Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Repairing Access database after user quits application unexpectedly

Microsoft Office Access, a relational database management system, stores tables, queries, forms, reports and more inside a MDB or ACCDB file. The application is mostly put to use in a multiuser environment. In such cases, the MDB file is kept on a server which can be used by several users at anytime. A corrupt MS Access database is often the result of a user disconnecting from the application in an inappropriate manner. When one user commits a mistake, everyone else sharing the same .MDB file has to bear the burnt of it. Although taking corrective measures can help you address the issue, they do not always prove successful. Thus, you have to rely on third-party access repair utilities.

Consider a real-world scenario where your Access file is located on a file server and when you try and open it, you may receive the following error:

“The database 'database name.mdb' needs to be repaired or isn't a database file”

The message continues saying: “You or another user may have unexpectedly quit Access while a
Access database was open. Do you want Microsoft Access to attempt to repair the database.”

Cause
The above error can be witnessed in the following situations:
  • If a user has unexpectedly quit the application, and .ldb file remains undeleted
  • (Note: When you use an Access database, an .ldb (Locking Database) file is generated in the same folder or directory. This file is automatically deleted when the last user quits the application)
  • If you are trying to open an Access file created with a newer version in an older version
  • If Access file is corrupt.
Resolution
In order to ward off the issue and access the .MDB file, you can try following access database repair steps:
  • Go to the folder where your database file is located, check for the .ldb file. If it is there, delete it and open the database file again
  • Open the Access database file with the correct version
  • Try and repair the corrupt file by using in-built repair utility: Open and Repair
  • If you are still not able to tackle the situation,opt for an access database repair software.

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