DB read only on network

[Greg]

We have a recurring problem of backend Access databases
being changed to read only on a network drive which
prevents users from making changes or adding data. Our
network is NT 2000. The DB's are Access 97 or 2000. It
could be possible that someone is doing this but I wanted
to ask if anyone knows if there could be an issue with the
network or something that could be changing these files to
read only like backup software or something.

Thanks for any advice,
Greg

 

[Cheryl Fischer]

Greg,

When you say "changed to read only", do you mean that the Read Only property
of each database file has been changed to True? If that is the case, the
only thing that comes to mind that would be done "automatically" is copying
the database file to a CD and then copying it back to its folder. When an
MDB file is written to a CD, it automatically becomes read-only and when
copied back to its hard-drive location it remains read-only.

Does this happen only to the MDB files, or are there other non-MDB files in
the same folder(s) on the network and, if so, do those files become
read-only also?

Or, does this appear to be a "permissions" issue on all files in the folder
where the MDB files are located? Your network administrator can easily
check the permissions on the network folder(s).

How frequently does this happen and can you tie the change to any other
event? For example, if the databases worked fine on Monday and on Tuesday
morning they showed up as read-only, I would want to know what processes may
have been running on Monday night. If you cannot tie this change to any
other event or process, you may need to enlist the help of your network
administrator to log night-time activity.

 

[Greg]

Thanks for answering Cheryl. It is the Read Only Attribute
that is being changed so it has nothing to do with
permisssions. We have hundreds of these Access backend
databases throughout our network that are accessed from an
Access front end on the clients. It happens randomly which
is why I thought it could be someone doing it
intentionally or if backup software could be doing it. I
know backup software will change certain attributes on a
file so it knows if it has changed since the last backup.
I don't think anyone has checked other files that may be
in the same folder when this happens but it is something
we will watch for. Thanks again.

Greg

-----Original Message-----
Greg,

When you say "changed to read only", do you mean that the Read Only property
of each database file has been changed to True? If that is the case, the
only thing that comes to mind that would be

done "automatically" is copying