The full text may be something like:
A problem seems to have occurred.
It appears that power was switched off while Payroll Pro was saving some information to the hard drive, which has made one or more files unreadable.

 

There are 3 possible reasons for this. They all mean that Payroll Pro cannot read its data files, and so to Payroll Pro this looks like a data corruption. It is possible that the data is ok.

Something to try: You can create a dummy set of data and then try opening the dummy set of data to see if the same error occurs.
If you get the same error with the newly created dummy data, then options (1) or (2) below may be the most likely cause of your problem.
If there is no problem with the dummy data, then option (3) below is the more likely cause (ie that your live data actually is corrupted).
To create some dummy data:
> Choose "FILE" then "Create New Company".
> You may see two options - the top one being "Create a new company". Click this top option as you do not need to apply for a registration code.
> For the company name enter something like ZTEST.
> For the folder name enter something starting with a Z - you could enter ZTEST again.
> Click on "Create Data"
> Now in Payroll Pro, try opening ZTEST. See if the same error occurs. If you see a message saying you need a registration code just ignore it since this is just for testing purposes.
> You can delete this ZTEST folder later.

(1) Installed on a Different Computer: It is possible that Payroll Pro has been installed on a different computer (through a network - eg installed on a server) and the network is not letting Payroll Pro work correctly this way. For example you are accessing Payroll Pro from your computer, but Payroll Pro is actually installed somewhere else.
Try installing Payroll Pro locally - ie on the computer from which you are running it. This means you may need to install Payroll Pro separately on each computer that you want to run it from. You can still have the data files on the server and point Payroll Pro to the server from each computer.
Click here for details about this.

(2) Security Settings: If the above is not the cause, then it is possible that someone has changed security settings on your computer and this is blocking Payroll Pro. We recommend you first get the person who made changes to your computer to do this for you. However, solving this may be as simple as changing the shortcut properties to "Run as administrator", as follows:
> Right click on the Payroll Pro shortcut icon on your desktop, and choose properties.
> Next, find the "Compatibility" tab and select this.
> Locate "Run as Administrator" and tick this.
> You will find that every time you run Payroll Pro Windows will ask you if you are sure you want to run this program - just answer Yes (or OK).

(3) Data Corruption: If neither of the above solve the problem, then it may be that the data is actually corrupted. You may need to restore from a backup, but in most cases the instructions given with the warning message may solve your problem:
> Exit all programs, and then restart your computer, then try Payroll Pro again.
> If you have already tried this and are still receiving this message then exit Payroll Pro then run it again.
> Choose "Cancel" when asked to select your data.
> From the top menu in Payroll Pro choose HELP then OTHER...
> This will allow you to roll your data back to a good copy.
> A "confirm" box will appear - answer "Yes" to the continue prompt.
> Now choose your data from the list.
> You will see 3 boxes to tick - click each one so a tick appears, then click "Roll Back Now".
> Read the warning message and click Yes to say you have read it.
> The "Update Totals" option will now appear. You need to do this so that your Payroll data is brought back up to date. Click OK to do this.
> The data is now as if you have just finalised the last pay run.
IF AFTER THE ABOVE PROCESS or DURING THE ABOVE PROCESS you still get the same error message, then it is highly likely that the problem described in options (1) or (2) above are actually the cause of the problem!