You Lost the Source Code to Software That Runs Your Business

Without source code, a program can keep running but cannot be changed. You have three options: find the code, which is more often possible than people expect; recover it from the installed program, which works for some technologies; or rebuild the application, using the running system and its database as the specification. Your data is almost never lost, and the data is the most valuable part.

Signs this is your problem

• You asked for a change and were told there is nothing to change.
• The developer or vendor is gone and left only the installed program.
• You have an .exe file and a database, and nothing else.
• A new PC or server is needed and nobody knows how to reinstall the software.
• You are not sure whether what you have is the source code.

First, look harder for the code

Before assuming the worst, check these places:

• The original developer or firm, even if you parted ways years ago.
• Old PCs, laptops and backup drives, especially any machine a developer used.
• Server backups and old backup tapes.
• Email attachments and shared folders from the time the system was built.
• Online code repositories or hosting accounts opened in the company’s or the developer’s name.

For websites written in languages like Classic ASP or PHP, the code on the web server usually is the source code. You may have had it all along.

Second, see what can be recovered

Some kinds of program can be turned back into readable code. Applications built on Microsoft .NET can often be recovered to something close to the original. Older compiled programs, such as most VB6 and C++ applications, generally cannot be recovered in a usable form.

We can usually tell you which case you are in after a short look at the installed files.

Third, rebuild from what you do have

If the code is gone for good, the application can still be replaced, and you are not starting from nothing. You have:

• The running program, which shows every screen, field and report.
• The database, which holds all your data and reveals how the system is structured.
• Your staff, who know what it does and what they wish it did.

From those three, the system is rebuilt on a current platform, and this time the source code belongs in your hands from the first day.

How Keene Systems handles it

1. We look at what you have. And tell you plainly whether the code exists, can be recovered or is gone.
2. We secure the data. A verified backup of the database comes first, whatever happens next.
3. We recover or rebuild. Whichever gets you a maintainable system at the lowest risk.
4. We hand you the source code. Stored where your company controls it.

The next step is a short, no-pressure conversation. Book a call with Lance Keene or use the form on this page.