA.DBF, and does that time match the exact time that you started the program, or exited it?

4) What directory is SYSDATA.DBF in?

5) What directory is VP.BAT in?

6) What directory are you in (for certain) when you issue the VP.BAT command?

7) What OTHER files are missing, and do they ALL show up in the Novell deleted files listing?

Let's start with that.